THE Trojan War it was the most famous war in all of history. Opposing a coalition of Greeks to Trojans, the Trojan War would have lasted about 10 years, probably in the 13th or 12th century BC. Ç. It is not clear whether the war actually took place or if it would be one of the countless myths of Greek civilization.
The Trojan War would have started after a diplomatic trip from Paris Alexander and Hector, sons of the king of Troy, Priam of Sparta. In the famous Greek city, Paris would have known Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, famous for her beauty and with whom Paris immediately fell in love.
Paris had been very well treated by menelaus, but in a moment of absence of the Spartan king, Paris became involved with Helen and decided to kidnap her, taking her to Troy. The love story of Paris and Helen had been premeditated by Aphrodite, goddess of love and protector of Paris.
Upon discovering the kidnapping, Menelaus declared war on Troy and tried to unify the diverse Greek tribes against the Trojans. Troy was located in the Hellespont, in present-day Turkey. It was a great city, surrounded by an impassable wall.
The main leader of the Achaeans (as the Greeks were known at the time) was agamemnon, brother of Menelaus. But the main Achaean warrior was Achilles, son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus, known for his strength, an almost unbeatable warrior. However, Achilles only participated in the Trojan War after being convinced by Odysseus (Ulysses), mainly by the fame that participation in the war would bring to the combatants.
The Love of Helen and Paris, painting by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) that portrays the initial motive of the Trojan War
The main source of information on the Trojan War is the epic poem Iliad, created by homer. The Trojan War also represented the end of the era of heroes, like Achilles and Hector, later beginning the era of common men. Many of these heroes died in combat or had their return home hindered by the gods, as was the case with Odysseus, portrayed by Homer in Odyssey.
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The Iliad began in the tenth year of the battles. After several Greek victories, luck turned to the Trojans when Achilles fell out with Agamemnon about the distribution of the looting that had been carried out, mainly a priestess of the temple of Apollo. With the withdrawal of Achilles from the fighting, the Trojans achieved important victories.
However, Patroclus dressed in the armor of Achilles, his cousin, and was killed by Hector. With the death of his loved one, Achilles returned to war, dueling Hector, son of King Priam, and killing him. Even the superiority achieved by the Greeks with this death did not allow them to enter the fortified city.
A solution was given by the cunning Odysseus. The idea was to create a huge wooden horse that would be offered to King Priam as a gift indicating the end of the war. But inside the famous Trojan Horse the main Greek warriors would remain, and the fleet that was anchored near Troy would be moved, giving the impression of a retreat by the Greeks.
Achilles statue with the heel struck by an arrow
Priam accepted the gift. Once inside the city, the Greeks began their destruction, plundering and utterly destroying it. Many were killed, such as Achilles, who, despite all his strength, was struck in his heel by a poisoned arrow launched by Paris.
With the entry of the Greeks into the city and its destruction, the Trojan War, the most famous in history, ended.
By Me. Tales Pinto
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PINTO, Tales dos Santos. "What is Trojan War?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-e-guerra-troia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
