A Paper of Western Civilization

An Analysis of Alexander and Troy Film

By :

Alviano Prastio Morti Dilianto

207 51 21 001

Class B (Transfer)

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND CULTURE

YOGYAKARTA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

YOGYAKARTA

2008

Alexander The Great

 The Alexander movie is a good literary work. The director and the

scriptwriter are using the extraordinary steps of making the film. The plotting and

setting of the film is so incredible and it makes the audiences can feel the situation

and condition at that time. There are so many kinds Alexander film, and each film

has its own characteristic. In my interpretation, the Alexander film made by

Oliver stone uses a very good structure, style, and film atmosphere that support

the plot of the film.

Alexander film is about the story of Alexander conquering the world. In

my interpretation, Alexander the Great has also bring his artists, geographers,

historians, geologists, and even his scientists in his way of conquering the world.

It means that as Greek King, he want to spread out the culture, philosophy of

Greek Kingdom in other country. Thus, Alexander visits the troy, the great victory

site of Greek over Asia. The Alexander visit was also due to his personal interest.

He was greatly admired Homer and the heroes of the Trojan War, Achilles.

After Alexander was reconfirming Macedonian hegemony by destroying a

rebellion of southern Greek city-states, then Alexander went to east against the

Persian Empire. Alexander conquests was including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia,

Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria, and Mesopotamia, and extended the boundaries of

his own empire as far as Punjab, India. The Persian soldiers were unable to stop

Alexander at the first major battle at the Granicus River. This battle was the most

important movement of Alexander's career, although the others battles were

famous. It was important movement for Alexander because it was his first real

battle in Asia. It was mad gamble battle. Thus, the circumstances of the battle
were revealed his courage and confidence. It was also increased his fine political

sense and his enormous good fortune.

Alexander was combined his Greek army with many foreigner soldiers

into his army. He was also encouraged marriages between his soldiers and

foreigners. He was also married foreign princesses. In my interpretation, I think

that is the Alexander ways to get his armies sympathy who has accompanying him

during the battle.

Thus, Alexander was died after twelve years of constant military

campaigning to expand the Greek kingdom. The Alexander conquest was set long

after him, or in other words, the Greek settlement and cultural influence over

distant areas was imperishable because of his conquests. Alexander the Great

name was also placed in the world history and myth of both Greek and non-Greek

cultures.

Alexander the Great is a man who has an obsession to unite a whole world

under the Greek kingdom. The Alexander obsession of conquering the whole

world came along by the death of his father, Phillip II King of Macedon. Philip II

had united most of the city-states of Greece mainland under Macedonian

kingdom. Alexander is a kind of charismatic person who can lead and control his

armies into the great battle, so that his armies followed him until India although

there are many Alexander Greek armies who refused it because they want to back

to Macedon. In my interpretation, Alexander is a kind of wise man that using the

diplomatic ways before conquering the other empire.

Troy
 The Troy movie was a film that taken from the Greek mythology. In the

literary criticism world, we can interpret the Troy film into so many kinds of

themes, such as the heroism, man’s pride, the power of women, love of a couple,

war and so on. In this paper, I will interpret the Troy film from the heroism and

the man’s pride aspects, but I will talk about the Trojan War first.

The Troy film is about an epic story of war between Troy and Spartan.

The story of the film was started when Paris, the prince of Troy and his brother,

Hector went to Sparta to had a cooperative agreement. Sparta was a city-state that

was ruled by Menelaus, a king who has a beautiful wife called Helen. Thus, Paris

was fall in love with Helen and he takes Helen to Troy. The king of Sparta,

Menelaus was so angry to them. Menelaus told it to his brother, Agamemnon,

king of Mycenae and Agamemnon led an expedition to take Helen away and the

expedition aim was also to conquer Troy.

The Trojan War was also involved Achilles, the Myrmidon leader

warriors. Achilles wanted to join the Trojan War because of his high pride of

being everlasting heroes. Achilles was a man who did not want to be a king slave

warrior. He was a man who liked for battle for his pride and he stand by his own

warriors. Achilles was so mad when Agamemnon took Briseis, a woman as his

prize of his battle. Achilles felt that Agamemnon dishonor him and then Achilles

refused to join the Trojan War. Thus, the Agamemnon armies were defeated by

Troy when they were trying to attack Troy. The Agamemnon armies were

suffered a huge lost by being defeated by Trojan armies who was commanded by

Hector.
 Thus, Hector tried to attack the Agamemnon armies in the beach of Troy.

Hector thought he killed Achilles but after he opened the Achilles’ helmet, he

knew that he was wrong. Hector killed the Achilles companion, Patroclus. Then

Achilles joined the Trojan War when he knew that Hector killed his companion,

Patroclus. Achilles came to Troy alone and he challenged Hector for battle.

Hector was killed in the battle.

In short, Spartan tried to attack the Troy but they were failed. Then

Spartan used Trojan horse tactic which Achilles inside of it. The Trojan armies

thought the Spartan has been defeated and back to their kingdom, and brought the

Trojan horse to Trojan city. In the night after the Trojan horse enter the city, the

Spartan armies included Achilles stroke the Trojan city. Thus in short, Achilles

was killed by Paris, the Trojan prince in the end of film.

Hubris is a kind of excessive pride, self-confidence or arrogance, often

resulting in fatal retribution. In Ancient Greece, Hubris is referred to actions taken

in order to shame and humiliate the victim; the aim is to make oneself seem

superior. In the Trojan cases, Hubris can be found in the act of Achilles brought

the Hector’s corpse. Thus, in the modern time, Hubris is a kind of overconfident

pride and arrogance that is caused by the over power with lack of knowledge. We

can see modern war or country invasion for example; when a nation with a huge

power invades the other nation, which is not proved has a biological weapon that

can demolish the human being. There must be a hidden aim why the over power

nation do that. The other example is when an “unacceptable” nation and has over

power invades the other nation area and says to the world that the area belongs to
their area. In the modern era, what they have done is not acceptable. What they

have done can only bring sadness, suffer, and death of the innocent citizen. Thus,

I can only say, “Make Peace not War”.