None of this constitutes proof of a Trojan War. But for those who believe there was a conflict, these clues are welcome. It is hard to imagine a war taking place on quite the scale the poet described, and lasting as long as 10 years when the citadel was fairly compact, as archaeologists have discovered.
There would have been no gods influencing the course of action on a Bronze Age battlefield, but men who found themselves overwhelmed in a bloody fray could well have imagined there were, as the tide turned against them. Homer captured timeless truths in even the most fantastical moments of the poem. The Greeks found in the legacy of the Trojan War an explanation for the bloody and inferior world in which they lived. Achilles and Odysseus had inhabited an age of heroes. Their age had now died, leaving behind it all the bloodthirstiness, but none of the heroism or martial excellence, of the Trojan War.
Even the immediate aftermath of the war was full of violence. Regardless of how connected it is to fact, The Trojan War myth had a lasting impact on the Greeks and on us. Whether it was inspired by a war waged long ago, or was simply an ingenious invention, it left its mark on the world, and remains as such of monumental historic importance.
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The siege, punctuated by battles and skirmishes including the storied deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the nearly-invincible Achilles, lasted more than 10 years until the morning the Greek armies retreated from their camp, leaving a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy.
When night fell, the horse opened up and a group of Greek warriors, led by Odysseus, climbed out and sacked the Troy from within. After the Trojan defeat, the Greeks heroes slowly made their way home. After his death, some sources say she was exiled to the island of Rhodes, where a vengeful war widow had her hanged. Little is known about the historical Homer. Both began within the oral tradition, and were first transcribed decades or centuries after their composition.
In the first century B. It follows a group of Trojans led by the hero Aeneas who leave their destroyed city to travel to Carthage before founding the city of Rome. Many portions of the Trojan War epics are difficult to read historically. Several of the main characters are direct offspring of the Greek gods Helen was fathered by Zeus, who disguised himself as a swan and raped her mother Leda , and much of the action is guided or interfered with by the various competing gods.
Lengthy sieges were recorded in the era, but the strongest cities could only hold out for a few months, not 10 full years. Major excavations at the site of Troy in under the direction of German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann revealed a small citadel mound and layers of debris 25 meters deep. Recent excavations have shown an inhabited area 10 times the size of the citadel, making Troy a significant Bronze Age city.
Layer VIIa of the excavations, dated to about B. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta, went to war with each other from to B.
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