Greek mythology has tales of gods, demigods, and mythical creatures. Undoubtedly, one of the most striking among them is the Trojan War that took place in our lands. The reason for the start of this legendary war is love. When the Trojan Paris kidnaps Helen, the wife of Menelaos, the King of Achaeans, the two civilizations take up arms and a war that will last for years begins.
Even though the Trojan War itself is a fun story to tell, there is a before and after. Because the stories in Greek mythology are extremely well-constructed and need to be examined together as they contain cause-effect relationships. We see part of the story in the Iliad and the Odyssey, but let’s also tell you what happened behind the scenes and after.
It was the judgment of Paris that started it all:
Thetis and Peleus, who would later become the mother and father of Achilles, invite many gods, including Zeus, to their marriage ceremonies, with the exception of Eris. Furious that she wasn’t invited, Eris raids the wedding and says, ‘For the prettiest!’ He throws a golden apple into the hall. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite immediately rush to get the apple. None of them can, and they all say that the apple belongs to them, that is, it is the most beautiful. The decision is up to Zeus.
Since Zeus never wanted to get into those balls, he called a mortal Trojan, Trojan Paris, and asked him to choose which one was the most beautiful. Because Paris is known as a just person. Hermes leads the way, and the three goddesses and Paris go to Mount Ida for the choice to be made.
Each of them offers another sublime to Paris. Hera offers him a kingdom, Athena offers war power, and Aphrodite offers the love of the beautiful Helen, the wife of Menelaos, the king of the Achaeans, the Greeks. Delighted by Helen’s beauty, Paris accepts Aphrodite’s offer and falls on the way to Sparta.
It was a shame to kidnap the man’s wife, Paris:
After all this, Paris returns to Troy and orders the ships to be prepared to go to Sparta. Before long, Paris arrives in Sparta. He was invited by the Greek king Menelaos and his wife Helen. Helen is the daughter of Leda and Zeus. Meanwhile, Menelaos’ grandfather dies and he is forced to go to Crete. Our Paris calls this opportunity and kidnaps Helen along with some goods.
So there is work to be done and work not to be done. After Menelaos receives news that his wife has been kidnapped, he seeks help from his brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. First, an emissary is sent to Troy and the business is wanted to be settled. Of course, this effort is fruitless and the war horns start to sound.
Meanwhile, Agamemnon convinces the great hero of the time, Achilles, to fight because the seer Kalkhas said that Troy could not be taken without him. The war will be great. All Aka, that is, Greek kings, prepare for this war and come together. It is clear that much blood will be shed when they stand at the gates of Troy.
At the gates of Troy, a war begins that spills blood and blood:
Before this date, such a great war between the Achaeans, that is, the Greeks and Anatolia, has never been experienced before. The Achaeans besieged the city of Troy and this siege lasted for 9 years. The regions around Troy were plundered. The two armies faced each other many times but could not win. Finally, Paris invites Menelaos to fight one on one. The winner will get Helen.
Of course, since Paris is not a very successful warrior, Aphrodite intervenes just when Menelaos is going to be victorious. When a Trojan soldier shoots an arrow at Menelaos, the two armies collide and Troy suffers great casualties. Many gods and goddesses also participated in the war.
Hector, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam, was killed by Achilles and his body was dragged on the ground for 9 days. Because he wore the armor of his younger cousin Achilles and was killed by Hector, mistaking it for Achilles. Upon Hector’s death, his aunt, the Amazon queen, also joins the war.
An unprecedented tactic, the Trojan horse was the move that ended the war:
The Achaeans prepared a large wooden horse as a sacred altar for the goddess Athena. They left it at the gate of Troy and thought that the Trojans would smash the horse and draw the wrath of the goddess on them. But the Trojans believed it to be a sign of peace and let it in.
Of course, the Trojans ate and drank that night because we made peace anyway. The Aka soldiers hiding inside the horse came out at night and took the rest of the army inside. What follows is great destruction. Meanwhile, Paris killed Achilles by shooting him in the heel with an arrow, and he was killed by Achilles’ son Neoptolemus right after. Troy was leveled, and Menelaus took Helen and returned to Sparta.
So is Paris and the Trojan War real?
The Trojan War, Paris, Helen Menelaos, Achaeans and all this war are described in Homer’s epic Iliad and Odyssey. Especially in the Odyssey section, all the details of the last month of the ten-year war are given. However, it is not possible to listen to the rest of the war from Homer for sure, since it tells a short period of time.
The place we call Troy is a place on the skirts of Kaz Mountain, which is within the borders of our Çanakkale province today. Until the 19th century, a city called Troy was thought to be just a myth. However, according to the studies first carried out by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870 and then continued by the American archaeologist Blege, there really was such a city.
In the studies, it was seen that 9 different civilizations were established in this region in 9 layers. The layer in the 6th layer, which is marked between the 15th and 12th centuries BC, is Troy. It is estimated that the Trojan War was fought in 1184 BC. In other words, there was a war between the Achaeans and the Trojans, but it is not possible to say that the Trojan War is real, as it is not known exactly why and how it happened. However, it is clear that something has happened.
We told the story of the Trojan War, which is one of the most important stories in Greek mythology and started with the abduction of Helen by Paris. We hope this story is just a myth and people didn’t kill each other for such a stupid reason.
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