Trojan War- Myth and Legend
Trojan War Fact or Myth
Queen Helen of Sparta, married to King Menelaus, was considered
the most beautiful woman in the world. Daughter of Zeus and the indirect cause
of the Trojan war.
 |
| http://aphroditespriestess.blogspot.com/2012/04/h-helen-of-spartatroy-paganblogproject.html |
Long story short;
Helen of
Sparta was abducted/ Eloped with the King Paris of Troy making her Helen of
Troy. Her husband King Menelaus of Sparta and his brother King Agamemnon of
Mycenae wage a war to get King Menelaus’ wife Helen back. followed by thousands
including Greek hero’s like Achilles across the Hellenic lands, many smalls
wars were waged.
They
demanded the Queen back. This lasted 10 years, until the Greek armies subdued
back to their homes leaving a large wooden horse. After unheeded warnings from
the Trojan Princess Cassandra, the Trojans pulls the wooden horse in. When night
falls, the men (led by Odysseus) come running out of the wooden horse and
attack the Trojans.
Helens
Trojan Husbands are killed and she returns to Sparta to rule with Menelaus. Once
he died it is said she was banished from Sparta by her sons and murdered by a
war widow.
Historians
are not sure what to think of the Epic because;
- · Helen is said to be the Daughter of Zeus.
- · The Strongest cities at the time would only be able to hold out for a few months not 10 years.
- · There are quite a few remanences of Troy showing both a strong hold and a battle.
- · Some even think the Sea People attacked Troy.
I’m not entirely sure what to
think of this story but I do think it’s neat when we get to experience the
stories shared at the time. Similarly, to Beowulf, they started to share this story
orally before it was written down.
I know this would make the story
less accurate but before I actually looked into this story, what I was taught
about the story made it sound like it actually happened. According to National
Geographic and History.com There is some
evidence that a big war happened but they don’t know the exact details of the
story.
I’m glad someone decided to write about this because Homer’s “The Odyssey” is actually one of my favorite books. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you give it a read if this story interests you. The strange thing about this story is its constant ties to Gilgamesh as well as Homer’s ability to create a world that is physically real, but add gods, goddess, giants, sea peoples and so many more into the story. When I read the book originally it reminded me of an ancient fictional book like Harry Potter. I believe this story, just like Gilgamesh, is based on real people, locations and possibly a huge war, but everything in the story should be taken with a grain of salt when determining if it actually happened.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I remember reading parts of "The Odyssey" for a class and it was actually pretty interesting. I am definitely not a history buff by any means but it somehow kept my attention the entire time. I think it is really interesting to see how we still set up stories in the same general format- introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. I think it really goes to show how much we rely on and utilize ancient culture still to this day.
DeleteLetting a wooden boat into their walls had to be a little suspicious. I mean how did they not hear the warriors talking or moving? It's very interesting and like you said was passed down orally so we don't know how much is true. I find it very intriguing.
ReplyDelete