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
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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