Myths and legends of Ancient Greece represent a huge cultural layer, which still excites the minds of scientists, historians, archaeologists. Trojan War - the most vivid event that occurred in antiquity, poetically described in his works "Odyssey" and "Iliad" the ancient Greek narrator Homer.
Is the Trojan War a truth or a myth?
Historians until the XVIII century. considered the Trojan war to be a pure literary fiction, attempts to find traces of ancient Troy did not lead to results, but it is important to understand that the myth is a narrative that relies on actual facts and people's views of the world around them. From sources it follows that the war began at the turn of the 13th-12th centuries. BC, when the thinking of man was mythological: in reality, a significant place was assigned to the gods, the spirits of nature.
A long Trojan War, an apple of discord is the main mythological component of the plot of the fall of Troy. In the rest, since the XIX century. historians see in the Trojan War real-life events, but not in the Troy itself. Different views of scientists:
- F. Rückert (German researcher) suggested that the Trojan War was, but her characters are completely fictitious by the Achaean emigrants who decided to glorify their ancestors.
- P. Cauer (German scientist) considered the Trojan War, disguised by the war of the Aeolian colonialists with the inhabitants of Asia Minor.
The Myth of the Trojan War
The Greeks believed that Troy was built by the gods Poseidon and Apollo. King Priam, who ruled Troy, possessed immense wealth and numerous offspring. In the canvas of the myth of the Trojan War, several successive events are interwoven, which have become one major cause of the fall of Troy:
- The pregnant wife of Priam - Hecuba saw a dream: during childbirth, she reproduced a burning fire from which Troy was burned. The time has come - Hecuba gave birth to a beautiful boy of Paris and carried him to the forest, where he was picked up and brought up by a shepherd.
- At the wedding of Argonaut Peleus and the nymphs of Thetis, they forgot to invite the goddess of discord Eris. In anger from disrespect, Eris created an "apple of discord" with the inscription "The Most Beautiful", which caused a dispute between the three: Aphrodite, Athena and Hero. Zeus instructed Hermes to find Paris, so he judged who to give the fruit. The apple went to Aphrodite, in return for her promise to give Paris the love of the most beautiful woman in the world of Helen. This marked the beginning of the Trojan War.
The myth of the beginning of the Trojan War
Elena The beautiful mythological culprit of the Trojan War, was a married woman, whose love was long sought by Menelaus - the Spartan king. Paris, having secured the support of Aphrodite , arrived in Sparta at a time when Menelaus had to sail to Crete, to betray the remains of his grandfather Katreia. Menelaus received the guest with honor and set out on his journey. Helen, who had flushed with feelings towards Paris, went with him to Troy, taking with her the treasures of her husband.
The sense of dignity Menelaus suffered, and the pain of betraying his beloved woman - this is what the Trojan War began for. Menelaus collects the army in a campaign against Troy. There is another reason for the Trojan War, a more prosaic one - Troy interfered with the exchange and trade of Ancient Greece with other countries.
How many years did the Trojan War last?
The army, numbering more than 100,000 soldiers on 1186 ships under the leadership of Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon, went on a military campaign. About how long the Trojan War lasts, there is a myth. In the performance of the sacrifice to Ares, a snake crawled out from under the altar, climbed a tree into a passerine nest and ate a whole brood of 8 birds along with the female, then turned to stone. Priest Kalhant predicted 9 years of war and the tenth fall of Troy.
Who won the Trojan War?
The history of the Trojan War began for the Greeks with a series of setbacks: the ships were taken to the other side, to the lands of Mysia and by mistake King Fersander, ally of Sparta, was killed, the people of Thebes went out against the abusers. The army of Sparta suffered huge losses. Arriving in Troy, for 9 years there was a heavy siege of the fortress. Paris and Menelaus meet in a furious duel, in which Paris perishes.
Odysseus sees a dream, where Athena gives advice on how to capture Troy. A wooden horse made, was left near the gate of the fortress, and the soldiers themselves sailed from the coast of Troy. Joyful Trojans wheeled the outlandish horse into the yard and began to celebrate the victory. At night, the Trojan horse flew open, warriors rushed out, opened the gates of the fortress for the rest, and staged carnage of the sleepy inhabitants. Women and children were captured. Thus fell Troy.
The Trojan War and its heroes
The works of Homer describe the dramatic events of those years as the confrontation of strong personalities who defend each one's rightness in the struggle for power and happiness. Famous heroes of the Trojan War:
- Odysseus - the king of Ithaca, together with a friend of Sinon embodied the idea of a "Trojan" horse.
- Hector is the commander-in-chief of Troy. He killed a friend of Achilles - Patroclus.
- Achilles hero of the Trojan War at the siege of the fortress killed 72 soldiers. Mortally wounded by Paris in the heel of Apollo's arrow.
- Menelaus kills Paris, releases Elena and goes to Sparta.