Common Misconceptions About the Trojan War

Most people today are vaguely familiar with the story of the Trojan War, but few people are well acquainted with it. Interestingly, that limited understanding parallels what scholars know about the Trojan War today. Although there once was a city named Troy, many scholars doubt whether there was ever such a thing as a great war between Troy and the Greek city-states. This article examines this and other questions that scholars have about the Trojan War

The account of the Trojan War with which most people are familiar comes from HomerÕs The Iliad. This epic poem has influenced much of Western literature and continues to influence writers, artists, and filmmakers today. As anyone who had read the book knows, however, it does not give the whole history of the Trojan War. It begins in the middle of the story, after the Greeks are already at the gates of Troy and ends with the death of the Trojan prince Hector after he is defeated in single combat by Achilles. The poem makes no mention of the Trojan horse or the end of the war.

We have managed to piece together the mythology of the Trojan Wars from various sources outside The Iliad and The Odyssey, and we know that that there were many epic poems similar to those written by Homer about the war. These all told different parts of the story and were written by different authors. It is reasonable to assume, however, that The Iliad was the best epic poem about the Trojan War because it is the one that has survived over the years. Because of its quality, the Greeks and others took greater care to preserve it. Even in HomerÕs day, The Iliad was recognized as a great piece of literature.

Interestingly, very little is known about Homer himself. Aside from the two works attributed to him, he wrote nothing else that has survived and little was written about him by the Greeks. Some have questioned whether there really was such a person because they say that he could not have possibly known what happened during a war 400 years before he lived. While Homer might never have existed, the fact that he did not live during the Trojan War is irrelevant. The oral roots of The Iliad were well documented by the 20th century, so all Homer did (if he existed) was write down those oral traditions. He may have added his own style or elements of his own, but the substance of the narrative was composed by anonymous authors during centuries of oral recitation. On the other hand, Homer might not have lived at all or might be a pseudonym for some anonymous writer.

There is no archaeological evidence for the Trojan War other than the site of Troy itself. It could be theorized that wealthy Troy, with its high walls, probably fought a war with Greece at some point. When this happened, however, is difficult to say since there are eight different cities built atop the original foundation of Troy in Turkey. If there was a war between the Greeks and the Trojans, it is doubtful that it was of the scale indicated in The Iliad. There is no evidence of a 100,000+ Greek army living on the beaches of Troy for a decade nor is there any evidence of the famed Trojan Horse. That evidence may be discovered later, but until then it seems logical to assume that the details of the war (if there really was one) were embellished over the years.