The Trojan War in Homer and History - Recorded Books

LECTURE ONE
Lecture 1:
The Tale of the Trojan War:
Introduction and Overview
The Suggested Reading for this lecture is Michael Wood’s In Search of
the Trojan War.
Calamitous battles, breathtaking Helen, lovestruck Paris, cuckolded
Menelaus, a giant wooden horse—Homer’s famous tale of the Trojan War
has fascinated readers for centuries and given rise to countless scholarly
articles and books, extensive archaeological excavations, epic movies, television
documentaries, stage plays, art and sculpture, and even souvenirs
and collectibles. Even for those who had never heard of Troy and its story
before, the plot and the names of those involved are now familiar territory,
courtesy of Brad Pitt, Peter O’Toole, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Sean Bean,
and Diane Kruger. They appeared in an epic of their own—the movie Troy,
made by Warner Brothers and released during the summer of 2004. “I’ve
fought many wars in my time,” says Priam. “Some are fought for land, some
for power, some for glory. I suppose fighting for love makes more sense
than all the rest.”
The tale of the Trojan War, as traditionally related by the blind Greek poet
Homer in the eighth century BCE, is easily told. Paris, the son of King Priam
of Troy, sails to mainland Greece on a diplomatic mission to Menelaus, the
king of Sparta, and falls in love with Menelaus’s beautiful wife, Helen. When
Paris returns home, Helen accompanies him—either voluntarily, according to
the Trojans, or taken by force, according to the Greeks. Enraged, Menelaus
persuades his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the leader of the
Greeks, to send an armada of a thousand ships and 50,000 men against
Troy to get Helen back. A ten-year war follows in which Greek and Trojan
heroes such as Hector and Achilles are distinguished by acts of singular
courage. In the end, the Greeks are victorious, gaining entry to Troy by the
stratagem of appearing to leave, but hiding warriors inside a huge wooden
horse left outside the walls. Troy is sacked and Helen returns home to Sparta
with Menelaus.
Here is the basic story of the Trojan War, replete with scenes of warfare
and themes of love, honor, betrayal, heroism, and cowardice. Indeed, it is
these very themes—universal themes—that have given the Iliad and the
whole story of the Trojan War their staying power. This timeless tale of love
and war, rivalry and greed, and glorious death has held audiences riveted
and captured the imagination of people during the Greek and Roman periods,
throughout the Middle Ages, and now into our modern era. But did it
happen? Was there really a Trojan War? Did Troy even exist? How much
truth is there behind Homer’s story? Did Helen really have a face that
launched a thousand ships? Was the Trojan War fought because of one
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