Trojan War

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Greek A legendary war foughtbetween Achaean (Greek) invaders and the defendersof Troy, a seaport at the northwestern tip of AsiaMinor, around 1200–1300 b.c. (See below for anaccount of recent archaeological discoveries thatmake it certain that such a war, or series of wars, tookplace.) The events of this war and the return to theirhomes of some of the Greek generals make up a bodyof myth that was recounted over the centuries andeventually reshaped and written down by the greatpoet Homer in two epics: the Iliad, which describesthe end of the Trojan War, and the Odyssey, thejourneys of one of the Greek heroes, Odysseus.The story of the 10-year struggle between theGreeks and Trojans is complex. The cause of thewar, according to Greek mythology, was said to be abeauty contest between three goddesses. The silverfootedsea Nymph, Thetis, and the king of Aegina,Peleus, neglected to invite Eris, goddess of strife, totheir wedding. In her anger, Eris threw "the apple ofdiscord" into the midst of the wedding throng. Theapple was inscribed "To the Fairest."Three goddesses immediately claimed the apple:Hera, the chief goddess and wife of Zeus; Athene,goddess of war; and Aphrodite, goddess of love andbeauty. When asked to make a choice among thethree goddesses, Zeus wisely declined and gave thetask to a young Trojan prince, Paris, who was said tobe exceedingly handsome.The three goddesses wooed young Paris, temptinghim with bribes. Paris succumbed to the offer ofAphrodite, who promised him the love of the mostbeautiful woman in the world in return for the apple.At that time, the most beautiful woman in theworld was Helen, the young queen of King Menelausof Sparta. Paris went to the court of Menelaus,won Helen, and carried her away to Troy.King Menelaus immediately rallied around himall the former lovelorn suitors of Helen, who hadpromised to fight anyone who might try to stealHelen away from Greece. Menelaus chose hisbrother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, as leader ofthe army. Agamemnon soon had a fleet of 1,000 shipsready to sail for Troy. (In later literature, Helen's facewas described as "the face that launched a thousandships.") Among the first victims of the war was oneof Agamemnon's daughters, Iphigenia, sacrificed inorder to gain fair winds to Troy.Achilles was the principal hero of the Greekswho took part in the Trojan War. His contingentnumbered about 50 ships and he led his own army,unlike the other Greeks who acknowledged theleadership of Agamemnon and his huge fleet. Achillescaptured a number of towns on the coast near Troy.Among his prizes was the beautiful slave girl Briseis.Agamemnon stole Briseis away from Achilles. Furious,Achilles withdrew from the war, causing a serioussetback to the Greeks. The quarrel between Achillesand Agamemnon was one of the starting points of theevents of the latter part of the Trojan War describedby Homer in the Iliad. Later, Achilles would rejoin thewar and help bring the Greeks to victory, this timeunder the leadership of his dear friend Patroclus.Hector killed Patroclus. Achilles then slew Hectorand dragged his dead body around the ruins of Troy.Led by the hero Hector, the Trojans were successfulin many major engagements, especially whenAchilles temporarily left the conflict after the quarrelwith Agamemnon. Eventually, the Trojans lost thewar when the Greek hero Odysseus had the cunningidea of hiding troops within a huge wooden horsedelivered as a gift within the walls of Troy. Theselected troops broke out of their hiding place in thedead of night, slew the Trojans, and looted and setfire to their city.The gods themselves took sides in the Trojan Warand played an active part in the hostilities. Apolloand the war god Ares supported the Trojans, as didAphrodite, the champion of Paris. Athene, Hera, andPoseidon backed the Greeks, and Hephaestus, thesmith-god, made armor for Achilles.The Trojan War was the last great communalenterprise of the Greek heroes. Although it succeededin its aim to rescue Helen, the difficulties were greatand long, and an air of failure and defeat seemed tohang over the enterprise. Few of the heroes returnedto find their homes secure.The Trojan War: Fact or Fiction? The TrojanWar of Greek mythology lasted for 10 years, endingin the sack of Troy and a victory for the Greeks.Scholars now think that such a war did indeed takeplace, around 1200–1300 b.c. Recent archaeologicalfinds confirm that there was a city of Troy. Extensive Bronze Age burial grounds and many crematory urns,perhaps some of slain heroes, have been excavated.In addition, caches of food have been found buriedbeneath the walls of the city, very likely by people fromthe countryside who were taking refuge within the citywalls during a lengthy siege by marauding tribes.It seems certain that there were numerous traderoutes common to the Greeks and the Trojans. Troy,at the northwestern tip of Asia Minor, controlled theseaway between the Aegean and the Black seas, throughthe narrow inlet called, in ancient times, the Hellespont,now known as the Dardanelles. This strait ledto the Sea of Marmara, which in turn led to the BlackSea via the passageway known as the Bosporus.Once Troy had fallen, the Greeks were able toestablish colonies along the coast of Asia Minor. Theydealt in gold, silver, iron, cinnabar, timber, linen, hemp,dried fish, oil, and Chinese jade. In fact, the returnof Helen to the Greeks may have symbolized therestoration of Greek rights to enter the Hellespont.The Iliad may be an assemblage of folk memories ofa series of raids by the Greeks against the shores ofAnatolia (Asia Minor)—and, in particular, Troy, theguardian of the Dardanelles—to ensure vital passageto the Black Sea and its valuable trade.The Wooden Horse of Troy The Trojan Warcame to an end when the Greek hero Odysseus hadthe idea of building a huge wooden horse, insidewhich would be hidden hundreds of Greek soldiers.The horse was given as a gift to the Trojans anddragged within their walls. In the dark of night, theGreek soldiers burst forth from their clever hidingplace, fought the unprepared soldiers and citizens ofTroy, and destroyed the city, thus winning the war.Many explanations for the Trojan horse have beenput forth. The most likely is that it was a batteringram, a device used to knock down walls since ancienttimes. The massive walls of Troy, with their slopingbases, presented an almost unsolvable problem toenemy forces. It seems likely that the Greeks constructeda towering "ram" that would be capable ofattacking the more vulnerable upper structure of thewalls. The "legs" raised the battering ram up to thelevel of the superstructure. The tool would be movedup to the wall on rollers. To the soldiers, the batteringram may have looked somewhat like a gigantic horse.In the ancient world, it was common for soldiers togive animal nicknames to pieces of equipment. Forexample, the Romans called their catapults scorpions.The word ram comes from the name for a male sheepor goat, which has a solid, sturdy shape.