When it comes to Greek Mythology, one of the most famous stories – is the Trojan War, the fight between Troy and the Achaeans. Throughout the years, there have been numerous representations about this grand tale, from a beautiful amphora portraying Achilles and Ajax playing a board game, created around 500 B.C. (Arts) and the epic poem, Homer’s Iliad describes in great details the last few weeks of the war, written in 800 B.C. A more modern take on the war is the famous movie Troy with actors Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, released in 2004. Here we have three different mediums, an amphora, a long poem and a modern film, yet they all tell the tragic bloody tale of the Trojan War. I will discuss the overall theme that these three pieces share, …show more content…
The amphora, created around 500 B.C. (Arts) was created Exekias, a Greek vase-painter, and potter, who created the amphora of the hero Achilles and his cousin and perhaps besides Achilles himself, the strongest of all the Greek warriors, Ajax, playing a board game, something like backgammon. (Mastin) They still are wearing their armor, as if they are just relaxing for a moment, ready to take charge into battle, as soon as they are called to do so. (Arts) Homer’s epic poem came a few hundred years later, having over 15,000 lines in his poems to tell of the last weeks of the Trojan War. It is argued to be one of the earliest pieces of literature in the Western tradition. …show more content…
It shares similarities with the poem, as a good part of the movie takes place during the last few weeks, however, the movie also expands some much. At the same time, the central character is Achilles, just like the amphora. Ajax is also in the movie, but it is mostly centered on Achilles himself. (2017) However, the movie Troy is its own artwork, a visual retelling of the great battle, it takes references from Homer’s Iliad, but the creators also took the initiative with their own creative ideas on how they wanted to tell the story.
All three of these pieces of artwork, created in different eras, all show the struggle of war and what it does to people. Loved ones are lost, like the amphora shows, it’s almost like a game, which will hold the winning piece in the end? Unfortunately, to this day, we still have the suffering of what can bring. The loss of loved ones, the destruction of homes, not to mention how long and costly it can cost as well. The Trojan War can also show that no place is unbeatable and war comes with a deadly price, and in the end, we must ask ourselves, is it really worth