...about one of the most significant events in the history of western civilization. It deals with the evidences which show the reality of Trojan War and that did it really happen or not? It also concerns with efforts and campaigns which were performed in order to find out the existence of Troy and reality of this city. Keywords: Trojan War, Troy, Greece, Legendary, Epic, Homer, Iliad, Archeologist, Turkey, Dig, Excavation, Discover Introduction The Trojan War is one of the most legendary stories of the history. It was said that the cause of the war was when Trojan Prince named Paris went to Greece and kidnapped the beautiful Greek princess Helen. It is believed that the sea trading Mycenae was a cause of the war. But Greek tradition reveals that the romantic cause-kidnapping of the princess- is believed as the cause of the war. Generally, the legend tells us that Prince Paris Alexander of Troy took Queen Helen of Sparta away and brought her back with him to Troy. So the Greeks sailed to Troy in order to rescue the princess Helen. Under their leader Agamemnon, the Greeks attacked Troy for nine years. Because of the massive wall surrounding the city all the fighting took place outside of Troy which totally prevented the Greeks from entering and getting the control of the city. This was a big disadvantage for the Greeks. The legend introduces great heroes from both sides. Each side had a strong belief in Gods and Goddesses and believed they aided them in the war. For the Greeks...
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...Troy the film and myth The myth referenced in the film Troy is about how the Greeks, led by the Greek king, Agamemnon, defeated the kingdom of Troy, whose king was Priam. The story has it that Helen, the queen of Sparta, was seduced by Paris, Prince of Troy, to go to Troy and leave Menalaus, king of Sparta and her husband. Because of this betrayal Agamemnon, brother of Menalaus and king of the Greek city-states assembled a great army to sail across the Aegean to conquer Troy and take Helen back to Menalaus. The legend says, the city of Troy had a thick impenetrable wall that could not be breached by conventional means. Every army that stood to fight in front of the walls continuously failed. After 10 years of fighting, the Greeks finally had a plan to get their armies inside the walls of Troy. They made it appear as they had left. Before they left they built a great wooden Trojan horse. Inside the horse were Greek soldiers, who quietly waited until the horse was brought into the walls of Troy. After the city fell asleep, the Greeks opened the main gate and let the Greek armies into the city. After the city was sacked, Helen was taken back to Menalaus, and Achilles, the Greeks greatest warrior was killed in battle with a poison arrow to his heal. The movie revolves around Achilles and his struggle with Agamemnon which is documented in the myth. The movie had only a few similarities to the character of Achilles. He was definitely portrayed as a great, and inspirational...
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...Troy home to the Trojans around 3,000 B.C- 500 A.D, in the ancient Greek times was situated in what is now known as Turkey, than known as the Asia Minor. Troy is most notably recognized for its part in the Great Trojan War. This is especially described in Homer’s Greek epic Cycle and The Iliad, Which are two Great works of art and are taught in most schools and universities around the world. Most Historians place the Trojan War in the 12th, 13th, 14th century B.C. As told in the Iliad the Achaeans, declared war against the city of Troy when Paris the prince of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus the King of Sparta. According to Homeric Troy, Achaeans set up their camp near the mouth of the river Scamander, with approximately 12,000 ships, equaling anywhere from 70,000-130,000 men. Troy stood against such a large force due to its strategic location. Troy itself stood on a hill, across the plain of Scamander, which is where most of the Trojan battles most likely took place. Another aspect to the war is Greek mythology, they believe that the war originated because of an argument between the goddesses Athena, who is the goddess of wisdom and crafts, Hera the goddess of marriage, women, child birth, family, and known as the Queen of Gods, and Aphrodite the goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. This argument was began when Eris the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple also known as the apple of discord marked only “for the fairest.” The King of all...
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...system. Today’s topic is “Myth in culture and the arts,” we will discuss the 2004 version of Achilles as shown by the movie Troy. Most of you will remember the Hollywood block buster for its start studded cast of Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom, but are you aware that this story is almost three thousand years old? The story of Achilles as a Trojan War hero is chronicled in The Iliad and is estimated to have been written Homer around 700 B.C.E. I’d like to spend the next hour or so discussing what the film version has in common with the ancient story as well as those sections that may have been altered to make the film more exciting. We will discuss this historical timeline behind Achilles’ entrance into the Trojan War, his perceived “invulnerability,” and the two phases of his involvement in the final battles. Much like Homer’s Iliad, the film is focuses on the hero Achilles of the Trojan War, but each story has a slightly different time span. The Trojan War was started over the abduction of Helen (of Sparta) wife to Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean king, Agamemnon. Paris the youngest prince of Troy visits Sparta, seduces Helen, and sets sail for Troy with Helen at his side. According to the myths of Achilles’ life it wasn’t until the Trojan War started that Achilles’ mother, Thetis, received a prophecy that revealed Achilles would die at Troy and as a result attempted to hide Achilles from the war. The myth portrays him as approximately nine or ten years old when...
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...Rudy Gabriel Ms. Z Early Civilizations 19 May 2014 The Trojan War The Trojan War is an important turning point in history for all of Greece. The Greeks fought at Troy of Anatolia against the Trojans during a later period of the Bronze Age. Paris’ judgement of the most beautiful goddesses was the beginning of the war because of the bribe that Aphrodite offered Paris. Paris is the son of King Priam of Troy and the brother of Hector, the noblest of all fighters during the Trojan War. The main cause of the war was that Helen was taken from the Spartan king, Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, by Paris because of the Judgement. Helen was the wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta and she herself was the bribe that Aphrodite had offered to Paris. Many great soldiers fought and died in combat for their city-state. The strategies used by the Greek army were impressive and productive. The war has gone down in history just as Achilles had wanted. The Trojan War was a very eventful battle, fought by many soldiers, at the city of Troy. The Greek army had some of the finest warriors and leaders of the ancient times. Menelaus was the king who united the Greek armies in which Achilles was not fond of. Menelaus was brother of Agamemnon who was the Achaean King and the leader of the combined armies. The Greek army was considerably large because they had conquered so many city-states and forced them to join or be enslaved. Achilles was the greatest of all the soldiers during the war. Achilles...
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...Humanist Christian Louis Markos in his article “Homer’s Illiad: Civilization versus Barbarism” explores how faith of Christians can be strengthened by reading the Pagan classics like Homer’s Illiad. Markos starts by comparing Homer’s world to a pre-Mosaic world of Genesis. He states that they live in a world that is pre-moral and pre-legal, but are still without a sense of what is moral and lawful. Markos then begins to explain what happens in the first five books in The Illiad. He discusses that every single one of Homer’s warriors get to display their arete, which means excellence. They all strive to achieve arete, but every time they get their moment to shine, Achilles comes in and puts them to shame. Markos says, “The godlike Achilles will achieve that which the rest of us lesser morals merely strive for.” This clarifies that all of the soldiers look up to Achilles and strive to be like him. Markos then focuses on book six where Homer carries the reader from war to peace and barbarism to civilization. He talks about Homer’s moral compass throughout The Illiad and states the laws of xenia, known as the guest-host relationship. This means that both guests and the host have to treat each other the same. The host must provide hospitality and the guest is not suppose to take advantage of the host. He relates this concept to the Old and New Testament. One example is in Genesis 18 where Abraham is rewarded for the hospitality he shows the three angels. In The Illiad, the guest-host...
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...As a baby, Achilles was dipped into the River Styx, expect for the one part of his body mother was holding him by, which was his heel. His mother, Thetis, tried to make him immortal, not so much immortal but she was trying to make him invincible and protect him. She was trying to keep him alive and far from harms way. He was superior to the others because a wound that could kill any mortal could not kill Achilles, making him super duper! Our epic hero Achilles was killed with an arrow to the heel, shot by Paris and guided by Apollo at the siege of Troy. "There Paris shot an arrow at him and Apollo guided it so that it struck his foot in the one spot where he could be wounded, his heel" (Hamilton 202). His mothers carelessness created a weakness for Achilles, which was his heel. It's ironic because Paris had shot so many arrows before but they were never fatal, but this one time out of all the other times Paris' arrow killed Achilles, the great warrior. Making his death tragic, ironic but tragic. Achilles' bravery made him an epic hero. He avenged his best friends death, was superior to all the other Greeks, and died tragically with a shot to his only weak spot, his heel. Achilles will forever be remembered by the Greeks and by everyone who knows his history and accomplishments, and for...
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...Davele Zephyr Magistra Semidey English, R1 15 January 2013 It’s About How One Handles Their Mistakes Sophocles once wrote that, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride”. This quote means that everyone messes up at some point, however the ones who acknowledge their mistakes and strive to improve upon them are considered honorable, unlike those who ignore their mistakes due to a fear of tainting their prestige. Both epic poems, The Iliad by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil affirm this idea because throughout each book, characters that learn from prior mistakes are successful when faced with challenges, whereas those who practice prideful thinking eventually reach a shameful downfall. In The Iliad, one prominent leader who fights during the Trojan War that demonstrates admirable qualities was Achilles. Seen in Book 18, this great Greek fighter acknowledges his arrogance for withdrawing himself from the war and sending his comrade Patroklos, to his death. Achilles and Patroklos shared a mentor-mentee relationship where Patroklos admires this great warrior, however by Achilles displaying such selfishness, his heroic status diminishes. After recognizing the disgrace of his actions, Achilles assures his fallen comrade, Patroklos that he will redeem his status by avenging Patroklos’s death. This decision justifies Achilles as an honorable person because after admitting his mistakes, he goes on...
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...A war text is a text in which major characteristics of war prevail; scenes of war, heroes are described in action, military leaders, and courage are depicted in such text. The story of the Iliad by Homer describes fifty latter days at the Trojan War. The book is a classical epic poem that vividly describes brass armaments and mortal blows in combat. It also glorifies battle, violence, bloodshed, relates vicissitudes of fortune and the prominence of god intervention in human affairs. The book is a great war book in a sense that the story takes place in a war environment, it has leaders, heroes, who demonstrate courage throughout the book. A-Presence of a war For a Great War text to exist, it must be a war. There was definitely a war in the Iliad by Homer: the Trojan. This War began after the abduction (or elopement) of Queen Helen of Sparta, spouse of King Menelaus, by the Trojan prince Paris. This was an insult to the king. Then all the Achaeans (Greeks) got together to fight the Trojans in order to take Helen back from the Trojans. Everything started because of a selfish act from Paris. Nine years of war, thousands of people dead from both sides, just because one person decides to please himself, regardless of the consequences. War is described in a complex way by Homer. On one hand he is condemning the war by painting a very morbid and perverse image of it. Indeed, Homer starts the Iliad by describing all the pain felt by the Achaeans and the deaths, of thousands of men...
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...The Truth behind the Mask of Agamemnon There are various debates when it comes to the authenticity of certain artworks. When determining the legitimacy of certain artworks, certain things that need to be taken into consideration, which is the case with The Mask of Agamemnon. The Mask of Agamemnon was a discovery by architect Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae dated 1876. There have been various discussions in whether or not the mask is a fake. There has been sufficient evidence that supports this. Author Spencer Harrington, William Calder and David Traill examined how the mask of Agamemnon may be a fake, by including an overview of the Mask, questioning the faulty character of Schliemann, and the authenticity of the mask itself. Spencer Harrington author of “Behind the Mask of Agamemnon discussed the. Harrington stated that Schliemann was “supervised by Panagiotis Stamatakis, a conscientious Greek archaeologist who often accused Schliemann of destroying classical antiquities in his quest for Homeric remains.” Which raises questions of whether or not Schliemann’s work was for the preservation of Greek art or for the benefiting the “businessman-turned-archaeologist” (Harrington). The mask of Agem When it comes to the excavation of artwork individuals often judge the artwork to be real or fake based on the artwork itself, not taking into account the architects(s) whom excavated the art piece. Professor and author Calder did so by questioning the faulty character of Schliemann...
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...Week 4 Assignment 1: Mysteries of the Trojans Alicia Robinson HUM 110 – World Cultures I Strayer University Dr. Bull October 31, 2013 Mysteries of the Trojans In the following paper, I will attempt to explain the mysteries surrounding the lost city of Troy, the Trojan soldiers, the Trojan War and the famous story about the Trojan horse. This paper will show why I believe that sometimes myths may not be merely myths at all, but may actually have more validity to them than one may think. These so called myths should not be so easily dismissed and I will try to explain why I truly believe this. The mysteries concerning these stories are the basis of the Homeric tales, the Odysseus, and the Iliad, written by a man whom history calls Homer, but no one is even sure if this was his name or maybe even his profession. There are many theories surrounding this alone. Many claim that he was a blind man and may be a descendent of singer, story tellers. Before Homer, epic stories were memorized and then sung. These were in fact true accounts of history, not like songs that are sung today. The Homeric stories are some of the oldest written stories of all time, (dating back to around 800 B.C.E.). The Trojan War is believed, (by scholars), to have taken place between 1800 and 1300 B.C.E., but the first written accounts were not written until, some five centuries later, after the Greeks adopted the Phoenician writing system. Stories, until then, had been handed down...
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...and culture. Mycenae was the capital of a state that ruled the majority of the eastern Mediterranean world and it showed in their construction. Their trade and military background, along with their use of a technique called megalithic structure, made it possible to build imposing walls surrounding the outside of their palaces (Biers, 1980, 29). Tiryns provided an abundance of artistic value to the world of archaeology and gave “a particularly vivid impression of the world of the Bronze-Age warlords” (Wood, 1998, 87). Hissarlik, the site that most archaeologists would equate to Troy, eventually showed that “Homer was telling much more than just a story” (Papadopoulos, Lecture 1, March 29th). The common ground between these famous sites is that Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist from the small town of Neubukow, is given credit as the main excavator of each site. By excavating Mycenae, Tiryns, and Troy, among others, he cemented his place in archaeological history and made an everlasting impression on his colleagues and future archaeologists. However, he had very questionable character, as he frequently hyperbolized and exaggerated his findings and life events to the point that his life became somewhat of a mystery. It was hard to tell “fact from fiction in Schliemann’s life” and he even admits himself that his biggest fault was that he was “a braggart and a bluffer” (Wood, 1998, 59). He more often that not managed to tarnish what should have been an impressive and magnificent...
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...them. This act of balancing the knowledge of fate is what gives the characters their tragedy and their appeal as they push forward heroically to their pre-destined doom. Knowing what the future holds will certainly affect one's present actions. It is only logical that the knowledge of one's fate will bring upon that individual a different perspective on life. Achilles made a pact with the gods that he would have a short and fulfilling life rather than a long and meaningless one. To Achilles, achievement and greatness was more important than the time he spent in this world. He went to troy knowing that it was going to be his death, but because He knew his fate, Achilles fought knowledgably and tragically towards it. Hector also knew he was doomed to tragedy. He knew he was destined to fight the great Achilles after he killed Patroclus in battle. And so, Hector walked through the gates of Troy one last time and fought his best against the almost immortal power of Achilles. It was no use however, despite his valiant...
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...During the time when Aeneas is escaping from Troy with his family, why doesn’t he look back when he feels that his wife, Creusa, is being taken away? While escaping from Troy, Aeneas feels that the Greeks are catching up to the fugitive group and he tells his son to run ahead. Then he says that a strange enemy power robbed him of his senses. Aeneas’ wife is trailing behind him and he feels that she is being taken away yet he doesn’t even look back to make sure that his own wife is still with the group. The main clue for why Aeneas doesn’t even look back to make sure that his wife is there; is when he says that something came over him robbing him of his senses. It is made clearer later when he goes back to Troy to look for his wife. He is walking through the streets of Troy yelling his wife’s name when Creusa’s ghost appears before him. She tells him that the gods forbid him from taking her with him. The ghost says that they are not allowed to be together outside of Troy and that Jupiter, the king of Olympus, also won’t allow it. She tells him that he must sail to Hesperian land and there “great joy and a kingdom are [his] to claim, and a queen to make [his] wife.” The ghost tells Aeneas to put his sorrow of losing his wife away and to look forward to what is to come. At the end of her little speech she says that the Great Mother of Gods detains her at Troy. This also raises another question why did the gods want him to travel alone without his wife. Why are they giving him a...
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...Ancient Literature Essay Ancient literature includes many themes that are relevant today. Many of these stories include a hero, villain, and epic battle or journey that leads to a resolve. Often, you can see similar characteristics among these ancient writings. These ancient peoples were not much different than we are today, and that is depicted by the themes that continue to be relevant in the Common Era. An analysis of the two ancient writings The Aeneid and Agamemnon show many similar themes and blatant differences apparent in each story. By examining these two stories in detail, a greater understanding and appreciation of ancient literature can be acquired. Since man first began engaging in religious practices, stories with religious elements and themes have resulted. These two stories are no exception. Ancient Greek and Roman religious themes are present in both The Aeneid and Agamemnon. Both stories revolve around the philosophy that what we do with our lives is controlled by the Gods and to disrespect and dishonor the Gods is blasphemy, which will automatically lead to punishment. Both stories are similar in that the Gods are the beholders of the ultimate supreme power and the deciders of our hero’s fates. In other words, if it is not written by the Gods, then it is not the will of the Gods, and is therefore not to be done. It is also apparent in both stories that pleasing the Gods is everything to the characters and ultimately a deciding factor in their roles...
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