Trojan War
The Trojan War is a famous war fought between ancient Greeks and the people of Troy. The war was fought
over a beautiful woman named Helen. Helen was so beautiful that many Greek princes wanted to marry her.
Helen chose King Menelaus of Sparta to be her husband.
Unfortunately, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, had already promised Helen to Paris, a prince of
Troy. Paris came to Greece and kidnapped Helen. After he took her to Troy, the Greeks planned their attack
to get her back.
Agamemnon, brother to Menelaus, led the Greek forces. Their fleet of one thousand ships was delayed off the
Greek coast. The winds blew west, the opposite direction the Greeks needed to sail to Troy. An oracle told
Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter to Artemis and the winds would turn. After the sacrifice, the Greek ships
headed east for Troy.
Some of the gods took sides in this epic war. Poseidon, Athena and Hera supported the Greeks. They also
had Hermes and Hephaestus on their side. Aphrodite sided with the Trojans to protect Paris. Apollo, Artemis,
and Ares also sided with the Trojans. Zeus, Hades, Demeter and Hestia stayed relatively neutral during the
war.
For the first nine years of the war, the Greeks attacked the cities surrounding Troy. The city of Troy itself had
huge walls which were built with the help of the gods. These walls made it very difficult for the Greeks to enter
Troy. It was not until the tenth year of war that the Greeks attacked the city of Troy itself.
At this time, the Greek leader Odysseus came up with a plan to get into the city. With
Athena’s help, the Greeks built a large horse out of the wood from their ships. They hid
their warriors on the inside of the horse and waited for the Trojans. The Trojans thought the
horse was gift from Athena and that it would protect their city. So, they wheeled the horse
into the city.
That night after the Trojans had fallen asleep, the Greeks got out of the horse and
destroyed the city. After ten years, the war was finally over.
Historians have always wondered about the story of the Trojan War. Was it a real event or
simply a myth?
In the 1870’s, a German archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann set out to find the city Troy. He believed
that Homer’s account in the Illiad was accurate, and he used it to discover the lost city.
Heinrich began a dig in modern day Turkey. He uncovered the ruins not just of one city, but several cities, built
one on top of the other. Today, experts are certain that the city of Troy existed. However, they disagree about
which of these layers is the Troy that Homer writes about. Some of the cities were destroyed violently, but we
do not know if this was by earthquake or war. People from the Greek mainland may very well have raided Troy
and destroyed the city, but there is not yet any archaeological evidence to prove that the war took place in the
way that Homer described. There is also no archaeological evidence to support the story of the Trojan horse.
Theories Regarding the Trojan Horse:
Horse
Battering Ram
Earthquake
(as described by Homer)
(heavy object used to break
down walls)
Poseidon = “earth shaker”
Could be possible with
soldiers who have a lot of self
discipline
and gave horses to man
Same muscles used as
rowing – Greeks would be
used to this
War technique often used in
ancient times