Trojan War - Research Paper Example

Trojan War Abstract: The present study aims to explore the causes, events, consequences and aftermath of the famous Trojan War1 fought between the Greeks and Trojans for several years2. One of the most significant reasons behind elucidating the same includes the elaboration of the contributions made by the warriors and heroes by dint of employing the best political strategic schemes on the one side, and demonstrating the gallant deeds of exemplary bravery on the other in order to take revenge of the seducing and abducting Helen3, the Queen of Sparta, at the hands of Prince Paris of Troy. The chronicle of events leading to the war also reflects the social and cultural values of both the rival civilizations of ancient era, which reflect the passion of the nations for seeking power, pelf, possession and beauty at the cost of heavy losses in men and material. Introduction: Primarily based upon Homer’s epic poems Iliad and Odyssey4, the Trojan War enjoys the status of one of the greatest incidents of ancient Greek mythology, which mirrors the existence of conspiracies and conflicts, leading to chaos and bloodshed eventually. The epics also demonstrate the The war also submits to narrate the ambitious nature and disposition of the ancient era people, who used to spend several decades in wars and hostilities on minor issues and trivial matters, which could easily be solved through negotiations. Started with the abduction of the Greek queen Helen, the war ended in the victory of the Greeks and destruction and ruination of Troy, where both the sides had to wash their hands of the splendid warriors and bravest men in the history of civilizations at large, tombs of whom are viewed to be the Trojan coast of cremations5. Causes of War: Homer’s Iliad declares the rivalry among the three Greek goddesses including Hera, Athena and Aphrodite over the Apple of Discord6 thrown by the goddess Eris7 for the fairest of the goddesses. Since all the three claimed themselves to be the fairest one8, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite sought the judgment from King Zeus9 with regards to declaring the most beautiful one among the three. Since Zeus would not hurt any of the goddesses, he bestowed power of announcing judgment to Paris, a local shepherd. Paris, according to the sources, was actually the son of Trojan royal couple King Priam and Queen Hecuba, who had thrown the infant Paris in the wilderness because of the prophecy that the child, on growing young, would bring ruination to Troy.10 Somehow, Paris’s extraordinary intelligence, comeliness and bravery had won Zeus’s favors, who had appointed him judge in order to decide the name of the most beautiful goddess of Greece. Since Aphrodite had revealed her complete body and stood naked before Paris, she was declared to be the most beautiful goddess. Aphrodite sought no bounds of joy, and in return provided Paris with all the information about Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful lady on the face of the earth. Immediately after obtaining information regarding Helen, Paris set out to discover the outstanding beauty, and fell in love with Helen. On receiving the powerful response from Helen, they planned to move to Troy for good. Helen’s elopement infuriated Menelaus, who called all the former suitors11 of Helen12 in Sparta, and sought their support in this matter. At first, the kings looked reluctant to participate in the war; somehow, on getting reminded of the pledge they were determined to wage war on the Trojans, who not only had abducted the spouse of Spartan King, but had also refused to return her to her consort. Out of sheer feelings of rage, the Greeks invaded Troy in order to take revenge of their humiliation from the Trojans eventually. Course of War: Since the Trojans had refused to return Helen to the Greeks through negotiation, they were certain regarding the fact that the war was evident and inevitable. Prince Hector had told his father i.e. King Priam about the prophecy of his triumph in the battlefield13. Consequently, the royalty and military of Troy were not only expecting the attack from the Spartans, but also they appeared to be quite confident of their victory over the Greek invading forces. The Achaeans14 had gathered over one thousand ships to reach Troy, where it took nearly a decade to overcome storm and arranging gatherings in Aulis15, making war plans and getting involved into small scale combats with Telephus16 and others. First single duel was fought between Hector and Protesilaus17, where the Trojan prince killed the Phylacean leader who was fighting from the Greek side after murdering the several Trojans. The Greeks carried on their advancements, where the dauntless Achilles18 killed many men belonging to the rival forces, though no one could inflict any harm on him. Achilles later had also killed Hector during a bout19, which turned out to be imperative event with regards to deciding the fate of the war in favor of the Greek. The battle between Menelaus and Paris i.e. Helen’s consort and paramour respectively also serves as one of the most important single duels fought between the Greeks and Trojans. At the time when Menelaus was about to defeat and kill Paris, Aphrodite appears for his rescue, and saved him from being killed at the hands of Menelaus20. Somehow, Paris turned out to be triumphant in killing Achilles by targeting his heels with his poisoned arrow during a combat between the two21. Since Paris was not adept in fighting, he just learned the skill of arrow throwing in order to overcome his rivals during the course of Trojan War. The same skill was also employed by Paris for inflicting fatal wound on the second greatest of the Greek warriors i.e. Diomedes, the King of Argos, during the single bout fought between the two. Paris also entered into combat with Philoctetes, who inflicted dreadful wound on Paris, leading to his death ultimately. Deploying of the Trojan Horse could undoubtedly be regarded to be the last nail on the coffin of the Trojan defeat. The Greek warriors including Diomedes, Odysseus, Philoctetes and others were hiding into the giant wooden horse, which was carried by the Trojans in the city without having any knowledge regarding its reality altogether. The Greek war heroes entered Troy along with the wooden horse, and waited till it set dark everywhere. They came out of the colossal horse at mid-night, and started killing the Trojans en masse. King Priam of Troy and his remaining sons were also murdered by the Greek warriors, and consequently Troy fell into the hands of the invaders at last. Consequences of War: The Spartans set Troy on fire after ransacking the kingdom, and killing the male members of royalty22. In addition to this, the royal ladies of Troy were made slaves by the Greeks, where Hecuba was turned as the slave of Odysseus23, and Agamemnon got Cassandra as the war booty. The other women also met with the same fate. It was the moment when King Menelaus of Sparta was in the position of capturing his former consort Helen by force in the aftermath of the murder of Deiphobus24, as well as the Sack of Troy. Another noteworthy issue that happened in the wake of the conquering of Troy was the desecration and destruction of temples of gods, which were sufficient to infuriate the deities at large. As a result, the Greeks had to face many problems while returning to their lands. Not only this that King Menelaus had to experience and combat with many adventures and troubles on his way to return, but also the other warriors also underwent trials and turmoil subsequently. One of the most prominent Greek warriors Agamemnon had obtained Princess Cassandra25 in the wake of obtaining triumph over the Trojans, with whom he returned in unabated exuberance. Somehow, he was brutally killed by his wife Clytemnestra26 and her lover Aegisthus out of sheer feelings of jealousy and rage for keeping Cassandra with him on the one side, as well as because of love affair between Clytemnestra and Aegisthus on the other. Similarly, Aegisthus maintained an age-old enmity with King Agamemnon of Agros and his late monarch father, which urged him to make the treacherous plan of murdering the King of Mycenae brutally immediately after his return from the Trojan War. Odysseus also had to come up with several challenges on his way to home; consequently, it too several years in his return to Ithaca, where he had to guise himself as a poor old beggar till he was recognized by his wife Penelope and son Telemachus eventually27. Consequently, the warriors of ancient Greece had to experience disasters and difficulties after their victory over the Trojans, perhaps because of destroying the temples situated in Troy. Thus, Nestor is aptly viewed to be the only ancient Greek warrior, who returned safe and sound because of his not taking part in the campaign of destroying the House of Troy and the holy temples as well. Bibliography Blegen, Carl William. Troy and the Trojans: Ancient peoples and Places (London: Praeger 1963), 31-33 Cline, Professor Eric H. Archaeology and the Iliad: The Trojan War in Homer and History Course Guide The Modern Scholar Retrieved from http://www.oneclickaudio.com/courses_pdf/UT077.pdf (Accessed on 10-25-2013) Coolidge, Olivia. The Trojan War. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001), 61-212 Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths II (London: Penguin Books, 1992), 270-71 Homer. Iliad Mackenzie, Donald A. Crete & Pre-Hellenic: Myths & Legends (London: The Gresham Publishing, 1996), 39 Rutter, Jeremy B. Troy VII and the History of Trojan War (2005) Retrieved from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~prehistory/aegean/ (Accessed on 10-25-2013) Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War (1996), 261-68 Read More