Trojan War Representations

Based on the 2004 film Troy, here's a detailed breakdown of what details from ancient representations did and did not survive into modern depictions:

Details that Survived:

• Heroic Combat and Warfare:

  • The film accurately portrays one-on-one hero combat (e.g., Achilles vs Hector), a central feature of Homeric warfare and later Greek and Roman history.

  • The drama of warfare and heroic duels remain true to the ancient sources, including the Iliad, where the concept of single combat to decide a battle is present.

  • Mixed tactics of open combat (e.g., on the beach) and shield-wall formations (e.g., Trojans fighting in front of their city walls) align with Homeric warfare theories, even though not fully understood.

• Characters' Personalities:

  • Paris's cowardice is true to his portrayal in the Iliad, where he avoids direct confrontation and prefers using a bow from a distance.

  • Achilles and Agamemnon's tension and their strained relationship, especially over Briseis, align with the themes of the Iliad, which shows their power struggles.

  • Hector’s nobility and courage are well depicted, reflecting his role as a Trojan hero in ancient texts.

• The Harsh Bronze Age:

  • The film does a good job of showing the harsh, brutal nature of the Bronze Age, as opposed to the more cultured and refined image of later Classical Greece.

Details that Did Not Survive:

• Inaccurate Deaths and Survival:

  • Agamemnon and Menelaus’s survival: In the Iliad, both survive the war, yet the film shows Menelaus dying, and Agamemnon’s death is portrayed in a different manner.

  • Achilles' death: In the film, Achilles dies much earlier than in the original texts, and his death occurs after the Trojan Horse episode, which is inaccurate.

  • Paris’s survival: The movie shows Paris surviving the war and escaping with Briseis, but in most versions, Paris dies during the war.

  • Ajax’s suicide: The movie inaccurately shows Ajax being killed by Hector when, in fact, he kills himself after Achilles' death.

• Character Relationships:

  • Achilles and Patroclus: In the film, they are cousins, but in the Iliad, they are portrayed as close friends, and some versions suggest a romantic relationship. Patroclus was also older than Achilles.

  • Helen’s origins: The film presents Helen as a 16-year-old sent to marry Menelaus, but in reality, she was a Spartan princess, born and raised in Sparta, and Menelaus became king by marrying her.

  • Briseis's relationships: Briseis was not related to Paris or Hector, despite the film’s suggestion. She was a war prize and closely connected to Achilles in the Iliad.

• Inaccurate Portrayal of Warfare:

  • Weapons and Combat: While the film accurately shows bronze swords, the methods of use are incorrect; bronze swords were prone to shattering, which is never shown. Combat also exaggerates the effectiveness of the weapons, with swords cutting through bodies in ways that would have been improbable with Bronze Age technology.

  • Armor: The armor in the movie is historically inaccurate. It is often too ornate and ineffective for the period. Ancient Greek warriors would have worn more practical armor made of bronze and layered linen or leather, not the flashy armor seen in the film. Additionally, armor was designed to protect, but the movie uses it for visual clarity, showing what side the character is on.

• Time Compression and Missing Events:

  • The film condenses the Trojan War into a few weeks, when the siege is traditionally depicted as lasting 10 years. Many important battles, including the sieging of towns around Troy and the Greeks' difficult journey to Troy, are omitted or glossed over.

  • The Greeks’ struggles at sea: The challenges the Greeks faced while sailing to Troy, such as bad weather and delays, are ignored.

• Characterization of Odysseus:

  • Odysseus's darker side: The film portrays him more heroically than in some ancient versions, where he committed morally questionable acts, like framing a fellow Greek as a Trojan spy and killing Hector’s son. These darker aspects of his character are either glossed over or omitted.

• Unrealistic Details:

  • Sounds of arrows: The film adds a spring noise to arrows, which is inaccurate as wooden arrows don’t make such a sound.

  • Erroneous action scenes: There are several blunders, like a Greek soldier accidentally falling during the charge, which detracts from the historical realism of the combat scenes.

Conclusion:

The 2004 film Troy takes significant liberties with the historical and mythological details of the Trojan War. While it remains true to certain aspects, like heroic combat and the personalities of certain characters (e.g., Paris’s cowardice), many historical inaccuracies are present, especially in terms of character relationships, deaths, and the overall timeline of the war. The film opts for a more dramatic, visually engaging version of events rather than adhering to the complexities and nuances of Homeric literature.