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Trojan War

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

   The fall of Troy by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769) From the
   collections of the granddukes of Baden, Karlsruhe
   The fall of Troy by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769) From the
   collections of the granddukes of Baden, Karlsruhe

   The Trojan War was waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy
   in Asia Minor, by the armies of the Achaeans (Mycenaean Greeks), after
   Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta.
   The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was
   narrated in many works of Greek literature, of which the two most
   famous are the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer. The Iliad relates a part
   of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the
   journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders. Other parts of
   the story were narrated in a cycle of epic poems, which has only
   survived in fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for
   Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and Roman poets like
   Virgil and Ovid.

   The war sprang from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera and
   Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a
   golden apple with the inscription "to the fairest" (sometimes known as
   the Apple of Discord). The goddesses went to Paris, who judged that
   Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange,
   Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women, fall in love
   with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the
   brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean
   troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years. After the deaths of
   many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans
   Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The
   Achaeans mercilessly slaughtered the Trojans and desecrated the
   temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned to
   their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans
   later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said
   to have led the surviving Trojans to Italy.

   Ancient Greeks thought the Trojan War to be a historical event. They
   believed that it took place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and that
   Troy was located in the vicinity of the Dardanelles, which is in modern
   day Turkey. By modern times both the war and the city were widely
   believed to be non-historical. In 1870, however, the German
   archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated a site in this area which
   he believed to be the site of Troy, and at least some archaeologists
   agree. There remains no certain evidence that Homer's Troy ever
   existed, still less that any of the events of the Trojan War cycle ever
   took place. Many scholars would agree that there is a historical core
   to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a
   fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Greeks of the
   Bronze Age or Mycenean period. Those who believe that the stories of
   the Trojan War derive from a specific historical conflict usually date
   it to between 1300 BC and 1200 BC, usually preferring the dates given
   by Eratosthenes (1194 BC–1184 BC) which roughly correspond with the
   burning of Troy VIIa.
      Topics in Greek mythology

   Gods

     * Primordial gods and Titans
     * Zeus and the Olympians
     * Pan and the nymphs
     * Apollo and Dionysus
     * Sea-gods and Earth-gods

   Heroes

     * Heracles and his Labors
     * Achilles and the Trojan War
     * Odysseus and the Odyssey
     * Jason and the Argonauts
     * Perseus and the Gorgon
     * Oedipus and Thebes
     * Theseus and the Minotaur
     * Triptolemus and the
       Eleusinian Mysteries

   Related

     * Satyrs, centaurs and dragons
     * Ancient Greek religion

Origins of the war

The plan of Zeus

   According to Greek mythology, Zeus had become king of the gods by
   overthrowing his father Cronus; Cronus in turn had overthrown his
   father Ouranos. Zeus was not faithful to his wife (and sister) Hera and
   had many relationships from which many children were born. Since there
   were too many people populating the earth already he came up along with
   either Momos or Themis with the idea of the Trojan War in order to
   depopulate the Earth, especially of his demigod descendants.

The marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the Apple of Discord, and the Judgement of
Paris

   The Judgement of Paris, Peter Paul Rubens, ca 1636 (National Gallery,
   London)
   The Judgement of Paris, Peter Paul Rubens, ca 1636 (National Gallery,
   London)

   Zeus came to learn from either Themis or Prometheus, after Heracles had
   released him from Caucasus, that he himself would be overthrown by a
   son. Another prophecy said of the sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus had
   an affair, that her son would be greater than his father. Possibly for
   one or both of these reasons, Thetis was betrothed to a now-elderly
   human king, Peleus son of Aiakos, either upon Zeus' orders, or because
   Thetis wished to please Hera since she had raised her. All of the gods
   were invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding and brought gifts, except
   Eris ("Discord"), who was stopped at the door by Hermes on Zeus' order.
   Insulted, she threw from the door a gift of her own: a golden apple (το
   μήλον της έριδος) on which were inscribed the words Tēi Kallistēi ("To
   the fairest"). The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.
   They quarreled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would
   venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the
   other two. Eventually, Zeus ordered Hermes to lead the three goddesses
   to Paris, a prince of Troy, who, unaware of his ancestry, was being
   raised as a shepherd in Mount Ida, because of a prophecy that he would
   be the downfall of Troy. The goddesses appear to him naked, he is
   unable to decide between them so they then try to bribe the shepherd.
   Athena offered Paris wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of the
   greatest warriors; Hera offered him political power and control of all
   of Asia, and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman
   in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite,
   and, after several adventures, returned to Troy and was recognized by
   his royal family.

   Peleus and Thetis bore a son, whom they named Achilles. It was foretold
   that he would either die of old age after an uneventful life, or die
   young in a battlefield and gain immortality through poetry. Furthermore
   Calchas had prophesied, when Achilles was nine, that Troy could not
   fall again without his help. As an infant Thetis tried to make Achilles
   immortal. First she held him over fire to burn away his mortal parts
   every night and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day Peleus, who had
   already lost six sons this way, discovered this and stopped it. Then
   she bathed him in the River Styx, making him invulnerable wherever he
   had touched the water. She had held him by the heel, so that part
   remained mortal, and so he remained human and not a god (hence the
   expressions Achilles heel for an isolated weakness). He grew up to be
   the greatest of all mortal warriors. After Calchas' prophesy Thetis hid
   Achilles in Skyros at the court of king Lycomedes where he was
   disguised as a girl.

Elopement of Paris and Helen

   Les Amours de Pâris et d'Hélène (detail), 1788 by Jacques-Louis David
   (1748–1825) Louvre
   Les Amours de Pâris et d'Hélène (detail), 1788 by Jacques-Louis David
   (1748–1825) Louvre
   The kidnap of Helen by Francesco Primaticcio (1530–1539) Bowes Museum
   The kidnap of Helen by Francesco Primaticcio (1530–1539) Bowes Museum

   The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, one of the daughters
   of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. Her mother was Leda, who had been seduced
   (or raped) by Zeus in the form of a swan; accounts differ over which of
   Leda's four children were fathered by Zeus and which by Tyndareus.
   Helen though is usually given as Zeus' daughter and sometimes Nemesis
   is given as her mother. Helen had scores of suitors, and her father was
   unwilling to choose one for fear the others would retaliate violently.

   Finally, one of the suitors, Odysseus of Ithaca, proposed a plan to
   solve the dilemma. In exchange for Tyndareus' support of his own suit
   towards Penelope, he suggested that Tyndareus allow Helen to choose her
   husband (instead of their father, as was typical in Greece from the
   mythical age until the twentieth century, though a few mythographers
   have Tyndareus choosing him) and require all of Helen's suitors to
   promise that they would defend the marriage of Helen, regardless of
   whom she chose. The suitors duly swore the required oath on the severed
   pieces of a horse, although not without a certain amount of grumbling.

   Helen chose Menelaus to wed. He had humbly not petitioned for her
   himself, but instead sent his brother Agamemnon on his behalf. He had
   promised Aphrodite a hecatomb, a sacrifice of 100 oxen, if he won
   Helen, but forgot about it, and earned her wrath. The two brothers had
   been living at Tyndareus' court since being exiled from their homeland
   of Mycenae after their father, Atreus, was killed and had his throne
   usurped by his brother Thyestes and Thyestes' son Aegisthus. Menelaus
   inherited Tyndareus' throne of Sparta with Helen as his queen when her
   brothers Castor and Pollux became gods and Agamemnon married Helen's
   sister Clytemnestra and took back the throne of Mycenae.

   On a diplomatic mission to Sparta, Paris fell in love with Helen.
   Menelaus had to leave for Crete to bury his uncle Crateus. Paris with
   Aphrodite's help, kidnapped or seduced her and sailed to Troy carrying
   off part of Menelaus' treasure. Hera, still jealous over his judgement
   sent a storm. The storm made the lovers land in Egypt, where the gods
   replaced Helen with a likeness of her made of clouds, Nephele. (The
   myth of Helen being switched is attributed to the 6th century BC
   Sicilian poet Stesichorus. For Homer the true Helen was in Troy). Then
   the ship landed in Sidon before reaching Troy. Paris, fearful of
   getting caught, spent some time there and then sailed to Troy.

   Paris' abduction of Helen had several precedents. Io was taken from
   Mycenae, Europa, was taken from Phoenicia, Jason took Medea from
   Colchis, and the Trojan princess Hesione had been taken by Heracles who
   gave her to Telamon of Salamis. According to Herodotus, Paris was
   emboldened by these examples to steal himself a wife from Greece, and
   expected no retribution, since there had been none in the other cases.

The gathering of Achaean forces and the first expedition

   Map of Homeric Greece
   Map of Homeric Greece

   Menelaus asked Agamemnon to uphold his oath. He agreed and sent him
   Nestor along with other emissaries to all the Achaean kings and
   princes, who were called to make good their oaths and retrieve Helen.

Odysseus and Achilles

   Odysseus had by this time married Penelope and fathered a son,
   Telemachus. In order to avoid the war, he feigned madness, and sowed
   his fields with salt. Palamedes outwitted him by putting his infant son
   in front of the plough, and Odysseus turned aside, unwilling to kill
   his son, and so revealed his sanity and joined the war.
   The Discovery of Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes, painting by
   Jan de Bray (1627–1697) in 1664, Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw
   The Discovery of Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes, painting by
   Jan de Bray (1627–1697) in 1664, Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw

   At Scyros Achilles had an affair with the king's daughter Deidamea,
   resulting in a child, Neoptolemus. Odysseus, Telamonian Ajax, and
   Achilles' tutor Phoenix went to retrieve Achilles. Achilles' mother
   disguised him as a woman so that he wouldn't need to go to war, but,
   according to one story they blew a horn, and Achilles revealed himself
   by seizing a spear to fight intruders rather than fleeing. According to
   another, they disguised themselves as merchants bearing trinkets and
   weaponry, and Achilles was marked out from the other women by admiring
   the wrong goods.

   Pausanias says that according to Homer, Achilles did not hide in
   Scyros, but rather conquered the island, as part of the Trojan War.

First gathering at Aulis

   The Achean forces gathered at Aulis. All the suitors sent their forces
   except King Cinyras of Cyprus. Though he sent breastplates to Agamemnon
   and promised to send 50 ships, he sent only one real ship led by the
   son of Mygdalion and 49 ships made of mud. Idomeneus was willing to
   lead the Cretan contingent in Mycenae's war against Troy, but only as a
   co-commander which he was granted. The last one to arrive was Achilles,
   who was then 15 years old.

   Following a sacrifice to Apollo, a snake slithered from the altar to a
   sparrow's nest in a plane tree nearby. It ate the mother and her eight
   babies, then was turned to stone. Calchas interpreted this as a sign
   that Troy would fall in the tenth year of the war.

Telephus

   When the Acheans left for the war, they did not know the way, and
   accidentally landed in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus son of Heracles
   who had led a contingent of Arcadians to settle there. In the battle,
   Achilles wounded Telephus, who had killed Thersander. The wound would
   not heal so Telephus asked an oracle "What will happen to the wound?".
   The oracle responded, "he that wounded shall heal". The Achean fleet
   then set sail and was scattered by a storm. Achilles landed in Scyros
   and married Deidameia. A new gathering was set again in Aulis.

   Telephus went to Aulis, and either pretended to be a beggar, asking
   Agamemnon to help heal his wound, or kidnapped Orestes and held him for
   ransom, demanding the wound be healed. Achilles refused, claiming to
   have no medical knowledge. Odysseus reasoned that the spear had
   inflicted the wound and the spear must be able to heal it. Pieces of
   the spear were scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus was healed.
   Then Telephus showed the Acheans the route to Troy.

   Some scholars have regarded the expedition against Telephus and its
   resolution as a derivative reworking of elements from the main story of
   the Trojan War, but it has also been seen as fitting the story-pattern
   of the "preliminary adventure" that anticipates events and themes from
   the main narrative, and therefore as likely to be "early and integral".

The second gathering

   Map of the Troad (Troas)
   Map of the Troad (Troas)

   Eight years after the storm had scattered them, the fleet of more than
   a thousand ships was gathered again. But when they had all reached
   Aulis, the winds ceased. The prophet Calchas stated that the goddess
   Artemis was punishing Agamemnon for killing a sacred deer (or a deer in
   a sacred grove) and boasting that he was a better hunter than she. The
   only way to appease Artemis, he said, was to sacrifice Iphigenia, who
   was either the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, or of Helen and
   Theseus entrusted to Clytemnestra when Helen married Menelaus.
   Agamemnon refused, and the other commanders threatened to make
   Palamedes commander of the expedition. According to some versions,
   Agamemnon relented, but others claim that he sacrificed a deer in her
   place, or that at the last moment, Artemis took pity on the girl, and
   took her to be a maiden in one of her temples, substituting a lamb.
   Hesiod says that Iphigenia became the goddess Hecate.

   The Achean forces are described in detail in the Catalogue of Ships, in
   the second book of the Iliad. They consisted of 28 contingents from
   mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, the Dodecanese islands, Crete and
   Ithaca, comprising 1178 pentekontoroi, that is ships with 50 rowers.
   Thucydides says that according to tradition there were about 1200
   ships, the Boeotian ships had 120 men while Philoctetes ships only had
   the fifty rowers, these probably being maximum and minimum. These
   numbers would mean a total force of 70,000 to 130,000. Another
   catalogue of ships is given by Apollodorus that differs somewhat but
   agrees in numbers. Some scholars have claimed that Homer's catalogue is
   an original Bronze Age document, possibly the Achaean commander's order
   of operations. Others believe it was a fabrication of Homer.

   The Trojan allies are also listed in the second book of the Iliad,
   consisting of the Trojans themselves, led by Hector, and various allies
   listed as Dardanians led by Aeneas, Zeleians, Adrasteians, Percotians,
   Pelasgians, Thracians, Ciconian spearmen, Paionian archers, Halizones,
   Mysians, Phrygians, Maeonians, Miletians, Lycians led by Sarpedon and
   Carians. Nothing is said of the Trojan language; the Carians are
   specifically said to be barbarian-speaking, and the allied contingents
   are said to have spoken multiple languages, requiring orders to be
   translated by their individual commanders. It should be noted though
   that the Trojans and Acheans in the Iliad share the same religion, same
   culture and the enemy heroes speak to each other in the same language,
   though this could be dramatic effect.

Nine years of war

Philoctetes

   Philoctetes abandoned at Lemnos,detail of an Attic red-figure stamnos,
   ca. 460 BC, Campana Collection, 1861
   Philoctetes abandoned at Lemnos,detail of an Attic red-figure stamnos,
   ca. 460 BC, Campana Collection, 1861

   Philoctetes was Heracles' friend and, because he lit Heracles's funeral
   pyre when no one else would, he received Heracles' bow and arrows. He
   sailed with seven ships full of men to the Trojan War, where he was
   planning on fighting for the Acheans. They stopped either at Chryse for
   supplies, or in Tenedos along with the rest of the fleet. Philoctetes
   was then bitten by a snake. The wound festered and had a foul smell;
   Odysseus advised, and the Atreidae ordered Philoctetes to stay on
   Lemnos. Medon took control of Philoctetes's men. While landing on
   Tenedos Achilles killed king Tenes, son of Apollo, despite a warning by
   his mother that if he did so he would be killed himself by Apollo. From
   Tenedos Agamemnon sent an embassy to Priam composed of Menelaus,
   Odysseus and Palamedes asking for Helen's return. The embassy was
   refused.

   Philoctetes stayed on Lemnos for ten years, which was a deserted island
   according to Sophocles' tragedy Philoctetes, but according to earlier
   tradition was populated by Minyans.

Arrival

   Calchas had prophesied that the first Achean to walk on land after
   stepping off a ship, would be the first to die. Thus even Achilles
   hesitated to land. Finally Protesilaus, leader of the Phylaceans,
   landed first. Achilles jumped second and killed Cycnus son of Poseidon.
   The Trojans then fled to the safety of the walls of their city.
   Protesilaus had killed many Trojans but was killed by Hector or Aeneas,
   Achates or Ephorbus. The Acheans buried him as a god on the Thracian
   peninsula, across the Troad. After Protesilaus' death, his brother,
   Podarces, joined the war in his place.

Achilles' campaigns

   Achilles bandaging Patroclus ca.500 BC. Staatliche Museen,
   Antikenabteilung, Berlin
   Achilles bandaging Patroclus ca. 500 BC. Staatliche Museen,
   Antikenabteilung, Berlin

   The Acheans besieged Troy for nine years. This part of the war is the
   least developed among surviving sources, which prefer to talk about
   events in the last year of the war. After the initial landing the army
   was gathered in its entirety again only in the tenth year, due to lack
   of money as Thucydides deduces. They raided the Trojan allies and spent
   time farming the Thracian peninsula. Troy was never completely
   besieged, thus it maintained communications with the interior of Asia
   Minor. Reinforcements continued to come until the very end. Also the
   Acheans controlled only the entrance to the Dardanelles, Troy and her
   allies controlled the shortest point at Abydos and Sestus and
   communicated with allies in Europe.

   Achilles was the most active of the Acheans. According to Homer he
   conquered 11 cities and 12 islands. According to Apollodorus he raided
   the land of Aeneas in the Troad region and stole his cattle. He also
   captured Lyrnassus and Pedasus and many of the neighbouring cities, and
   killed Troilus, son of Priam who was 19 and was said that if he reached
   20 Troy would not fall. Then:

          He also took Lesbos and Phocaea, then Colophon, and Smyrna, and
          Clazomenae, and Cyme; and afterwards Aegialus and Tenos, the
          so-called Hundred Cities; then, in order, Adramytium and Side;
          then Endium, and Linaeum, and Colone. He took also Hypoplacian
          Thebes and Lyrnessus, and further Antandrus, and many other
          cities.

   Kakrides comments that the list is wrong in that it extends too far
   into the south. Other sources talk of him taking Pedasus, Monenia
   Mythemna (in Lesbos) and Peisidice.

   Among the loot from these cities was Briseis from Lyrnessus who was
   awarded to him and Chryseis from Hypoplacian Thebes who was awarded to
   Agamemnon. Achilles captured Lycaon, son of Priam, while he was cutting
   branches in his father's orchards. Patroclus sold him as a slave in
   Lemnos, where he was bought by Eetion of Imbros and brought back to
   Troy. Only 12 days later Achilles slew him (after the death of
   Patroclus).

Ajax and a game of petteia

   Telamonian Ajax laid waste the Thracian peninsula of which Polymestor,
   a son-in-law of Priam, was king. Polymestor surrendered Polydorus, one
   of Priam's children, of whom he had custody. He then attacked the town
   of the Phrygian king Teleutas, killed him in single combat and carried
   off his daughter Tecmessa. Ajax also hunted the Trojan flocks, both on
   Mount Ida and in the countryside.

   Numerous paintings on pottery have suggested a tale not mentioned in
   the literary traditions. At some point in the war Achilles and Ajax
   were playing a board game (petteia). They were absorbed in the game and
   oblivious to the surrounding battle. The Trojans attacked and reached
   the heroes, who were only saved by an intervention of Athena.

The death of Palamedes

   Odysseus was sent to Thrace to return with grain but came back
   empty-handed. When scorned by Palamedes he challenged him to do better.
   Palamedes set out also and returned with a shipload.

   Odysseus had never forgiven Palamedes for threatening the life of his
   son. So Odysseus conceived a plot. An incriminating letter was forged,
   from Priam to Palamedes, and gold was planted in Palamedes' quarters.
   The letter and gold were "discovered", and Agamemnon had Palamedes
   stoned to death for treason.

   However, Pausanias, quoting the Cypria, says that Odysseus and Diomedes
   drowned Palamedes, while he was fishing, and Dictys says that Odysseus
   and Diomedes, lured Palamedes into a well, which they said contained
   gold, then stoned him to death.

   Palamedes' father Nauplius sailed to the Troad and asked for justice,
   but was refused. In revenge Nauplius traveled among the Achaean
   kingdoms and told the wives of the kings that they were bringing Trojan
   concubines to dethrone them. Many of the Greek wives were persuaded to
   betray their husbands, most significantly Agamemnon's wife,
   Clytemnestra with Aegisthus, son of Thyestes.

Mutiny

   Near the end of the ninth year since the landing the Achean army, tired
   from the fighting and from the lack of supplies, mutinied against their
   leaders and demanded to return to their homes. According to the Cypria
   Achilles forced the army to stay. According to Apollodorus Agamemnon
   brought the Wine Growers, daughters of Anius son of Apollo, who had the
   gift of producing by touch wine, wheat, and oil from the earth, in
   order to relieve the supply problem of the army.

The Iliad

   Chryses pleading with Agamemnon for his daughter,ca. 360 BC–350 BC
   Louvre
   Chryses pleading with Agamemnon for his daughter,ca. 360 BC–350 BC
   Louvre
   Thetis gives her son Achilles his weapons newly forged by Hephaestus,
   detail of an Attic black-figure hydria, ca. 575 BC–550 BCLouvre
   Thetis gives her son Achilles his weapons newly forged by Hephaestus,
   detail of an Attic black-figure hydria, ca. 575 BC–550 BC Louvre

   Chryses, a priest of Apollo and father of Chryseis, came to Agamemnon
   to ask for the return of his daughter. Agamemnon refused, and insulted
   Chryses, who prayed to Apollo to avenge his ill-treatment. Enraged,
   Apollo afflicted the Achaean army with plague. Agamemnon was forced to
   return Chryseis to end the plague, and took Achilles' concubine Briseis
   as his own. Enraged at the dishonor Agamemnon had inflicted upon him,
   Achilles decided he would no longer fight. He asked his mother, Thetis,
   to intercede with Zeus, who agreed to give the Trojans success in the
   absence of Achilles, the best warrior of the Achaeans.

   After the withdrawal of Achilles, the Achaeans were initially
   successful. Both armies gathered in full for the first time since the
   landing. Menelaus and Paris fought a duel, which ended when Aphrodite
   snatched the beaten Paris from the field. With the truce broken, the
   armies began fighting again. Diomedes won great renown amongst the
   Acheans, killing the Trojan hero Pandaros and nearly killed Aeneas, who
   was only saved by his mother Aphrodite. With the assistance of Athena,
   he then wounded the gods Aphrodite and Ares. Through the next days,
   however, the Trojans had the upper hand. They drove back the Acheans to
   their camp. On the first day of the Trojan attack they were stopped at
   the Achean wall by Poseidon. The next day, though, with Zeus' help, the
   Trojans broke into the Achaean camp and were on the verge of setting
   fire to the Achaean ships. An earlier appeal to Achilles to return was
   rejected, but after Hector burned Protesilaus' ship, he allowed his
   close friend and relative Patroclus to go into battle wearing Achilles'
   armor and leading his army. Patroclus drove the Trojans back all the
   way to the walls of Troy and was only prevented from storming the city
   by the intervention of Apollo. Patroclus was then killed by Hector
   (with Apollo's help), who took Achilles' armor from the body of
   Patroclus.

   Achilles, maddened with grief, swore to kill Hector in revenge. He was
   reconciled with Agamemnon and received Briseis back, untouched by
   Agamemnon. He received a new set of arms, forged by the god Hephaestus,
   and returned to the battlefield. He slaughtered many Trojans, and
   nearly killed Aeneas, who was saved by Poseidon. Achilles fought with
   the river Scamander, and a battle of the gods followed. The Trojan army
   returned to the city, except for Hector, who remained outside because
   he was tricked by Athena. Achilles killed Hector, and afterwards he
   dragged Hector's body from his chariot and refused to return the body
   to the Trojans for burial. The Achaeans then conducted funeral games
   for Patroclus. Afterwards, Priam came to Achilles' tent, guided by
   Hermes, and asked Achilles to return Hector's body. The armies made a
   temporary truce to allow the burial of the dead. The Iliad ends with
   the funeral of Hector.

After the Iliad

   Achilles killing Penthesilea, Antikensammlung, Munich
   Achilles killing Penthesilea, Antikensammlung, Munich

Penthesilea and the death of Achilles

   Shortly after the burial of Hector, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons
   arrived with her warriors. Penthesilea, daughter of Otrere and Ares,
   had killed by accident her sister Hippolyte. She was purified from this
   by Priam and in exchange, she fought for him and killed many, including
   Machaon (although according to Pausanias, Machaon was killed by
   Eurypylus) and according to one version Achilles himself, who was
   resurrected at the request of Thetis. Penthesilia was then killed by
   Achilles who fell in love with her beauty, after her death. Thersites,
   a simple soldier and the ugliest Achaean, taunted Achilles over his
   love and gouged out Penthesilea's eyes. Achilles slew Thersites, and
   after a dispute sailed to Lesbos where he was purified for his murder
   by Odysseus after sacrificing to Apollo, Artemis and Leto.

   While they were away, Memnon of Ethiopia, son of Tithonus and Eos came
   with his host to help his stepbrother Priam. He did not come directly
   from Ethiopia, but either from Susa in Persia, conquering all the
   peoples in between, or from the Caucasus, leading an army of Ethiopians
   and Indians. He wore armor made by Hephaestus, like Achilles. In the
   ensuing battle, Memnon killed Antilochus, who took one of Memnon's
   blows to save his father Nestor. Then Achilles and Memnon fought. Zeus
   weighed the fate of the two heroes, and the weight containing that of
   Memnon sank, and Memnon was slain by Achilles. Achilles chased the
   Trojans to their city which he entered. The gods, seeing that he had
   killed too many of their children decided that it was his time to die.
   He was killed by Paris with a poisoned arrow that was guided by Apollo.
   In another version he is killed by a knife to the back (or heel) by
   Paris while marrying Polyxena daughter of Priam in the temple of
   Thymbraean Apollo, the site where he had earlier killed Troilus. Both
   versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valour, saying
   Achilles remained undefeated on the battlefield. His bones were mingled
   with those of Patroclus, and funeral games were held. Like Ajax, he is
   represented as living after his death in the island of Leuke at the
   mouth of the Danube where he is married to Helen.

The Judgment of Arms: Achilles' armour and the death of Ajax

   Ajax preparing to commit suicide
   Ajax preparing to commit suicide

   A great battle raged around the dead Achilles. Ajax held back the
   Trojans, while Odysseus carried the body away. When Achilles' armour
   was offered to the smartest, the two that had saved his body came
   forward as competitors. Agamemnon, unwilling to undertake the invidious
   duty of deciding between the two competitors, referred the dispute to
   the decision of the Trojan prisoners, inquiring of them which of the
   two heroes had done most harm to the Trojans. Alternatively the Trojans
   and Pallas Athena were the judges in that, following Nestor's advice,
   spies were sent to the walls to overhear what was said. A girl said
   that Ajax was braver:

          For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus'
          son: this great Odysseus cared not to do.
          To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
          Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue!
          Even a woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her
          shoulder; but she could not fight. For she would fail with fear
          if she should fight. (Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056
          and Aristophanes ib)

   Ajax having committed suicide
   Ajax having committed suicide

   According to Pindar, the decision was by secret ballot among the
   Acheans. In any case the arms were awarded to Odysseus. Driven mad with
   grief, Ajax desired to kill his comrades, but Athena caused him to
   mistake the cattle and their herdsmen for the Achean wariors. In his
   frenzy he scourged two rams, believing them to be Agamemnon and
   Menelaus. In the morning, he came to his senses and killed himself by
   jumping on the sword that had been given to him by Hector, so that it
   pierced his armpit, his only vulnerable part. According to an older
   tradition he was killed by the Trojans who, seeing he was invulnerable,
   attacked him with clay until he was covered by it and could no longer
   move, thus dying of starvation.

The prophecies

   After the tenth year, it was prophesied that Troy could not fall
   without Heracles' bow (which was with Philoctetes in Lemnos). So
   Odysseus and Diomedes retrieved Philoctetes, whose wound was healed.
   Philoctetes then shot and killed Paris.

   According to Apollodorus, Paris' brothers Helenus and Deiphobus vied
   over the hand of Helen. Deiphobus prevailed and Helenus abandoned Troy
   for Mt. Ida. But Chalcas said that Helenus knew the prophecies
   concerning the fall of Troy, so Odysseus waylaid Helenus. Under
   coercion, Helenus told the Acheans that they would win, if they
   retrieved Pelops' bones, persuaded Achilles' son Neoptolemus to fight
   for them, and stole the Trojan Palladium.

   The Greeks retrieved Pelop's bones, and sent Odysseus to retrieve
   Neoptolemus, who was hiding from the war in king Lycomedes's court in
   Scyros. Odysseus gave him his father's arms. Eurypylus, son of
   Telephus, leading a large force of Kêteioi according to Homer (could
   they be Hittites?) or Mysians according to Apollodorus, arrived to aid
   the Trojans. He killed Machaon and Peneleus but was slain by
   Neoptolemus.

   Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus went to spy inside Troy, but was
   recognized by Helen. Homesick, Helen plotted with Odysseus. Later, with
   Helen's help, Odysseus and Diomedes stole the Palladium.

Trojan Horse

   19th century etching of the Trojan Horse
   19th century etching of the Trojan Horse

   The end of the war came with one final plan. Odysseus devised a new
   ruse—a giant hollow wooden horse, an animal that was sacred to the
   Trojans. It was built by Epeius, guided by Athena, from the wood of a
   cornel tree grove sacred to Apollo, with the inscription:

          The Greeks dedicate this thank-offering to Athena for their
          return home.

   The hollow horse was filled with soldiers led by Odysseus. The rest of
   the army burned the camp and sailed for Tenedos.

   When the Trojans discovered that the Greeks were gone, believing the
   war was over, they "joyfully dragged the horse inside the city", while
   they debated what to do with it. Some thought they ought to hurl it
   down from the rocks, others to burn it, while others said they ought to
   dedicate it to Athena.

   Both Cassandra and Laocoön warned against keeping the horse. But
   Cassandra, given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, was also cursed by
   Apollo to never be believed. Then serpents came out of the sea and
   devoured either Laocoön and one of his two sons, Laocoön and both his
   sons, or only his sons, a portent which so alarmed the followers of
   Aeneas that they withdrew to Ida. The Trojans decided to keep the horse
   and turned to a night of mad revelry and celebration. Sinon, an Achean
   spy, signaled the fleet stationed at Tenedos when "it was midnight and
   the clear moon was rising" and the soldiers from inside the horse
   emerged and killed the guards.

   Some have suggested that the Trojan Horse actually represents an
   earthquake that occurred between the wars that could have weakened
   Troy's walls and left them open for attack. Structural damage on Troy
   VI—its location being the same as that represented in Homer's Iliad and
   the artifacts found there suggesting it was a place of great trade and
   power—shows signs that there was indeed an earthquake. Generally though
   today Troy VIIa is believed to be Homer's Troy (see below).

   Others have suggested that the Horse was a piece of siege machinery.
   Pausanias wrote:

          That the work of Epeius was a contrivance to make a breach in
          the Trojan wall is known to everybody who does not attribute
          utter silliness to the Phrygians.

   where by Phrygians he means the Trojans. Karykas notes that 3,000, the
   number of men in the horse, according to Apollodorus, given by the
   oldest source, the Little Iliad, was the size of the crew of a
   helepolis, a piece of siege machinery of the hellenistic era.
   Furthermore he notes that the Assyrians at the time used siege machines
   with animal names. Robert Graves believes that Troy would have likely
   been taken by a wheeled wooden tower covered with wet horse hides
   protecting against incendiary arrows.

The sack of Troy

   Priam killed by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, detail of an Attic
   black-figure amphora, ca. 520 BC–510 BC Louvre
   Priam killed by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, detail of an Attic
   black-figure amphora, ca. 520 BC–510 BC Louvre

   The Acheans entered the city and killed the sleeping population. A
   great massacre followed which continued into the day.

          Blood ran in torrents, drenched was all the earth,
          As Trojans and their alien helpers died.
          Here were men lying quelled by bitter death
          All up and down the city in their blood.

   Neoptolemus killed Priam, who had taken refuge at the altar of Zeus of
   the Courtyard. Menelaus killed Deiphobus, Helen's husband after Paris'
   death, and also intended to kill Helen, but overcome by her beauty,
   threw down his sword and took her to the ships.

   Ajax the Lesser raped Cassandra on Athena's altar while she was
   clinging to her statue. Because of Ajax's impiety, the Acheaens, urged
   by Odysseus, wanted to stone him to death, but he fled to Athena's
   altar, and was spared.

   Antenor, who had given hospitality to Menelaus and Odysseus when they
   asked for the return of Helen, and who had advocated so, was spared,
   along with his family. Aeneas took his father on his back and fled, and
   according to Apollodorus, was allowed to go because of his piety.

   The Greeks then burned the city and divided the spoils. Cassandra was
   awarded to Agamemnon. Neoptolemus got Andromache, wife of Hector and
   Odysseus, Hecuba, Priam's wife.

   The Achaeans threw Hector's infant son Astyanax down from the walls of
   Troy, either out of cruelty and hate or to end the royal line, and the
   possibllity of a son's revenge. They (by usual tradition Neoptolemus)
   also sacrificed the Trojan princess Polyxena on the grave of Achilles
   as demanded by his ghost, either as part of his spoil or because she
   had betrayed him.

   Aethra, Theseus' mother, and one of Helen's handmaids, was rescued by
   her grandsons, Demophon and Acamas.

The returns

   The gods were very angry over the destruction of their temples and
   other sacrilegious acts by the Acheans and decided that most would not
   return. A storm fell on the returning fleet off Tenos island. Also
   Nauplius, in revenge for the murder of his son Palamedes, set up false
   lights in Cape Caphereus (also known today as Cavo D'Oro, in Euboea)
   and many were shipwrecked.

   Nestor, who had the best conduct in Troy and did not take part in the
   looting, was the only hero who had a good, fast and safe return. Those
   of his army that survived the war also reached home with him safely but
   later left and colonised Metapontium in Southern Italy.
   Poseidon smites Ajax the Lesser by Genelli Bonaventura (1798–1868)
   Poseidon smites Ajax the Lesser by Genelli Bonaventura (1798–1868)

   Ajax the Lesser, who had endured more than the others the wrath of the
   Gods never returned. His ship was wrecked by a storm sent by Athena who
   borrowed one of Zeus' thunderbolts and tore it to pieces. The crew
   managed to land in a rock but Poseidon struck it and Ajax fell in the
   sea and drowned. He was buried by Thetis in Myconos or Delos.

   Teucer son of Telamon and brother of the other Ajax stood trial by his
   father for his brother's death. He was not allowed to land and was at
   sea near Phreattys in Peiraeus. He was acquitted of responsibility but
   found guilty of negligence because he did not return his dead body or
   his arms. He left with his army (who took their wives) and founded
   Salamis in Cyprus. The Athenians later created a political myth that
   his son left his kingdom to Theseus' sons (and not to Megara).

   Neoptolemus, following Helenus' advice who accompanied him travelled
   over land, always accompanied by Andromache. He met Odysseus and they
   buried Phoenix, Achilles' teacher, on the land of the Ciconians. Then
   they conquered the land of the Molossians ( Epirus) and had a child by
   Andromache, Molossus to whom he later gave the throne. Thus the kings
   of Epirus claimed descendance from Achilles, and so did Alexander the
   Great whose mother was of that royal house.Alexander the Great and the
   kings of Macedon also claimed descendance from Heracles. Helenus
   founded a city in Molossia and inhabited it, and Neoptolemus gave him
   his mother Deidamia as wife. After Peleus died he also succeed Phtia's
   throne too. He had a feud with Orestes, son of Agamemon over Menelaus'
   daughter Hermione and was killed in Delphi, where he was buried. In
   Roman myths the kingdom of Phtia was taken over by Helenus who married
   Andromache. They offered hospitality to other Trojan refugees including
   Aeneas who paid a visit there during his wonderings.

   Diomedes was first thrown by a storm on the coast of Lycia, where he
   was to be sacrificed to Ares by king Lycus but Callirrhoe, the king's
   daughter, took pity upon him, and assisted him in escaping. Then he
   accidentally landed in Attica in Phaleron. The Athenians, unaware that
   they were allies attacked them. Many were killed and the Palladium was
   taken by Demophon. He finally landed in Argos where his wife Aegialeia
   was committing adultery and, in disgust, left for Aetolia. According to
   later traditions he had some adventures and founded Canusium and
   Argyrippa in Southern Italy.

   Philoctetes due to a sedition was driven from his city and emigrated to
   Italy where he founded the cities of Petilia, Old Crimissa, and Chone,
   between Croton and Thurii. After making war on the Leucanians he
   founded there a sanctuary of Apollo the Wanderer, to whom also he
   dedicated his bow.

   For Homer Idomeneus reached his house safe and sound. Another tradition
   was formed later. After the war, Idomeneus's ship hit a horrible storm.
   Idomeneus promised Poseidon that he would sacrifice the first living
   thing he saw when he returned home if Poseidon would save his ship and
   crew. The first living thing was his son, whom Idomeneus duly
   sacrificed. The gods were angry at his murder of his own son and they
   sent a plague to Crete. His people sent him into exile to Calabria in
   Italy, and then Colophon, in Asia Minor, where he died. Among the
   lesser Acheans very few reached their homes.

House of Atreus

   The murder of Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from
   the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church.
   The murder of Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from
   the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church.

   According to the Odyssey, Menelaus's fleet was blown by storms to Crete
   and Egypt where they were unable to sail away because the wind was
   calm. Only 5 of his ships survived. Menelaus had to catch Proteus, a
   shape-shifting sea god, to find out what sacrifices to which gods he
   would have to make to guarantee safe passage. According to some stories
   the Helen who was taken by Paris was a fake, and the real Helen was in
   Egypt where she was reunited with Menelaus at this point. Proteus also
   told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium (Heaven) after his
   death. Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen 8 years after he had left
   Troy.

   Agamemnon returned home with Cassandra to Argos. His wife Clytemnestra
   (Helen's sister) was having an affair with Aegisthus, son of Thyestes,
   Agamemnon's cousin who had conquered Argos before Agamemnon himself
   retook it. Possibly out of vengeance for the death of Iphigenia,
   Clytemnestra plotted with her lover to kill Agamemnon. Cassandra
   foresaw this murder, and warned Agamemnon, but he disregarded her. He
   was killed, either at a feast or in his bath according to different
   versions. Cassandra was also killed. Agamemnon's son Orestes, who had
   been away, returned and conspired with his sister Electra to avenge
   their father. He killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and succeeded to his
   father's throne.

The Odyssey

   Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre
   Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre

   Odysseus' ten year journey home to Ithaca was told in Homer's Odyssey.
   Odysseus and his men were blown far off course to lands unknown to the
   Achaeans; there Odysseus had many adventures, including the famous
   encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus, and an audience with the seer
   Teiresias in Hades. On the island of Thrinacia, Odysseus' men ate the
   cattle sacred to the sun-god Helios. For this sacrilege Odysseus' ships
   were destroyed, and all his men perished. Odysseus had not eaten the
   cattle, and was allowed to live; he washed ashore on the island of
   Ogygia, and lived there with the nymph Calypso. After seven years, the
   gods decided to send Odysseus home; on a small raft, he sailed to
   Scheria, the home of the Phaeacians, who gave him passage to Ithaca.

   There Odysseus traveled disguised as an old beggar by Athena he was
   recognised by his dog Argos who died in his lap. Then he discovered his
   wife was faithful to him all these years despite the countless suitors
   that were eating and spending his property all these years. With his
   son's Telemachus' help and those of Athena, and Eumaeus, the swineherd,
   killed all of them except Medôn, who had been polite to Penelope, and
   Phemius, a local singer who had only been forced to help the suitors
   against Penelope. Penelope tested him and made sure it was him, and he
   forgave her. On the next day the suitor's relatives tried to revenge on
   him but they were stopped by Athena.

   Years later Odysseus' son Telegonus of Circe came from the sea and
   plundered the island thinking it was Corcyra. Odysseus and Telemachus,
   defended their city and Telegonus accidentally killed his father with
   the spine of a stingray. He brought the body back to Aeaea and took
   Penelope, Odysseus' widow, and Telemachus, Odysseus' son, with him.
   Circe made them immortal and married Telemachus, while Telegonus made
   Penelope his wife. This is where the tale of the Trojan War for Greek
   mythology ends. According to a Roman tradition Odysseus did not die
   this way: when old he took a ship to sea and, crossing the Pillars of
   Heracles he discovered the estuary of the Tagus river and found there
   the city of Lisbon.

The Aeneid

   Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 Galleria Borghese,
   Rome
   Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 Galleria Borghese,
   Rome

   Aeneas led a group of survivors away from the city, including his son
   Ascanius, his trumpeter Misenus, father Anchises, the healer Iapyx, all
   the Lares and Penates and Mimas as a guide. His wife Creusa was killed
   during the sack of the city. They fled Troy with a number of ships,
   seeking to establish a new homeland elsewhere. They landed in several
   nearby countries that proved inhospitable and finally were told by a
   Sibyl that they had to return to the land of their forebears. They
   first tried Crete, where Dardanus had once settled, but found it
   ravaged by the same plague that had driven Idomeneus away. They found
   the colony led by Helenus and Andromache, but declined to remain. After
   seven years they arrived in Carthage, where Aeneas had an affair with
   Dido. Eventually the gods ordered him to continue onward (Dido
   committed suicide), and he and his people arrived at the mouth of the
   river Tiber in Italy. There a Sibyl took him to the underworld and
   foretold the majesty of Rome, which would be founded by his people. He
   negotiated a settlement with the local king, Lavinius, and was wed to
   his daughter, Lavinia. This triggered a war with other local tribes,
   which culminated in the founding of the settlement of Alba Longa, ruled
   by Aeneas and Lavinia's son Silvius. Three hundred years later,
   according to Roman myth, his descendants Romulus and Remus founded
   Rome. The details of the journey of Aeneas, his affair with Dido, and
   his settling in Italy are the subject of the Roman epic poem The Aeneid
   by Virgil. According to tradition though Carthage was founded in 814
   BC, so the true Aeneas, if he had ventured to the West he would have
   found little more than villages.

Date of the Trojan War

   Since this war was considered among the ancient Greeks as either the
   last event of the mythical age or the first event of the historical
   age, several dates are given for the fall of Troy. They usually derive
   from genealogies of kings. Ephorus gives 1135 BC, Sosibius 1172 BC,
   Eratosthenes 1184 BC/ 1183 BC, Plato 1193 BC, the Parian marble 1209
   BC/ 1208 BC, Dicaearchus 1212 BC, Herodotus around 1250 BC, Eretes 1291
   BC while Douris 1334 BC. As for the exact day Ephorus gives 23/24
   Thargelion (July 6 or 7), Hellanicus 12 Thargelion ( May 26) while
   others give the 23rd of Sciroforion ( July 7) or the 23rd of Ponamos (
   October 7)

   The glorious and rich city Homer describes was believed to be Troy VI
   by many twentieth century authors, destroyed in 1275 BC, probably by
   earthquake. Its follower Troy VIIa, destroyed by fire at some point
   during the 1180s BC, was long considered a poorer city, but since the
   excavation campaign of 1988 it has risen to the most likely candidate.

Historicity of the Trojan War

   The Hittite Empire of Asia Minor in ca. 1300 BC (light red)
   The Hittite Empire of Asia Minor in ca. 1300 BC (light red)

   The historicity of the Trojan War is still subject to debate. Homer's
   stories are believed by many to be the merging of military conflicts
   fought against Troy. In his merging, he creates many characters out of
   gods and uses many metaphors. Most classical Greeks thought that the
   war was a historical event, but many believed that the Homeric poems
   had exaggerated the events to suit the demands of poetry. For instance,
   the historian Thucydides, who is known for his critical spirit,
   considers it a true event but doubts that 1186 ships were sent to Troy.
   Euripides started changing Greek myths at will, including those of the
   Trojan War. Around 1870 it was generally agreed in Western Europe that
   the Trojan War never had happened and Troy never existed. Then Heinrich
   Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy and of the Mycenaean cities of
   Greece. Today many scholars agree that the Trojan War is based on a
   historical core of a Greek expedition against the city of Troy, but few
   would argue that the Homeric poems faithfully represent the actual
   events of the war.

   In the twentieth century scholars have attempted to draw conclusions
   based on Hittite and Egyptian texts that date to the time of the Trojan
   War. While they give a general description of the political situation
   in the region at the time, their information on whether this particular
   conflict took place is limited. Hittite archives, like the Tawagalawa
   letter mention of a kingdom of Ahhiyawa (Achaea, or Greece) that lies
   beyond the sea (that would be the Aegean) and controls Milliwanda,
   which is identified with Miletus. Also mentioned in this and other
   letters is the Assuwa confederation made of 22 cities and countries
   which included the city of Wilusa (Ilios or Ilium). The Milawata letter
   implies this city lies on the north of the Assuwa confederation, beyond
   the Seha river. While the identification of Wilusa with Ilium, that is
   Troy, is always controversial in the 1990s it gained majority
   acceptance. In the Alaksandu treaty (ca. 1280 BC) the king of the city
   is named Alakasandu, and it must be noted that Paris' son of Priam's
   name in the Iliad (among other works) is Alexander. The Tawagalawa
   letter (dated ca. 1250 BC) which is addressed to the king of Ahhiyawa
   actually says:

          Now as we have come to an agreement on Wilusa over which we went
          to war...

   Formerly under the Hittites, the Assawa confederation defected after
   the battle of Kadesh between Egypt and the Hittites (ca. 1274 BC). In
   1230 BC hittite king Tudhaliya IV (ca. 1240 BC– 1210 BC) campaigned
   against this federation. Under Arnuwanda III (ca. 1210 BC– 1205 BC) the
   Hittites were forced to abandon the lands they controlled in the coast
   of the Aegean. It is possible that the Trojan War was a conflict
   between the king of Ahhiyawa and the Assuwa confederation. This view
   has been supported in that the entire war includes the landing in Mysia
   (and Telephus' wounding), Achille's campaigns in the North Aegean and
   Telamonian Ajax's campaigns in Thrace and Phrygia. Most of these
   regions were part of Assuwa. It has also been noted that there is great
   similarity between the names of the Sea Peoples, which at that time
   were raiding Egypt, as they are listed by Ramesses III and Merneptah,
   and of the allies of the Trojans.

   There is debate whether the communication network of the fire relays
   existed throughout the war and possibly worked both ways or it was an
   invention of Aeschylus. While there is evidence there was a fire-relay
   system in Greece in ancient or Byzantine times, there is no evidence
   that it was in place at the time of the Trojan War and Aescylus is the
   only surviving source that mentions it.

   That most Achean heroes did not return to their homes and founded
   colonies elsewhere was interpreted by Thucydides as being due to their
   long absence. Nowadays the interpretation followed by most scholars is
   that the Achean leaders driven out of their lands by the turmoil at the
   end of the Mycenean era preferred to claim descendance from exiles of
   the Trojan War.

Warfare

   Even though Mycene was a maritime power that managed to launch over a
   thousand ships and Troy at the very least had built the fleet with
   which Paris took Helen no sea-battle takes place throughout the
   conflict and Phereclus, the shipbuilder of Troy, fights on foot.

   The heroes of the Iliad are dressed in elaborate and well described
   armor. They ride to the battle field on a chariot, throw a spear to the
   enemy formation and then dismount, use their other spear and engage in
   personal combat. Telamonian Ajax's carried a large tower-shaped shield
   (σάκος) that was used not only to cover him but also his brother:

          Ninth came Teucer, stretching his curved bow.
          He stood beneath the shield of Ajax, son of Telamon.
          As Ajax cautiously pulled his shield aside,
          Teucer would peer out quickly, shoot off an arrow,
          hit someone in the crowd, dropping that soldier
          right where he stood, ending his life—then he'd duck back,
          crouching down by Ajax, like a child beside its mother.
          Ajax would then conceal him with his shining shield.
          (Iliad 8.267–272, translated by Ian Johnston)

   Ajax's shield was heavy and difficult to carry. It was thus more suited
   for defence than offence. His cousin Achilles on the other hand had a
   large round shield that he used along with his famous spear with great
   success against the Trojans. Round or eight-sided was the shield of the
   simple soldier. Unlike the heroes they rarely had a breast-plate and
   relied exclusively on the shield for defence. They would form very
   dense formations:

          Just as a man constructs a wall for some high house,
          using well-fitted stones to keep out forceful winds,
          that's how close their helmets and bossed shields lined up,
          shield pressing against shield, helmet against helmet
          man against man. On the bright ridges of the helmets,
          horsehair plumes touched when warriors moved their heads.
          That's how close they were to one another.
          (Iliad 16.213–7, translated by Ian Johnston)

   Once Homer actually calls the formation phalanx though the true phalanx
   formation appears in the 7th century BC. Was this the way that the true
   Trojan War was fought? Most scholars do not believe so. The chariot was
   the main weapon in battles of the time, like the battle of Kadesh.
   There is evidence from the Dendra armor and paintings at the palace of
   Pylus that the Acheans used two men chariots, with the principal rider
   armed with a long spear, unlike the Hittite three-men chariots whose
   riders were armed with shorter spears or the two men chariots armed
   with arrows used by Egyptians and Syrians. Homer is aware of the use of
   chariots as a main weapon. Nestor places his charioteers in front of
   the rest of his troop and tells them:

          In your eagerness to engage the Trojans,
          don't any of you charge ahead of others,
          trusting in your strength and horsemanship.
          And don't lag behind. That will hurt our charge.
          Any man whose chariot confronts an enemy's
          should thrust with his spear at him from there.
          That's the most effective tactic, the way
          men wiped out city strongholds long ago—
          their chests full of that style and spirit.

   (Iliad 4.301–309, translated by Ian Johnston)

   For Homer this is the old style of fighting, used by the more backward
   and small kingdoms like Pylus. Nestor describes a battle between Pylus
   and Elis that took place when he was young that was mainly fought with
   chariots.

   Achilles uses his chariot to go behind enemy lines and attack the
   Trojans from behind thus bringing about a great massacre. Karykas'
   believes that fighting on chariots was generally abandoned by the
   Acheans a little before the Trojan War and that Homer describes the
   battles as they took place. While the opinion that Homer is describing
   the war as it took place has appeared from time to time among modern
   Greek writers who were of the military profession the vast majority of
   scholars believe Homer is describing how war was waged at the time he
   lived.

Trojan War in art and literature

   A full listing of works inspired by the Trojan War has not been
   attempted, since the inspiration provided by these events produced so
   many works that a list that merely mentions them by name would be
   larger than the full tale of the events of the war. The siege of Troy
   provided inspiration for many works of art, most famously Homer's
   Iliad, set in the last year of the siege. Some of the others include
   Troades by Euripides, Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus
   and Cressida by William Shakespeare, Iphigenia and Polyxena by Samuel
   Coster, Palamedes by Joost van den Vondel and Les Troyens by Hector
   Berlioz.

   The war has also been featured in many books, films, television series,
   and other creative works.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War"
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