Advanced EC I (sec.

1)
Prof. Gillian Kitrick
Due date: 10-6-04
Rungkarn R. (4680657)

‘The Legend of Troy’

Some backgrounds and descriptions of the events and characters are not fully

provided in the movie ‘Troy’ and some are distorted from the original ‘Troy’ in Homer’s

epic ‘Iliad’. The followings are extra information which would guide the audience to the

further understanding of the legend of Troy.

Introduction: the main characters

- Priam, King of Troy

- Paris (also called Alexandros), son of Priam and Hecuba, thought to be the

most beautiful man alive. Paris was going to be killed at birth because Cassandra (the

prophetic daughter of Priam) made a prophecy about Hecuba’s dream of burning torch

that he would bring harm to Troy. However, the new-born Paris was rescued by

shepherds and taken to Mount Ida where he grew up. Some years later, young Paris

returned to Troy for the athletic game competitions and was recognized so he went back

to his royal family.

- Hector, Prince of Troy, Paris’ older brother

- Zeus, the most powerful of all gods, who had over a hundred consorts and

offspring

- Agamemnon, the most powerful king in Greece, brother of Menelaus

- Menelaus, King of Sparta, Helen’s husband

- Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda, was believed to be the most beautiful

woman in the world. She was born from an egg because Zeus made love to Leda in

form of a swan. She is the only female child of Zeus and a mortal.
 - Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis, was bathed in the waters of the River Styx

to protect him from death in the battle, as it was determined that son of a mortal and a

divine sea nymph would die in war. He was the best soldier in the Greeks’ army.

- Odysseus, King of Ithaca, Greece

- Telamonian Ajax, the second best soldier in Greeks’ army

Background of the Trojan War: The Apple of Discord

The war between the Greeks and the Trojans was rooted from the marriage of

Peleus and Thetis, a sea-goddess, who deliberately did not invite Eris, the goddess of

discord, to the party. As a result, the goddess was angry and went to the party anyway,

bringing a golden apple with her which was written “For the fairest”. Hera (Zeus’ wife),

Aphrodite (Zeus’ daughter), and Athena (Zeus’ daughter) all claimed for the apple, and

asked Zeus to judge but he refused. So he chose Paris, [Contradiction between two

sources: one states that Paris still was a herdsman on mount Ida (5), another states that

he was Prince of Troy at the time (1)] who was thought to be the most beautiful man

alive, to decided who would get the apple. The goddesses each promised Paris prize if

he picked her: Hera promised him power, Athena promised him wealth and wisdom, and

Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. Paris picked

Aphrodite, who then announced that Helen of Sparta would be his wife.

The next section is the comparison showing the major differences between the

movie and original Troy, starting from the first part of the movie where Hector and Paris

went to Sparta as Trojans ambassadors. The following is the continuation of the event

mentioned above.
 Troy: the movie Troy: Homer
- Both Hector and Paris went to - Only Paris went to Sparta.

Sparta as ambassadors.

- Menelaus was in Sparta at the - Menelaus was out of town when

time Helen ran off. Helen ran off with Paris.

- Paris did not take anything with - Paris took with them a vast

him from Sparta (apart from amount of Spartan’s treasure.

Helen).

- No ambassador was sent to Troy - The Spartans sent a delegation

before the Spartans set off for the (Odysseus and Menelaus) to Troy,

war. demanding the return of Helen

and the treasure but Priam

refused, so they returned to

Greece. The war was declared.

- Achilles withdrew his forces (the - Achilles asked his mother, Thetis,

Myrmidons) from the army. to negotiate on his behalf with

Zeus to give the Trojans help in

the war because Agamemnon

offended him and he no longer

wanted to participate in the war.

- Hector saved Paris just as - Aphrodite saved Paris just as

 Menelaus about to kill him and Menelaus about to kill him and

Menelaus was killed by Hector. Menelaus was not killed by

Hector.

- Hector killed Telamonian Ajax. - Hector fought with Telamonian

Ajax but no one won.

- Patroclus, Achilles’ cousin, led the - Patroclus, Achilles’ friend, was

Myrmidons to the battle, wearing given permission by Achilles to

Achilles’ armour, without return to the battle. He was

Achilles’ acknowledgement and advised to put on Achilles’ armour

permission. The Myrmidons so the Trojans would think that

followed as they thought he was Achilles had returned to the war.

Achilles.

- After killing Patroclus, Hector

- Hector killed Patroclus as he stripped off Achilles’ armour and

mistakenly thought he was put it on. Achilles decided to

Achilles. Hector regretted in what return to the war for revenge over

he had done and returned his friend’s death.

Patroclus’ body to the Greeks for

an honoured funeral.

- Priam travelled to the Greeks’

- Hector was killed in a duel fight camp to ask Achilles for Hector’s

with Achilles and his corpse is body back. Achilles agreed, but

dragged back to the Greeks’ must be done in exchange of a

camp. Priam travelled to see ransom.

 Achilles and asked for his son’s

body back. Achilles agreed and

promised the war would be

paused for 12 day.

The rising actions led to the climax of the movie when Paris killed Achilles with

an arrow which pierced into Achilles’ heel (The only vulnerable spot which was not

touched by the water from the River Styx because his mother held him by his foot).

However, another difference at this point is that Achilles was actually killed before the

Trojan Horse (The large wooden horse built by the Greeks to trick the Trojans) gained

entrance into Troy, not after. Telamonian Ajax, according to the poem, fought fearlessly

to protect Achilles’ corpse. After Achilles’ death, Odysseus and Ajax fought over who

deserved the armour of the dead warrior. Ajax lost the competition and committed

suicide.

- The war took 17 days - The war took 10 years

- Andromache, Hector’s wife, - Andromache was captured and

escaped from Troy with her baby, enslaved by the Greeks and

Astyanax. Astyanax was killed by Odysseus

and tossed off the wall.

After the war

Towards the end of the film, as Troy was about to be destroyed, Paris gave the

Sword of Troy to Aeneas, who in fact, was a Trojan prince who fought with Achilles in
the war, not a kid as shown in the movie. Aeneas was believed, according to some

sources, to be the only Trojan prince survived from the war.

Despite the victory, the Greeks had to encounter many obstacles and misfortunes

on their journey home. The gods regarded the demolition of Troy and were angry at how

the Greeks destroyed the sacred temples. The Greeks’ fleet was almost destroyed by a

storm on the trip back. Odysseus had lost all his men before returning to Ithica and

sailed all over the sea for ten years before reaching home. Menelaus’ ships also

wandered over the sea for many years. Agamemnon returned to Argos and was

murdered by his wife, Clytaemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus.

There are many minor details which have been overlooked or incorrectly added

to the movie. For example, the spelling error: “Phthia,” not “Phtia” where Achilles came

from; Briseis, who was captured by the Greeks, was neither a priestess nor the cousin of

Hector and Paris; and the coins which were commonly placed on the corpses’ eyes in

the movie- they did not get invented until five or six centuries later. However, it is to

understand that the changes in the film are unavoidable, due to the limitations such as

timing, storyline, and cast.

Reference

(1) Author unknown (2000) Mortal Women of the Trojan War [Web Site]
Retrieved 28/5/04
http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio
(2) Cisco J. & Hunter J. (1997) Encyclopaedia Mythica: An encyclopaedia on
mythology, folklore, and legend [Web Site]
Retrieved 29/5/04
http://www.pantheon.org

(3) Author unknown (2004) TROY [Web Site]

Retrieved 29/5/04
http://troymovie.warnerbros.com

(4) Holoka J. (2004) Troy: Hollywood vs. Homer [Web Site]

Retrieved 29/5/04
http://www.toshisation.com/troy

(5) Author unknown (2000) The Legend of the Trojan War [Web Site]
Retrieved 29/5/04
http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/clas101/troy.htm

(6) May S. (2004) Columbia Daily Tribune: Pitt stars as ‘Troy’s Achilles’ heel
[Web Site]
Retrieved 29/5/04
http://www.showmenews.com/2004/May/

(7) Archaeology: A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America [Web

Site]
Retrieved 5/6/04
http://www.archaeology.org