The Trojan War

Was Troy real...?

Troy indeed was a real city on the northwestern coast on the Asia Minor.

1. What is the Trojan War...?

4. What happened when the Greeks reached Troy...?

The Trojan War was a great mythological ten-year battle between the Greeks and the people of Troy that took place in and around the city of Troy. The war was fought for nine years before one side even came close to winning.

When the Greek princes and warriors reached the city of Troy, they were fighting beside the great warrior Achilles. For nine years they tried to gain access to Troy, but they couldn't get past the gates.

Was the Trojan War Real...?

The war told of in the Iliad is a myth, but it was actually based on a real struggle over wealthy trading routes in Hellespont.

2. Why were they fighting...?

5. But...

Paris, prince of Troy, was lead by Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, to Sparta, where he fell in love with Helen, the most beautiful woman on Earth. He took her away to Troy, but Helen's husband, Menelaus, was the king's brother. So king Agamemnon declared war on the Trojans.

Achilles was a great warrior, but very proud. So when Agamemnon insulted him, he left his Greek comrades and abandoned the war.

Bibliography

3. Why did Aphrodite lead Paris to Helen...?

"Trojan War." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Student Resources in Context. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.

"Trojan War." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 21 Sep. 2014.

Zeus had asked Paris to judge a beauty contest between three goddesses: Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. Each goddess had tried to bribe Paris, and this caused him to choose Aphrodite, who had promised him the most beautiful woman in the world.

6. But when he left...

After Achilles abandoned the Greeks, Hector, brother of Paris, killed one of Achilles' friends, who happened to be wearing Achilles' armor.

10. The outcome...

7. Revenge...

In the end, the Greeks won the ten-year war. Once the rest of the Greek troops entered the city, they retrieved Helen and set fire to Troy. They killed many royalty, including Priam, king of Troy. Finally Menelaus and Helen were reunited.

Enraged, Achilles killed Hector and dragged his body behind his chariot so Hector's family couldn't have a proper burial ceremony. This behavior upset the gods, so they made Achilles return the body.

8. Death of Achilles...

Finally, with a well aimed arrow, Paris killed Achilles, but in turn, the Greek archers killed Paris. Now that Achilles was gone, Odysseus became the Greeks greatest hero.

9. Odysseus' plan...

Odysseus was very clever, so he created a plan to get into the city of Troy. He decided to fake defeat and build a large wooden statue for the Trojans. However, when the Trojans saw the gift and took it into their city, they didn't realize that the giant horse was hollowed out, and Greek troops were hiding inside. So that night, after most of the Trojans had gone to sleep, the Greek soldiers in the horse sneaked out and opened the gates.

The Trojan War