RELATING WAR WITH TROY TO NATIONAL CURRICULUM HISTORY
INTRODUCTION
The current National Curriculum in History (DFES 1999) stipulates that at KS2, children
should undertake:
A European History Study (12): A study of the way of life, beliefs and
achievements of the people living in Ancient Greece and the influence of their
civilisation on the world today.
This is the only stipulation concerning Ancient Greek content made in the National
Curriculum, leaving teachers with plenty of choices. Knowledge of and enquiry into the
nature of the ancient Greek world, acquired through listening and discussing War with Troy,
can form the bulk of classroom time for ‘A European History Study’. It can also act as an
excellent foundation for further enquiries into particular aspects of classical (often 5th/4th
century BCE) ancient Greece such as the Olympic Games, the development of architecture,
theatre, the Persian wars etc. This is because, following the stipulations of the National
Curriculum above, War with Troy illustrates Ancient Greek:
WAYS OF LIFE
Most contemporary children’s books show how ancient Greek art,
buildings, words and ideas – important aspects of their ‘way of life’ have influenced modern times, in ways that seem broadly constructive
and helpful. But the worlds in which the ancient Greeks lived, and the
ancient Greeks as people, were as warlike and harsh as those from any
other period of history. Weapons, armies, the threat of violent death,
slaves, conquest, pillage, physical bravery, heroism, ruthlessness,
revenge – these phenomena and feelings were important aspects of the
ancient Greek ‘way of life’. The Story of Troy offers children the
chance to learn about these difficult areas not through the dry study of
diplomatic and military history, but by seeing how individuals within
an authentic ancient Greek story are affected by the threat of force.
Some ancient Greeks learnt and achieved much within their city walls
– but as many others were intent on knocking them down and
plundering what lay within.
BELIEFS
War with Troy is closely based on the Iliad, the earlier of Homer’s
two epic poems. The IIiad and its companion story, the Odyssey, were
of great cultural importance to the ancient Greeks, from the late 7th
century BCE onwards; perhaps as important as the Christian Bible in
Europe up until modern times. Ancient Greek education, popular
entertainment and high culture drew constantly from the many
different gods and goddesses, characters, events and stories within
Homer’s poems. Hearing the poem therefore helps modern children to
find out about some important ‘Ancient Greek beliefs’ in, for example,
heroism, kingship, virtues, the supernatural, prophecies etc. Crucially,
it also introduces children to most of the gods and goddesses who
mattered in Greek belief and culture. Because it does so within the
context of a story, in which these gods and goddesses manipulate
people and events, their particular nature is made concrete and
tangible. Zeus is shown being feared by everybody, we see Poseidon
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exercising fantastic physical force, Athene’s wisdom and planning are
made real and the power of Aphrodite sparks and fuels the whole
struggle between individuals, armies, cities and immortals.
ACHIEVEMENTS Although it seems possible that one of the many cities that constituted
‘ancient Troy’ was actually destroyed by an invading army in the 13th
century BCE, this in itself was only one achievement, and of dubious
value. It is the way in which the story of that event was developed,
told, re-told and eventually written down, over a period of many
centuries, that constitutes the greatest achievement of the poem.
Modern, written translations of the Iliad (around 500 pages) and the
Odyssey (around 300 pages) show how ambitious these epic stories
were. Hearing a re-telling of the Iliad, as opposed to reading it, gives
children a chance to understand the full achievement of these stories.
The originals were told as oral recounts and brought alive as artistic
performances. When Homer ‘composed’ his version in around 750
BCE he did so as an oral poem, and probably drew on many other
versions and stories circulating already. Homer’s version was written
down a century or two after its creation – perhaps in the 6th century
BCE, certainly by the 5th century BCE. Pre-literate ancient Greek
poets (like Homer) had to train themselves to remember the numerous
details of the various plots and then improvise every performance with
their own images, epithets, phrases, similes etc. A society without
books therefore came to produce, in the Iliad and the Odyssey, stories
that became and remain two of the most influential books ever made.
Nor is the beautiful construction of these stories their only
achievement: their meanings capture a fundamental human difficulty,
and one in which children are interested. This is that whilst the use of
force often seems necessary to protect friends, family and
communities against enemies, the misuse of force leads to the
destruction of friend and enemy alike.
Although the historical content of each ‘area of study’ in the KS2 national curriculum is open
to interpretation by teachers, each study must develop some of the following ‘knowledge,
skills and understanding’. Possibilities for promoting these through learning about the story
of Troy are summarised in the table below.
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KS2 NC HISTORY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING
EXAMPLES FOR THE ILIAD
Pupils should be taught to:
1. Chronological Starting Points For Teaching
understanding
a. place events,
Teacher constructs or children research a BCE timeline for ancient
people and
Greek civilisations for example: circa 2000 BCE first European
changes into
civilisations with Minoan/Mycenean ‘palaces’ on Crete at Knossos,
correct periods of Phaistos and Malia. 1500 volcanic eruption, Minoan civilisation
time
destroyed. 1250 (for comparison) Moses leads Jewish flight to
Palestine. 1220, probable siege of Troy (Troy VI or VII). Circa 750
BCE, Homer composes Iliad. 6th century BCE, written versions of the
poem circulating in Greece. 490, Battle of Marathon. 336-323, rule of
Alexander the Great.
b. use dates and
Children research and re-tell themselves the story of the Trojan War –
vocabulary
how many different versions from different times can be found?
relating to the
What can we find out about the making and writing down of Homer’s
passing of time
Iliad?
2. Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past
a. about
Key themes for children to research and report upon during or after
characteristic
the telling of the story, such as:
features of the
 The nature of the Gods and Goddesses – with different
periods and
children or groups focusing and reporting upon particular
societies studied,
ones;
including the
 Greek religion – how the Gods and Goddesses were
ideas, beliefs,
worshipped, why people thought them important, what they
attitudes and
believed they could help them with;
experiences of
 Warfare in ancient Greek times including details such as
men, women and
weapons, armour, chariots, horses, city defences, the
children in the
organisation of armies, how battles were fought;
past
 Ships and travel including the design of ships, the nature of
the seas travelled, navigation in ancient Greece.
‘Ancient Greece’ was never one country, even when united in war
against common enemies. At the height of its power it was a
confederation of fiercely independent and contrasting states, which
often battled against each other (e.g. Athens and Sparta). Wood
(1998) offers the interpretation that the Iliad may reflect memories of
a real war between the Greek and Hittite empires in the 13th century
BCE; but even the ‘literary’ war described in the poem emphasises
the similarities as much as the differences between the Greeks and
Trojans. Hearing the Iliad gives children the chance to appreciate
how diverse the ancient Greek world was – though detailed
discussions of diversity may be better-pursued through discussing the
individual fights and friendships in the poem, as literature and fiction.
c. to identify and
Some important changes that can be studied through War with Troy
describe reasons
are:
for, and results of,
 The development of writing and the move from an oral to a
historical events,
literate society;
b. about the
social, cultural,
religious and
ethnic diversity of
the societies
studied in Britain
and the wider
world
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situations and
changes in the
periods studied
The move from the Bronze Age (when the story is set) to the
Iron Age (iron was common by the time Homer composed the
story);
 How ‘Troy’ was not one city, but a succession of cities in the
same place, built up and disappearing over many centuries.
Certain themes within or from War with Troy can be used as a
springboard for comparing similar things from other periods and
places, especially:
 Cities and communities;
 Warfare and weapons;
 Heroes and Heroines, Gods and Goddesses;
 Stories and Poems.

d. to describe and
make links
between the main
events, situations
and changes
within and across
the different
periods and
societies studied
3. Historical Interpretation
Pupils should be
The version of the Trojan War created for this project is only one of
taught to
many hundreds developed over the last 3000 years, including films
recognise that the and comic strips. Child-friendly extracts of other versions often
past is
centre upon the story of the Trojan Horse, which is not a major part
represented and
of our version. Other features that bring out varieties of interpretation
interpreted in
are illustrations (e.g. armour, the appearance of Troy), the nature of
different ways,
important characters (e.g. Achilles – hero or villain? Helen – what
and to give
does beauty look like?) and fact or fiction – was there a real siege of
reasons for this
Troy?
4. Historical enquiry
a. how to find out Resources available for teaching about the Trojan War include a
about the events,
range of secondary evidence (e.g. imaginative illustrations,
people and
archaeological reconstructions, explanations) as well as primary
changes studied
evidence (e.g. photographs or drawings of contemporary Greek vases,
from an
artefacts, surviving architecture). ICT-led resources need some
appropriate range teacher mediation but include:
of sources of
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/iliad;
information
www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2471/Troy and
including ICT
www.perseus.tufts.edu
based sources
b. to ask and
Numerous questions arise from the action and characters of War with
answer questions, Troy – many of which are led by English and literacy. Historical
and to select and questions centre upon some of those alluded to above and below, for
record
example:
information
 How can we find out which aspects of the Trojan War really
relevant to the
happened? What can we find out about ‘Troy’ as an historical
focus of the
city?
enquiry
 What would life really have been like for everyday people
described in the poem, such as slaves, soldiers or farm
workers, at the time of the siege (circa 1220 BCE) or of
Homer (say 750 BCE)?
 How did people’s experience of the Trojan War as a story
change during ancient Greek times and beyond?
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5. Organisation and communication
a. recall, select
Children can be asked to answer questions about key historical
and organise
information such as:
historical
 The evolution of the story and its tellings and re-tellings;
information
 Whether Troy is a real place and whether the siege could have
occurred;
th
 The story of the 19 century archaeologist Schliemann, his
work and his claims about Troy.
b. use dates and
Some key historical vocabulary includes: Bronze age, Iron age, BCE,
historical
oral, literate, pre-literate, warrior, bard, city state, siege, Troy, Sparta,
vocabulary to
Aegean sea, Mediterranean sea, archaeology, manuscript.
describe the
periods studied
c. communicate
Following research through books, illustrations, websites, listening to
their knowledge
the poem etc:
and
 Children draw/paint a series of pictures in-the-style-of Greek
understanding of
vases, summing up some key points in The Iliad – perhaps
history in a
ending up as a storyboard. Children explain the pictures to
variety of ways
others, and can use pads or notes to ask questions of key
characters.
 Children write ‘this is Homer’ (or Achilles, or Helen, or
Odysseus) … potted biographies. Little is known about these
actual people other than fragments from later stories. For
‘Homer’ people argue that he might be a pseudonym for an
amalgam of different poets. The biography will therefore have
to describe the sort of society the people lived in, as much as
the person themselves.
 Children write non-chronological reports to summarise the
experiences of ‘ordinary’ people associated with, but not
featured in the Iliad e.g.: sailors and soldiers, mothers caring
for children, children listening to re-tellings of the story.
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