Legend of Troy
Legend of Troy
Legend of Troy
1)
Prof. Gillian Kitrick
Due date: 10-6-04
Rungkarn R. (4680657)
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
- 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
- Zeus, the most powerful of all gods, who had over a hundred consorts and
offspring
- 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.
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.
- Paris did not take anything with - Paris took with them a vast
Helen).
before the Spartans set off for the (Odysseus and Menelaus) to Troy,
- Achilles withdrew his forces (the - Achilles asked his mother, Thetis,
Hector.
Achilles.
Achilles. Hector regretted in what return to the war for revenge over
an honoured funeral.
- 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
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.
escaped from Troy with her baby, enslaved by the Greeks and
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
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
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
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
(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/