The story of the Trojan War fascinated the ancient Greeks. The conflict was an important theme in ancient Greek and Latin literature, including the famous Iliad and Odyssey of the Greek poet Homer. Nobody knows for certain how closely the legend of the war reflects actual events.

Historical background

The ancient city of Troy, where the war is said to have taken place, was a real place. It was located in Asia Minor, an area that is now the country of Turkey. Many scholars believe that ancient Troy was destroyed by fire sometime 1260 and 1240 BC.

The stories about the Trojan War were based on an actual struggle for control over the rich trade routes through the Hellespont (the Dardanelles). This narrow waterway links the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea through the Sea of Marmara. Troy lay at an important point at the southern entrance to the Hellespont and also controlled a land route. The city was very wealthy, probably because it demanded toll and tax payments from trading ships and travelers. Troy's interference with Greek trade may have been the Greeks' reason for waging war.

The legend

The traditional accounts of the war suggest another cause. According to Homer's Iliad, the war was fought during the rule of the wealthy and powerful King Priam of Troy. His son Paris was chosen by the god Zeus to judge which of three goddesses, Aphrodite, Hera, or Athena, was the most beautiful. Paris chose Aphrodite because she promised to give him Helen, who was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Helen was the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, which was part of Greece. Paris went to Greece and won Helen's love. He persuaded her to flee with him to Troy and refused to return her to Menelaus. The Greeks, led by Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, then launched an attack against Troy.

Chronology

With help from some allies, Troy withstood the Greek attack for ten years. Gods and goddesses took sides in the conflict. Hera, Athena, and Poseidon supported the Greeks while Aphrodite, Apollo, and Ares sided with the Trojans.

The Greeks eventually won the war through the trickery of the Trojan horse. The Roman poet Virgil describes the incident in the Aeneid. According to the legend, the Greeks, with Athena's help, built a huge, hollow wooden horse. Many Greek warriors hid inside it. Pretending to abandon the war, the rest of the Greek army sailed away to a nearby island.

Sinon, a Greek who stayed behind, persuaded the Trojans to take the horse inside the walls of Troy as an offering to Athena. During the night the Greek fleet returned, and the warriors hiding inside the horse opened the city's gates for them. The Greeks then conquered and destroyed Troy. King Priam and his remaining sons were killed. Menelaus took Helen back to Sparta, and they lived happily thereafter. The adventurous homeward voyages of the Greek victors are narrated in Homer's Odyssey.