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TROJAN WAR
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This is an extract from the
Wikipedia entry which has
extensive footnotes, bibligraphy, and illustrations. Fpr many of the sections
it names another more detailed entry.
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In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged
against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took
Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most
important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of
Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II
XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year
of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of
Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a
cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the
war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature,
and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The war originated from a
quarrel between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the
goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the
Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses
to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive
the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women
and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Menelaus's
brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy
and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult. 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
slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they
kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods'
wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded
colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas,
Aphrodite's son and one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving
Trojans to modern-day Italy. The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located
near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the 13th
or 12th century , but by the mid-19th century AD, both the war and the city
were widely seen as non-historical. In 1868, however, the German archaeologist
Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was a
real city at what is now Hisarlik in Turkey. On the basis of excavations
conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most
scholars. Whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War remains
an open question. Many scholars believe 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 Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze
Age. Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived from a
specific historical conflict usually date it to the 12th or 11th century ,
often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 11941184 , which
roughly correspond to archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy
VII,[4] and the Late Bronze Age collapse.
Sources:
The events of the Trojan War are found in many works of Greek literature and
depicted in numerous works of Greek art. There is no single, authoritative text
which tells the entire events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from
a variety of sources, some of which report contradictory versions of the
events. The most important literary sources are the two epic poems
traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed sometime
between the 9th and 6th centuries . Each poem narrates only a part of the war.
The Iliad covers a short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while
the Odyssey concerns Odysseus's return to his home island of Ithaca following
the sack of Troy and contains several flashbacks to particular episodes in the
war. Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle,
also known as the Cyclic Epics: the Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliou
Persis, Nostoi, and Telegony. Though these poems survive only in fragments,
their content is known from a summary included in Proclus' Chrestomathy. The
authorship of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain. It is generally thought that the
poems were written down in the 7th and 6th century , after the composition of
the Homeric poems, though it is widely believed that they were based on earlier
traditions. Both the Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral
tradition. Even after the composition of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic
Epics, the myths of the Trojan War were passed on orally in many genres of
poetry and through non-poetic storytelling. Events and details of the story
that are only found in later authors may have been passed on through oral
tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems. Visual art, such as vase
painting, was another medium in which myths of the Trojan War circulated. In
later ages playwrights, historians, and other intellectuals would create works
inspired by the Trojan War. The three great tragedians of
AthensAeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripideswrote a number of dramas
that portray episodes from the Trojan War. Among Roman writers the most
important is the 1st century poet Virgil; in Book 2 of his Aeneid, Aeneas
narrates the sack of Troy.
Legend:
The following summary of the Trojan War follows the order of events as given in
Proclus' summary, along with the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, supplemented with
details drawn from other authors.
Origins of the war:
According to Greek mythology, Zeus had become king of the gods by overthrowing
his father Cronus; Cronus in turn had overthrown his father Uranus. Zeus was
not faithful to his wife and sister Hera, and had many relationships from which
many children were born. Since Zeus believed that there were too many people
populating the earth, he envisioned Momus or Themis, who was to use the Trojan
War as a means to depopulate the Earth, especially of his demigod descendants.
These can be supported by Hesiod's account: Now all the gods were divided
through strife; for at that very time Zeus who thunders on high was meditating
marvelous deeds, even to mingle storm and tempest over the boundless earth, and
already he was hastening to make an utter end of the race of mortal men,
declaring that he would destroy the lives of the demi-gods, that the children
of the gods should not mate with wretched mortals, seeing their fate with their
own eyes; but that the blessed gods henceforth even as aforetime should have
their living and their habitations apart from men. But on those who were born
of immortals and of mankind verily Zeus laid toil and sorrow upon sorrow.
Judgement of Paris:
Main article: Judgement of Paris:
Zeus came to learn from either Themis or Prometheus, after Heracles had
released him from Caucasus, that, like his father Cronus, he would be
overthrown by one of his sons. Another prophecy stated that a son of the
sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the
oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father. Possibly for
one or both of these reasons, Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king,
Peleus son of Aeacus, either upon Zeus' orders, or because she wished to please
Hera, who had raised her.[18] All of the gods were invited to Peleus and
Thetis' wedding and brought many gifts, except Eris (the goddess of discord),
who was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus' order.[20] Insulted, she threw
from the door a gift of her own: a golden apple on which was inscribed the word
Kallistei ("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. After bathing in the spring of Ida, the goddesses appeared to him naked,
either for the sake of winning or at Paris' request. Paris was unable to decide
between them, so the goddesses resorted to bribes. 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, where he
was recognized by his royal family. Thetis gives her son Achilles weapons
forged by Hephaestus (detail of Attic black-figure hydria, 575550. 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, when Achilles was nine years
old, Calchas had prophesied that Troy could not again fall without his help. A
number of sources credit Thetis with attempting to make Achilles immortal when
he was an infant. Some of these state that she held him over fire every night
to burn away his mortal parts and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day, but
Peleus discovered her actions and stopped her. According to some versions of
this story, Thetis had already killed several sons in this manner, and Peleus'
action therefore saved his son's life. Other sources state that Thetis bathed
Achilles in the Styx, the river that runs to the underworld, making him
invulnerable wherever he was touched by the water. Because she had held him by
the heel, it was not immersed during the bathing and thus the heel remained
mortal and vulnerable to injury (hence the expression "Achilles heel"
for an isolated weakness). He grew up to be the greatest of all mortal
warriors. After Calchas' prophecy, Thetis hid Achilles in Skyros at the court
of King Lycomedes, where he was disguised as a girl. At a crucial point in the
war, she assists her son by providing weapons divinely forged by Hephaestus
(see below).
Gathering of Achaean forces and the first expedition:
According to Homer, Menelaus and his ally, Odysseus, traveled to Troy, where
they unsuccessfully sought to recover Helen by diplomatic means. Menelaus then
asked Agamemnon to uphold his oath, which, as one of Helen's suitors, was to
defend her marriage regardless of which suitor had been chosen. Agamemnon
agreed and sent emissaries to all the Achaean kings and princes to call them to
observe their oaths and retrieve Helen. Since Menelaus's wedding, Odysseus had
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
placing his infant son in front of the plough's path, and Odysseus turned
aside, unwilling to kill his son, so revealing his sanity and forcing him to
join the war.
According to Homer, however, Odysseus supported the military adventure from the
beginning, and traveled the region with Pylos' king, Nestor, to recruit forces.
At Skyros, Achilles had an affair with the king's daughter Deidamia, 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
would not have 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 story, they disguised themselves as merchants
bearing trinkets and weaponry, and Achilles was marked out from the other women
for admiring weaponry instead of clothes and jewelry. Pausanias said that,
according to Homer, Achilles did not hide in Skyros, but rather conquered the
island, as part of the Trojan War.
First gathering at Aulis:
The Achaean forces first 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 clay. 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 commander 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 nine chicks,
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 Achaeans 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. Because the wound would not heal, Telephus
asked an oracle, "What will happen to the wound?". The oracle
responded, "he that wounded shall heal". The Achaean fleet then set
sail and was scattered by a storm. Achilles landed in Scyros and married
Deidamia. 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 that had inflicted the wound must be able to heal it. Pieces of the
spear were scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus was healed. Telephus then
showed the Achaeans 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".
Second gathering:
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 either 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 and performed the sacrifice, 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 Achaean 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
1186 pentekonters, ships with 50 rowers. Thucydides says that according to
tradition there were about 1200 ships, and that 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 men. Another catalogue of ships is given by the Bibliotheca 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 second book of the Iliad also
lists the Trojan allies, 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 many languages, requiring orders to be translated by their
individual commanders. The Trojans and Achaeans 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 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 Achaeans. They stopped either at Chryse Island 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; on Odysseus's advice, 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 Achaean to walk on land after stepping
off a ship would be the first to die. Thus even the leading Greeks hesitated to
land. Finally, Protesilaus, leader of the Phylaceans, landed first. Odysseus
had tricked him, in throwing his own shield down to land on, so that while he
was first to leap off his ship, he was not the first to land on Trojan soil.
Hector killed Protesilaus in single combat, though the Trojans conceded the
beach. In the second wave of attacks, Achilles killed Cycnus, son of Poseidon.
The Trojans then fled to the safety of the walls of their city. The walls
served as sturdy fortifications for defense against the Greeks; the build of
the walls was so impressive that legend held that they had been built by
Poseidon and Apollo during a year of forced service to Trojan King Laomedon.
Protesilaus had killed many Trojans but was killed by Hector in most versions
of the story, though others list Aeneas, Achates, or Ephorbus as his
slayer.[84] The Achaeans buried him as a god on the Thracian peninsula, across
the Troad. After Protesilaus' death, his brother, Podarces, took command of his
troops.
Achilles' campaigns:
The Achaeans 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. Thucydides deduces that this was due to
lack of money. 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. The Achaeans controlled only the entrance to the
Dardanelles, and Troy and her allies controlled the shortest point at Abydos
and Sestus and communicated with allies in Europe. Achilles and Ajax were the
most active of the Achaeans, leading separate armies to raid lands of Trojan
allies. According to Homer, Achilles 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, Pedasus, and many of the
neighbouring cities, and killed Troilus, son of Priam, who was still a youth;
it was said that if he reached 20 years of age, Troy would not fall. According
to Apollodorus, 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 Achilles 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 son of Telamon laid waste the Thracian peninsula of which
Polymestor, a son-in-law of Priam, was king. Polymestor surrendered Polydorus,
one of Priam's children, 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.
Death of Palamedes:
Odysseus was sent to Thrace to return with grain, but came back empty-handed.
When scorned by Palamedes, Odysseus challenged him to do better. Palamedes set
out and returned with a shipload of grain. Odysseus had never forgiven
Palamedes for threatening the life of his son. In revenge, Odysseus conceived a
plot where 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, who was
seduced by Aegisthus, son of Thyestes.
Mutiny:
Near the end of the ninth year since the landing, the Achaean 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.
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Iliad:
Main article: Chryses:
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
dishonour 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 Achaeans, killing the Trojan hero
Pandaros and nearly killing Aeneas, who was only saved by his mother,
Aphrodite. With the assistance of Athena, Diomedes then wounded the gods
Aphrodite and Ares. During the next days, however, the Trojans drove the
Achaeans back to their camp and were stopped at the Achaean 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 relative and best friend Patroclus to go into battle wearing
Achilles' armour and lead his army. Patroclus drove the Trojans all the way
back to the walls of Troy, and was only prevented from storming the city by the
intervention of Apollo. Patroclus was then killed by Hector, who took Achilles'
armour from the body of Patroclus.
Achilles, maddened with grief over the death of Patroclus, swore to kill Hector
in revenge. The exact nature of Achilles' relationship to Patroclus is the
subject of some debate. Although certainly very close, Achilles and Patroclus
are never explicitly cast as lovers by Homer, but they were depicted as such in
the archaic and classical periods of Greek literature, particularly in the
works of Aeschylus, Aeschines and Plato. 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 god Scamander, and a battle of the gods followed. The
Trojan army returned to the city, except for Hector, who remained outside the
walls 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 body nevertheless remained unscathed as it was
preserved from all injury by Apollo and Aphrodite. 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:
Penthesilea and the death of Achilles Achilles killing the Amazon Penthesilea
Shortly after the burial of Hector, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, arrived
with her warriors. Penthesilea, daughter of Otrere and Ares, had accidentally
killed her sister Hippolyte. She was purified from this action by Priam, and in
exchange she fought for him and killed many, including Machaon (according to
Pausanias, Machaon was killed by Eurypylus), and according to one version,
Achilles himself, who was resurrected at the request of Thetis. In another
version, Penthesilia was 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.
Like Achilles, he wore armour made by Hephaestus. In the ensuing battle, Memnon
killed Antilochus, who took one of Memnon's blows to save his father Nestor.
Achilles and Memnon then fought. Zeus weighed the fate of the two heroes; the
weight containing that of Memnon sank, and he 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 after Paris shot a poisoned arrow that was guided by Apollo.
In another version he was 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 River, where he is married to Helen.
Judgment of Arms:
The suicide of Ajax (from a calyx-krater, 400350 , Vulci) 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
warrior, 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) According to
Pindar, the decision was made by secret ballot among the Achaeans. In all story
versions, 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 Achaean warriors. 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.
Prophecies:
After the tenth year, it was prophesied that Troy could not fall without
Heracles' bow, which was with Philoctetes in Lemnos. Odysseus and Diomedes
retrieved Philoctetes, whose wound had 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. Calchas said that Helenus knew the prophecies concerning the fall of Troy,
so Odysseus waylaid Helenus. Under coercion, Helenus told the Achaeans 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, according to Homer, a large
force of Kêteioi, or Hittites or Mysians according to Apollodorus,
arrived to aid the Trojans. He killed Machaon and Peneleos, 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:
Main article: Trojan Horse:
The end of the war came with one final plan. Odysseus devised a new rusea
giant hollow wooden horse, an animal that was sacred to the Trojans. It was
built by Epeius and 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 thought they should burn it, while others said they ought to dedicate it
to Athena. Both Cassandra and Laocoön warned against keeping the horse.
While Cassandra had been given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, she was also
cursed by Apollo never to be believed. Serpents then 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 Achaean 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.
Sack of Troy:
The Achaeans 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. The Trojans,
fuelled with desperation, fought back fiercely, despite being disorganized and
leaderless. With the fighting at its height, some donned fallen enemies' attire
and launched surprise counterattacks in the chaotic street fighting. Other
defenders hurled down roof tiles and anything else heavy down on the rampaging
attackers. The outlook was grim though, and eventually the remaining defenders
were destroyed along with the whole city. 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 was given 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 possibility 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.
Returns:
Main article: Returns from Troy:
The gods were very angry over the destruction of their temples and other
sacrilegious acts by the Achaeans, and decided that most would not return home.
A storm fell on the returning fleet off Tenos island. Additionally, 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. Agamemnon had made it back to Argos safely with Cassandra in his
possession after some stormy weather. He and Cassandra were slain by Aegisthus
(in the oldest versions of the story) or by Clytemnestra or by both of them.
Electra and Orestes later avenged their father, but Orestes was the one who was
chased by the Furies. Nestor, who had the best conduct in Troy and did not take
part in the looting, was the only hero who had a 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. 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 half-brother of Ajax, stood trial by his
father for his half-brother's death. He was disowned by his father and wasn't
allowed back on Salamis Island. He 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 the advice of Helenus, who accompanied him when he
traveled over land, was always accompanied by Andromache. He met Odysseus and
they buried Achilles' teacher Phoenix on the land of the Ciconians. They then
conquered the land of the Molossians (Epirus) and Neoptolemus had a child by
Andromache, Molossus, to whom he later gave the throne.
Thus the kings of Epirus claimed their lineage 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 to be descended from Heracles. Helenus
founded a city in Molossia and inhabited it, and Neoptolemus gave him his
mother Deidamia as wife. After Peleus died he succeeded Phtia's throne. He had
a feud with Orestes (son of Agamemnon) 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
wanderings. 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. He then
accidentally landed in Attica, in Phaleron. The Athenians, unaware that they
were allies, attacked them. Many were killed, and Demophon took the Palladium.
He finally landed in Argos, where he found his wife Aegialeia committing
adultery. In disgust, he 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. According
to Homer, Idomeneus reached his house safe and sound. Another tradition later
formed. 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
he saw 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 to Colophon, in Asia Minor, where he died.
Among the lesser Achaeans very few reached their homes.
House of Atreus :
House of Atreus:
According to the Odyssey, Menelaus's fleet was blown by storms to Crete and
Egypt, where they were unable to sail away because the winds were calm. Only
five 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. Proteus also told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium (Heaven)
after his death. Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen eight 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.
Odyssey:
Main article: Odyssey:
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. Odysseus and
Polyphemus by Arnold Böcklin: the Cyclops' curse delays the homecoming of
Odysseus for another ten years Once in his home land, Odysseus traveled
disguised as an old beggar. He was recognised by his dog, Argos, who died in
his lap.
He then discovered that his wife, Penelope, had been faithful to him during the
20 years he was absent, despite the countless suitors that were eating his food
and spending his property. With the help of his son Telemachus, Athena, and
Eumaeus, the swineherd, he killed all of them except Medon, who had been polite
to Penelope, and Phemius, a local singer who had only been forced to help the
suitors against Penelope. Penelope tested Odysseus and made sure it was him,
and he forgave her. The next day the suitors' relatives tried to take revenge
on him but they were stopped by Athena.
Telegony:
Main article: Telegony:
The Telegony picks up where the Odyssey leaves off, beginning with the burial
of the dead suitors, and continues until the death of Odysseus. Some years
after Odysseus' return, Telegonus, the son of Odysseus and Circe, came to
Ithaca and plundered the island. Odysseus, attempting to fight off the attack,
was killed by his unrecognized son. After Telegonus realized he had killed his
father, he brought the body to his mother Circe, along with Telemachus and
Penelope. Circe made them immortal; then Telegonus married Penelope and
Telemachus married Circe.
Aeneid:
Main article: Aeneid:
The journey of the Trojan survivor Aeneas and his resettling of Trojan refugees
in Italy are the subject of the Latin epic poem the Aeneid by Virgil. Writing
during the time of Augustus, Virgil has his hero give a first-person account of
the fall of Troy in the second of the Aeneid's twelve books; the Trojan Horse,
which does not appear in the Iliad, became legendary from Virgil's account.
Aeneas leads a group of survivors away from the city, among them his son
Ascanius (also known as Iulus), his trumpeter Misenus, father Anchises, the
healer Iapyx, his faithful sidekick Achates, and Mimas as a guide. His wife
Creusa is killed during the sack of the city. Aeneas also carries the Lares and
Penates of Troy, which the historical Romans claimed to preserve as guarantees
of Rome's own security. The Trojan survivors escape with a number of ships,
seeking to establish a new homeland elsewhere. They land in several nearby
countries that prove inhospitable, and are finally told by an oracle that they
must return to the land of their forebears. They first try to establish
themselves in Crete, where Dardanus had once settled, but find it ravaged by
the same plague that had driven Idomeneus away. They find the colony led by
Helenus and Andromache, but decline to remain. After seven years they arrive in
Carthage, where Aeneas has an affair with Queen Dido. (Since according to
tradition Carthage was founded in 814 , the arrival of Trojan refugees a few
hundred years earlier exposes chronological difficulties within the mythic
tradition.) Eventually the gods order Aeneas to continue onward, and he and his
people arrive at the mouth of the Tiber River in Italy.
Dido commits suicide, and Aeneas's betrayal of her was regarded as an element
in the long enmity between Rome and Carthage that expressed itself in the Punic
Wars and led to Roman hegemony. At Cumae, the Sibyl leads Aeneas on an
archetypal descent to the underworld, where the shade of his dead father serves
as a guide; this book of the Aeneid directly influenced Dante, who has Virgil
act as his narrator's guide. Aeneas is given a vision of the future majesty of
Rome, which it was his duty to found, and returns to the world of the living.
He negotiates a settlement with the local king, Latinus, 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. Roman myth attempted to reconcile two different founding
myths: three hundred years later, in the more famous tradition, Romulus founded
Rome after murdering his brother Remus. The Trojan origins of Rome became
particularly important in the propaganda of Julius Caesar, whose family claimed
descent from Venus through Aeneas's son Iulus (hence the Latin gens name
Iulius), and during the reign of Augustus; see for instance the Tabulae Iliacae
and the "Troy Game" presented frequently by the Julio-Claudian
dynasty.
Dates 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 , Sosibius 1172 , Eratosthenes 1184 /1183 , Timaeus 1193 ,
the Parian marble 1209 /1208 , Dicaearchus 1212 , Herodotus around 1250 ,
Eretes 1291, while Douris gives 1334. As for the exact day Ephorus gives 23/24
Thargelion (May 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, and destroyed about 1275 , probably by an
earthquake. Its successor, Troy VIIa, was destroyed around 1180 ; it was long
considered a poorer city, and dismissed as a candidate for Homeric Troy, but
since the excavation campaign of 1988, it has come to be regarded as the most
likely candidate.
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Historical basis:
See also: Historicity of the Iliad:
The historicity of the Trojan War is still subject to debate. 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 being critical, considers
it a true event but doubts that 1,186 ships were sent to Troy. Euripides
started changing Greek myths at will, including those of the Trojan War. Near
year 100 AD, Dio Chrysostom argued that while the war was historical, it ended
with the Trojans winning, and the Greeks attempted to hide that fact. Around
1870 it was generally agreed in Western Europe that the Trojan War had never
happened and Troy never existed. Then Heinrich Schliemann popularized his
excavations at Hisarlik, Canakkale, which he and others believed to be 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 November 2001, geologist John C. Kraft and
classicist John V. Luce presented the results of investigations into the
geology of the region that had started in 1977. The geologists compared the
present geology with the landscapes and coastal features described in the Iliad
and other classical sources, notably Strabo's Geographia. Their conclusion was
that there is regularly a consistency between the location of Troy as
identified by Schliemann (and other locations such as the Greek camp), the
geological evidence, and descriptions of the topography and accounts of the
battle in the Iliad.
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. Andrew Dalby notes that while the Trojan War most likely did take
place in some form and is therefore grounded in history, its true nature is and
will be unknown. The Tawagalawa letter mentions 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 (c. 1280 ) the king of the city is named Alaksandu, and Paris's name in
the Iliad (among other works) is Alexander. The Tawagalawa letter (dated c.
1250 ) 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 ..."[full
citation needed] Formerly under the Hittites, the Assuwa confederation defected
after the battle of Kadesh between Egypt and the Hittites (c. 1274 ). In 1230
Hittite king Tudhaliya IV (c. 12401210 ) campaigned against this
federation. Under Arnuwanda III (c. 12101205 ) 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), Achilles's campaigns in the North
Aegean and Telamonian Ajax's campaigns in Thrace and Phrygia. Most of these
regions were part of Assuwa. That most Achaean 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 Achaean
leaders driven out of their lands by the turmoil at the end of the Mycenaean
era preferred to claim descent from exiles of the Trojan War.
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In popular culture:
Main article: Trojan War in popular culture:
The inspiration provided by these events produced many literary works, far more
than can be listed here. 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. Films based on the Trojan War include Helen of Troy (1956), The Trojan
Horse (1961) and Troy (2004). The war has also been featured in many books,
television series, and other creative works.
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Further reading:
Tabula Iliaca, a 1st-century Roman bas-relief depicting scenes from Trojan War
narratives
Ancient authors:
Apollodorus, Gods & Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus,
translated by Michael Simpson, The University of Massachusetts Press, (1976).
ISBN 0-87023-205-3.
Apollodorus, Apollodorus: The Library, translated by Sir James George Frazer,
two volumes, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press and London: William
Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Volume 1: ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Volume 2: ISBN
0-674-99136-2.
Euripides, Andromache, in Euripides: Children of Heracles, Hippolytus,
Andromache, Hecuba, with an English translation by David Kovacs. Cambridge.
Harvard University Press. (1996). ISBN 0-674-99533-3.
Euripides, Helen, in The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and
Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1. Helen, translated by E. P. Coleridge.
New York. Random House. 1938.
Euripides, Hecuba, in The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and
Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1.
Hecuba, translated by E. P. Coleridge. New York. Random House. 1938.
Herodotus, Histories, A. D. Godley (translator), Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1920; ISBN 0-674-99133-8. Online version at the Perseus Digital
Library].
Pausanias, Description of Greece, (Loeb Classical Library) translated by W. H.
S. Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London, William
Heinemann Ltd. (1918). Vol 1, Books III, ISBN 0-674-99104-4; Vol 2, Books
IIIV, ISBN 0-674-99207-5; Vol 3, Books VIVIII.21, ISBN
0-674-99300-4; Vol 4, Books VIII.22X, ISBN 0-674-99328-4.
Proclus, Chrestomathy, in Fragments of the Kypria translated by H.G.
Evelyn-White, 1914 (public domain).
Proclus, Proclus' Summary of the Epic Cycle, trans. Gregory Nagy.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica, in Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy, Arthur
Sanders Way (Ed. & Trans.), Loeb Classics #19; Harvard University Press,
Cambridge MA. (1913). (1962 edition: ISBN 0-674-99022-6).
Strabo, Geography, translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924)
Modern authors:
Greek mythology:
Euboean amphora, c. 550 E, depicting the fight between Cadmus and a dragon
Deities Primordial Titans Olympians Nymphs Sea-deities Earth-deities Heroes and
heroism Heracles / Hercules Labors Achilles Hector Trojan War Odysseus Odyssey
Jason Argonauts Golden Fleece Perseus Medusa Gorgon Oedipus Sphinx Orpheus
Orphism Theseus Minotaur Bellerophon Pegasus Chimera Daedalus Labyrinth
Atalanta Hippomenes Golden apple Cadmus Thebes Aeneas Aeneid Triptolemus
Eleusinian Mysteries Pelops Ancient Olympic Games Pirithous Centauromachy
Amphitryon Teumessian fox Narcissus Narcissism Meleager Calydonian Boar Otrera
Amazons Related Satyrs Centaurs Dragons Demogorgon Religion in Ancient Greece
Mycenaean gods Parthenon from west.jpg Ancient Greece portal Draig.svg Myths
portal vte Burgess, Jonathan S. 2004. The Tradition of the Trojan War in Homer
and the Epic Cycle (Johns Hopkins). ISBN 0-8018-7890-X. Castleden, Rodney. The
Attack on Troy. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword Books, 2006
(hardcover, ISBN 1-84415-175-1). Davies, Malcolm (2000). "Euripides
Telephus Fr. 149 (Austin) and the Folk-Tale Origins of the Teuthranian
Expedition" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 133:
710. Durschmied, Erik. The Hinge Factor:How Chance and Stupidity Have
Changed History. Coronet Books; New Ed edition (7 Oct 1999). Frazer, Sir James
George, Apollodorus: The Library, two volumes, Cambridge MA: Harvard University
Press and London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Volume 1: ISBN 0-674-99135-4.
Volume 2: ISBN 0-674-99136-2. Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths, Penguin
(Non-Classics); Cmb/Rep edition (April 6, 1993). ISBN 0-14-017199-1. Kakridis,
J., 1988. ???????? ????????a ("Greek mythology"), Ekdotiki Athinon,
Athens. Karykas, Pantelis, 2003. ?????a??? ???eµ?st?? ("Mycenean
Warriors"), Communications Editions, Athens. Latacz, Joachim. Troy and
Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery. New York: Oxford University Press
(US), 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 0-19-926308-6). Simpson, Michael. Gods & Heroes
of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus, The University of Massachusetts
Press, (1976). ISBN 0-87023-205-3. Strauss, Barry. The Trojan War: A New
History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7432-6441-X).
Thompson, Diane P (2004). The Trojan War: Literature and Legends from the
Bronze Age to the Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1737-4. Troy:
From Homer's Iliad to Hollywood Epic, edited by Martin M. Winkler. Oxford:
Blackwell Publishers, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 1-4051-3182-9; paperback, ISBN
1-4051-3183-7). Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1998 (paperback, ISBN 0-520-21599-0); London: B
Books, 1985 (ISBN 0-563-20161-4).
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