Trojan War
Indeed, for most Greeks, the Trojan War was more than just a myth or a myth, it represented a defining moment in their distant past. Historical sources - namely, historian Herodotus, mathematician, astronomer, and geographer Eratosthenes - show that the ancient people assumed, in general, that this war took place on the ground, and it was not just a story.
Iliad Homer says that this conflict erupted in the late Bronze Age for 10 years, between the Greeks led by Agamemnon on the one hand and the sons of Troy who were led by their king Priam on the other hand.
And the "Iliad" indicates that the reason for the outbreak of this conflict is due to the moment when three women, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, asked Paris - the lucky son of Priam - to determine which one is more beautiful. When Paris was chosen by Aphrodite, his last gift in return was Belle Helen, Agamemnon's niece. To bring this woman home and to punish the Trojans as well, Agamemnon and his brother led a huge army to fight the Trojans, and eventually succeeded in forcing her family to bow and submit.
In the past, especially in the period leading up to the Middle Ages, historians were ready to believe that the Trojan war had indeed occurred. In the second half of the fifth century B.C., Herodotus, called "Father of History", saw it erupted about eight centuries before his time. As for Eratosthenes was more specific, he said that it broke out either in 1184 or 1183 BC. Nevertheless, researchers and scholars in the modern era tend to adopt a more skeptical view, so that the question remains: Was this war from the origin?
This question represents the core of a large exhibition hosted by the British Museum in London, entitled "Troy: Truth and Legend". The exhibition includes Greek vases and Roman murals, as well as more contemporary artworks, all inspired by the story of the Trojan War. These artworks are displayed alongside artifacts from the late Bronze Age. In particular, this exhibition showed how people have been anxious throughout history to find some reality and truth in this story.
It can be said that the Romans have come a long way in presenting themselves, as descendants of the Trojans who survived their supposed war. In his poetic epic "Aniyyad", the Roman poet Virgil tells how the hero Aeneas, along with a group of his followers, escaped from the fort that was burned as a result of the war, after the Greeks managed to infiltrate it inside their wooden horse. After this, Aeneas and his men took refuge in Italy, which they considered a new home for them.
However, it is not surprising that we find people convinced that the Trojan war is real. The grim realities of the battle were described in the "Iliad" in a tone without any hesitation, which makes it difficult for one to believe that what is narrated in this regard is not based on the testimonies of people who witnessed the war with their own eyes, such as a clip in which Homer describes the killing of a soldier on the shores of the sea What followed was the fish flying around the corpse, devouring the fat surrounding the dead kidneys.
Among the syllables similar to that, what was mentioned in the version translated by the British researcher Martin Hammond in the history of classical times from the "Iliad", regarding the details of the killing of Hector by Achilles, and how it happened after the latter pointed his arrow to the first throat, given that targeting that part of The human body "causes his soul to be destroyed more quickly."
In fact, it was the possibility of finding the Trojan site, which Homer described in his Iliad, that led the Prussian archaeologist and businessman Heinrich Suleiman to head in the late nineteenth century to what is now Turkey. When he was told at the time, the ancient Trojan might be located in the city of Hisarlik on the western coast of modern Turkey, Suleiman set out to dig and excavate there, to discover a large number of archaeological treasures, many of which are currently on display in the British Museum.
Initially, this man said that many of his discoveries date back to the late Bronze Age - a period during which Herodotus said that the Trojan war had taken place - but then it became clear that these pieces were actually several centuries earlier than this. However, this does not deny that Suleiman succeeded in choosing the correct location for excavation in search of Troy, as most historians now agree that the ancient Troy is supposed to be present in Hisarlik, and that it is true as well.
Evidence of a fire erupting in this area in the past, and the limited number of arrows found in it - dating back to the period when Herodotus said that there was a Trojan war - would indicate that that Turkish city was a battlefield in the past.
It was also found inscriptions and writings belonging to the Hittites, that ancient people who lived in central Turkey, talking about a conflict that broke out over Troy, which these people were known as "Willosa". Although none of these discoveries is actually evidence of a Trojan war, they are welcomed by those who believe that the war is already taking place.
In any case, the facts of the Trojan war - if it is confirmed that they really broke out - are supposed to be completely different from what Homer narrated in his epic. It is difficult to imagine the outbreak of war on this large scale, which was described by the poems of that man, not to mention that it lasted for ten full years, in a fort that archaeologists discovered was limited in size and crowded with people. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that what Homer described in the Iliad regarding the conduct of soldiers during the war seemed very human and realistic.
The genius of this famous Greek poet was his ability to transcend conflict - like the one he spoke of in the "Iliad" - and made it a more profound event, with the aim of shedding light on the facts of wars and bloody conflicts. In fact, there were no gods that influenced the course of events in the battles of the Bronze Age. Rather, it was men who found themselves immersed in a bloody battle. You can imagine the extent of the violence that characterized it, when they were surprised at the wind and turned against them. Homer was able to observe these expressions of time, and express them, even in the most poetic passages of his epic poetry.
It can be said that the Greeks found in the legacy of the Trojan War an explanation of the bloody and possibly poor world, in which they lived. Characters such as Achilles and Odysseus lived in an era that was full of heroes, but it is now time, leaving the thirst for blood, without what was associated with it, of the values of heroism, courage and features of military excellence, all linked to the Trojan War.
Remarkably, until the period immediately following the end of this "war", it was full of violence. In a play inspired by Aeschylus - one of the most important writers of Greek tragedies at all - from Homer's works, translated by Louis McNeese, the author describes how in the post-war period Clétemnistra killed her husband Agamemnon, who - as the text says - sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia "with indifference," As if it were just a sheep, who has more and more of it, in order to appease the gods, so as to enjoy a favorable wind on his journey to Troy.
Ultimately, regardless of the relevance of the Trojan war, there is no doubt that it has had a lasting impact, not only on the Greeks alone, but also on us. Whether it was inspired by a war that erupted in the distant past, or just a fictional act that the mind of a skilled writer lacks, this "war" left its mark on the world, which always gives it immense historical importance.
Trojan War
Source: bbc
