Angela 14 IEP What do you associate with the Trojan War? The wooden horse, golden apple or the heroic man Odyssey? Most people will think of these because they are all important factors in this legendary story. Although this might be a legendary war, it’s still important to the Greeks and modern society. This is the conflict not only between mortals but also between gods. From this, we can learn the Greek Gods are just like human beings because they were flawed and unpredictable. For example, the story “golden apple.” Once upon a time, Zeus held a wedding ceremony in the Olympus for two god and goddess. He invited all the gods but Eris-the goddess of discord. Of course, Eris was very angry that she decided to trick them. She conjured a golden apple. She told three goddesses- Hera (queen of the gods), Athena (goddess of wisdom) and Aphrodite (goddess of love) that only the fairest goddess could get the golden apple. After long fighting and discussing, they decided to let Paris (the prince of Troy) to judge them. To bribe him, Hera offered the power to rule the country, Athena provided the greatest wisdom in the world and Aphrodite provided the prettiest woman to him. Surprisingly, he chose to let Aphrodite win, so he got the prettiest woman- Helen, also the queen of Menelaos (Sparta’s queen). This is the beginning of the Trojan War. “Iliad” is also a very important reference that records the last couple Angela 14 IEP weeks in Trojan War. Because Paris snatched Helen out of Menelaos, so Menelaos and Agamemnon became the Greece allied to fight against Troy. On the last couple weeks, hero Achilles was arguing with Agamemnon. Achilles was so angry that he refused to go to the battlefield to fight against Troy, so his friend, Patroklos, went to the battlefield instead. Sadly, he was killed by the commander and the smart prince of Troy (Paris’s brother), Hector. After getting the news, Achilles was so angry that he put on his armor to fight. Eventually, he killed Hector to revenge for his friend, Patroklos. What about the wooden horse? (evidence 1 ”Trojan”)It happened in the story “Trojan Horse”. Because Greece allied had already fought with Troy for ten years, to win, Odyssey came up with an idea that he planned to build a large wooden horse that can contain an army in it, others hid in an island near Troy. Then they sent up a guy to tell Troy that Greeks’ army had already surrendered, so they sent them a wooden horse as a peace gift. Trojan was trapped so they receive the “gift”. At midnight, Greek army that hid in the horse jumped out and killed all the people in Troy and destroyed the city and that was the end of the Trojan War. In these three stories above, we can learn that Greek gods really influenced Greek a lot. They were the center of the Greeks’ life. Many things Angela 14 IEP can only be done with the gods’ premittee. Gods also brought to them courage and power. They were Greeks’ role model! For instance, in the first story, It says that this war happened because of the argue between goddesses. We can learn that Gods are just like human. They lie, they have jealousy, and they also hate! Because of their human-liked actions, we can understand their thought easily. We can be inspired by their experience. Like the hubris, also considered great pride, led many heroes to tragic ends. To avoid this kind of tragedy from happening, people learn not to do something that they can’t do. I think this is an important reason why Greek gods influence ancient Greeks and modern society so much. In the second story, Achilles was described as a half-blood god that won’t die unless someone hurt his ankle. This story shows us his personal loyalty to his friend, Patroklos. This can make us not only consider him a great hero but also a sincere friend. In the third story, Greek won the Trojan War because of the great idea and the help of Athena and Hera. This shows that Greeks were deeply being influenced by the gods that they created lots of myths to admire or record them. We can also learn that ancient Greeks were very respectful to their gods because they built lots of temples and worshipped them very often.(evidence 4 “How”) What’s more, they not only influence the ancient Greece but also the Angela 14 IEP modern society. Because the ancient Greeks had left lots of the myths about their gods and daily life. We can see many temples that were used to worship the Greek gods today. Also, the word “Trojan Horse” represents the computer viruses (evidence 2 “impact”) and we use lots of words from Greek mythology in our daily life in order to describe some situations, such as “Achilles’ heel” which means a person’s greatest weakness (evidence 3 “Greek”). Surprisingly, sporting company Nike is also related to Greek mythology which named after the goddess of victory. Even the logo of the World Health Organization (WHO) is inspired by the Greek mythological. Its logo is a snake –twined staff which symbolizes the god of medicine, Asclepius (evidence 5 “Mythological”) Thanks for the Greek gods and the war, we got lots of legacy now! But what’s the truth of the Trojan War? The studies say that there was really a country called Troy in Asia Minor and it did have a war called Trojan War (evidence 1 “Trojan”). But we’re not sure if they used wooden horse to win the battle or not. Maybe it’s just a legendary horse. The cause of the Trojan War might be the fighting for the best trade route and the fighting for the resources because after series of archeology, historians say that it happened around the “Dark Age”, which is an era that Greek civilization almost disappeared. Everything that can destroy the country happened. Such as Angela 14 IEP famine, droughts, invasion and the end of trade. The history textbook “Human Legacy” has mentioned about Dark Age, “People fled cities, struggled to farm enough to eat, fought their neighbors and outside invaders.” They even lost the use of words! That’s why this war had last for ten years. This was really a great disaster for the Greeks. We can not only learn how important Greek gods are but also try to avoid the “Dark Age” happening again from Trojan War and other myths! That’s why they are important. It doesn’t matter if they are true or not, the most important of all, we can truly learn something! Angela 14 IEP References: 1. Guymon, Brandon. "Trojan Horse Continued - World History For Kids - By KidsPast.com." Trojan Horse Continued - World History For Kids - By KidsPast.com. Brandon Guymon, n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2013 <http://kidspast.com/world-history/0062B-trojan-horse.php> 2. "Impact of Greek Mythology on Western Culture." Tree.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2013. <http://www.tree.com/lifestyle/impact-of-greek-mythology-on-western-cultu re.aspx> 3. "Greek Mythology." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2013. <http://www.pustakalaya.org/wiki/wp/g/Greek_mythology.htm> 4. "How Did Greek Mythology Affect the Religion of Ancient Greeks?" Myth. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. <http://greek-mythology-research.wikispaces.com/How+did+Greek+Mythol ogy+affect+the+religion+of+ancient+Greeks%3F> 5. Ramirez,S.E. ; Stearns P. ; Wineburg S. ”Mythological References Today”. Human Legacy.1.8.2013.P131-133.Print. 6. Ramirez,S.E. ; Stearns P. ; Wineburg S. ”Mythological References Today”. Human Legacy.1.10.2013.P129.Print. Angela 14 IEP Trojan War Angela Lai #14 Mr. de Groof IEP Composition 11.1.2013