Trojan War
Achilles tending the woundedPatroclus (Attic red-figure kylix, c. 500 BC)
Literary sources Iliad Odyssey Epic Cycle Aeneid, Book 2 Iphigenia in Aulis Philoctetes Ajax The Trojan Women Posthomerica See also:Trojan War in literature and the arts
Episodes Judgement of Paris Seduction ofHelen Trojan Horse Sack of Troy The Returns Wanderings of Odysseus Aeneas and the Founding of Rome
Greeks and allies Agamemnon Achilles Helen Menelaus Nestor Odysseus Ajax Diomedes Patroclus Thersites Achaeans Myrmidons See also:Achaean Leaders,Catalogue of Ships
Trojans and allies Priam Hecuba Hector Paris Helen Cassandra Andromache Aeneas Memnon Troilus Penthesilea and theAmazons Sarpedon Deiphobos Helenus See also:Trojan Battle Order,Trojan Leaders
Participant gods Caused the war: Eris On the Greek side: Athena Hephaestus Hera Hermes Thetis Poseidon On the Trojan side: Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Leto Scamander Zeus
Historicity Ahhiyawa Alaksandu Archaeology of Troy Attarsiya Hisarlık Homeric Question Late Bronze Age Troy Manapa-Tarhunta letter Milawata letter Tawagalawa letter Trojan language Wilusa See also:Historicity of the Iliad
Related topics Bronze Age Collapse Euhemerism Homeric Question Mycenae Mycenaean warfare
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There are a wide range of ways in which people have represented theTrojan War in literature and the arts.

• The pre-war episodes ofLeda and the Swan and theJudgement of Paris were frequent subjects in art from the Renaissance onwards.
• Laocoön, c.1610–1614, a painting byEl Greco.
• Helen of Troy byEvelyn De Morgan
• Fifty Days at Iliam byCy Twombly, painted in 1978^[1]
• Sketches ofGiovanni Domenico Tiepolo, illustrating the fall of Troy^[2]

• In a Roman villa complex atRutland in the United Kingdom, a third or fourth centurymosaic depicts the fight between Achilles and Hector.^[3]

Innumerable ancient items, including:

• the Trojan War was a classic subject for thePottery of ancient Greece (for example see the potterExekias and certain bands of theFrançois Vase).
• theMykonos vase, pottery depiction of the Trojan war and horse

• theMedici Vase
• Laocoön and His Sons
• A marblesarcophagus believed to date back to the second century and unearthed at the northwesternTurkey, depicts the Trojan war, showing the Greek heroes Agamemnon and Achilles.^[4]

• theIliad andOdyssey ofHomer
• other poems in theEpic Cycle (all lost):
  • theKypria, attributed toStasinos of Cyprus
  • theAithiopis
  • theLittle Iliad
  • theIliou Persis ("Sack of Troy")
  • theNostoi ("Returns")
• several poems byStesichorus,Alcaeus, andSappho
• numerous plays, mostly tragedies of which the extant ones are:
  • byAeschylus:
    • Agamemnon
    • Libation Bearers
  • bySophocles:
    • Ajax
    • Philoctetes
    • Electra
  • byEuripides:
    • Iphigenia at Aulis
    • Trojan Women
    • Hecuba
    • Andromache
    • Helen
    • Electra
    • Orestes
    • Iphigenia in Tauris
    • Cyclops
  • of disputed authorship (traditionally attributed to Euripides):
    • Rhesus
• theHeroicus byPhilostratus the Elder (3rd century)
• theCapture of Troy byTriphiodorus
• thePosthomerica byQuintus of Smyrna (4th century AD)
• excerpts fromPseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca (1st or 2nd century AD)

• theAeneid byVirgil (book 2)
• theMetamorphoses byOvid (books 12–14)
• theHeroides ByOvid (I, III, V, VII)
• theDouble Heroides ByOvid (XVI & XVII)
• theEphemeris, purporting to be byDictys of Crete
• theFall of Troy, purporting to be byDares of Phrygia
• theAchilleis byStatius

• Roman de Troie byBenoît de Sainte-Maure (ca. 1160), derived from Dictys and Dares.
• De bello Troiano byJoseph of Exeter (1183–4)
• Historiae destructionis Troiae byGuido delle Colonne (1287), derived from Benoît.
• Il filostrato byBoccaccio, derived from Benoît and Guido.
• Troilus and Criseyde byGeoffrey Chaucer, a poem inrhyme royal telling a tragic love story set during the war; derived from the above works.
• TheRawlinsonExcidium Troie
• The Seege of Troye, a Middle English poem based on "Dares" and Benoît.
• TheLaud Troy Book, another Middle English poem, written about 1400.
• Troy Book byJohn Lydgate, a Middle English poem composed 1412–20.

• Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, published in 1474, the first printed book to be published in English, containingCaxton's translation ofRaoul le Fevre's work, in turn derived from Guido and, ultimately, Benoît.
• Christopher Marlowe'sThe Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, written circa 1590, featuresHelen of Troy.
• Troilus and Cressida,William Shakespeare's dark interpretation of Chaucer's story, derived from Caxton'sRecuyell written in 1602.
• The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys play byJan Kochanowski, 1578
• Penthesilea play byHeinrich von Kleist, 1808.
• Faust, Part 2 byJohann Wolfgang von Goethe published in 1832 featuresHelen of Troy.
• Several poems byWilliam Butler Yeats make reference to the Trojan War or Troy in the context of the Trojan War.
  • No Second Troy, published in 1910
  • A Man Young and Old VI, published in 1928
  • Leda and the Swan, published in 1928
• The Trojan War Will Not Take Place, play byJean Giraudoux, written in 1935.
• A Trojan Ending, novel byLaura Riding (Deya: Seizin Press; London: Constable, 1937).
• Kassandra byChrista Wolf, published in 1983.
• The Greek Generals Talk (1986) andThe Trojan Generals Talk collections of short stories byPhillip Parotti.
• Cassandra: Princess of Troy byHilary Bailey published in 1993.
• The Song of Troy byColleen McCullough published in 1998.
• TheNantucket series byS. M. Stirling involves a time-travelling American adventurer overthrowingAgamemnon and proceeding to himself conquer and destroy Troy, in a manner quite different from that depicted by Homer. (Published 1998–2000)
• The Songs of the Kings byBarry Unsworth, published in 2002.
• Ilium byDan Simmons, published in 2003, gives the story of Troy a science fiction twist.
• The Siege of Troy byGreg Tobin published in 2004.
• The Talisman of Troy: A Novel byValerio Massimo Manfredi published in 2004.
• Lindsay Clarke'sTroy series:
  • The War at Troy, published in 2004.
  • Return from Troy, published in 2005.
• War Music byChristopher Logue, aModernist retelling of books 1–8 and 16–19 ofHomer'sIliad, published between 1959 and 2005.
• Gene byStel Pavlou, published in 2005, is the story of a soldier from theTrojan War reincarnated seven times through history.
• David Gemmell'sTroy Series:
  • Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow, published in 2005.
  • Troy: Shield of Thunder, published in 2006.
  • Troy: Fall of Kings, published in 2008.
• Helen of Troy byMargaret George, published in 2006.
• The Song of Achilles, byMadeline Miller, published in 2012 is a retelling of the stories surrounding the Trojan War from the point of view ofPatroclus, who the story presents as thelover ofAchilles.
• Ransom, byDavid Malouf, published in 2009, is a retelling of the Iliad, from books 22 to 24. It tells the story ofPriam as he goes toAchilles to plead for the return of the body ofHector.
• The Lost Books of the Odyssey, byZachary Mason, published in 2010, is a creative retelling of the adventures ofOdysseus, king ofIthaca, told from the perspective of (mostly) the antagonists of Odysseus, e.g.Polyphemus,Circe, andPenelope.
• The Silence of the Girls, byPat Barker published in 2018 is a retelling from the point of view ofBriseis.
• A Thousand Ships, byNatalie Haynes, published in 2019 is a retelling from various female characters' points of view.

• "Temporary Like Achilles", by singer-songwriterBob Dylan, from the albumBlonde on Blonde (1966).
• the song "Cassandra" by Taylor Swift (from The Tortured Poets Department) references the Trojan priestess who was cursed with the gift of prophesies which wouldn't be believed.
• The song "Cassandra", by the bandABBA and released as theB-side of "The Day Before You Came" (1982), references the Trojan priestess.
• "Tales of Brave Ulysses", by the bandCream, released as aB-side in May 1967, and also included on the albumDisraeli Gears (1967).
• "Achilles Last Stand", by the bandLed Zeppelin, from the albumPresence (1976).
• "Paris", a rock musical byJon English, first released in 1990 and reworked in 2003 and 2008.
• "Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts", by the heavy metal bandManowar from the albumThe Triumph of Steel (1992).
• "I Stole a Bride", by the bandHefner, from the albumThe Fidelity Wars (1999).
• "And Then There Was Silence", by the bandBlind Guardian, released as asingle in November 2001, and also included on the albumA Night at the Opera (2002); an epic 14 minute song picturing the last part of the Trojan War throughCassandra's eyes.
• The Progressive Rock band,Symphony X released their album,The Odyssey in 2002, based upon Homer's epic.
• The name of the Americanpost-hardcore bandThe Fall of Troy is inspired by the Trojan War.
• The entire albumEthernaut (2003), by the bandThe Crüxshadows, was based on the Trojan War and the fall ofTroy.
• "The Third Temptation of Paris" by the bandAlesana, from the albumOn Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax (2006); a piano ballad picturing the fall of Troy throughParis' eyes.
• “The History of Man”, byMaisie Peters, contains the line, “The men start wars yetTroy hatesHelen”.
• "Achilles Come Down", byGang of Youths, focuses on Achilles ready to kill himself following the death ofPatroclus.
• The Trojan War features in the first two songs ofEPIC: The Musical, "The Horse and the Infant" and "Just a Man." In the former,Odysseus rallies his soldiers from inside the Trojan Horse before leading the attack against the sleeping Trojans, only for a vision fromZeus to warn him of a greater foe. Odysseus quickly discovers this apparent enemy isAstyanax, the infant son of the TrojanPrinceHector, and Zeus warns Odysseus that Astyanax will destroy hishomeland of Ithaca if he is not slain that night. In "Just a Man," Odysseus struggles with the decision but ultimately decides to carry through the deed by dropping Astyanax from the city walls.

• Helena (1924 film), silent German epic film version.
• The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927), a 1927 American silent comedy adventure film about Helen of Troy based on the 1925 novel of the same name byJohn Erskine
• Helen of Troy (1956), featuringStanley Baker as Achilles.
• La Guerra di Troia (The Trojan War) (1961), byGiorgio Ferroni.
• The Fury of Achilles (1962), Italian peplum adaptation of The Iliad.
• Doctor Faustus (1967), byRichard Burton andNevill Coghill, starsElizabeth Taylor as Helen of Troy andRichard Burton asDoctor Faustus.
• Iphigenia is a 1977 rendering of the prologue to the Trojan War whereAgamemnon sacrifices his daughter to appeaseArtemis before sailing to Troy.
• The Trojan Women (1971), an adaptation ofEuripides' play directed byMichael Cacoyannis and starringKatharine Hepburn as Hecuba,Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache,Geneviève Bujold as Cassandra andIrene Papas as Helen.
• Troy (2004), byWolfgang Petersen, starringBrad Pitt as Achilles,Sean Bean as Odysseus,Eric Bana as Hector,Orlando Bloom as Paris,Diane Kruger as Helen andPeter O'Toole as Priam.

• Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria byClaudio Monteverdi, composed in 1641, after Homer.
• Dido and Aeneas byHenry Purcell, composed 1688, after Virgil.
• Achilles byJohn Gay, composed in 1733
• Les Troyens byHector Berlioz, composed 1856–8 after Virgil.
• La belle Hélène byJacques Offenbach composed in 1864
• Troilus and Cressida byWilliam Walton composed 1947–1954 after Chaucer.
• King Priam byMichael Tippett, composed 1958–61 after Homer.

• The Myth Makers, a 1965Doctor Who serial, depicted the last days of the war satirically.
• In Search of the Trojan War, a six part BBC miniseries originally aired in 1985 hosted by the historianMichael Wood^[5]
• Time Commanders, a BBC television programme about ancient battle strategy, fought out the battle of Troy in one episode.
• The Time Tunnel episode "Revenge Of The Gods" (aired 21 October 1966) involves the American protagonists arriving at the final stage of the war and helping the Greeks to conquer and destroy Troy.
• Operation Lightning Pegasus, a satirical version byAlick Rowe, first broadcast onBBC Radio 4 in 1981.
• TheXena: Warrior Princess episode "Beware of Greeks bearing Gifts" (aired 15 January 1996) involves Xena and Gabrielle arriving at Troy during the Trojan War when the warrior princess' help is required by her old friend Helen.
• Troy, a trilogy of radio plays, starringPaul Scofield as "Hermes", first broadcast in 1998.
• Helen of Troy (2003), aminiseries starringRufus Sewell as Agamemnon andSienna Guillory as Helen.
• ThePhineas and Ferb episode "Troy Story" (aired 20 September 2013) involves the boys reenactment of the Trojan War but with a Phineas and Ferb twist.
• The Last Days of Troy,^[6] a two-part 2015BBC Radio 4 adaptation bySimon Armitage completingHomer'sIliad andVirgil'sAeneid, originally directed for TheRoyal Exchange Theatre by Nick Bagnall and directed for radio by Susan Roberts.
• Troy: Fall of a City, a 2018 miniseries co-produced byBBC One andNetflix.^[7]
• TheMarvel Cinematic Universe animated miniseriesEyes of Wakanda episode "Legends and Lies", tells aWakandan War Dog named B'Kai undercover as Memnon allied with Achilles to infiltrate Troy for retrieve a stolenvibranium pendant that Helen of Troy is wearing.^[8]

• The Third Argument (1995), a Serbian graphic novel based on the writings ofMilorad Pavić, with script byZoran Stefanović and art byZoran Tucić, published in USA byHeavy Metal Magazine (1998–2000)
• Age of Bronze an ongoing series by writer and artistEric Shanower, published byImage Comics.
  • Age of Bronze volume 1: A Thousand Ships (2001), in collecting issues #1–9.ISBN 978-1-58240-200-0.
  • Age of Bronze volume 2: Sacrifice (2005), collecting issues #10 - 19.ISBN 978-1-58240-399-1.
  • Age of Bronze volume 3: Betrayal, Part One (2007).ISBN 978-1-58240-755-5.
• Marvel Illustrated
  • The Iliad (2008) (Hardcover),ISBN 978-0-7851-2383-5, collecting issues #1–8, adapted by Roy Thomas and Miguel Angel Sepulveda from the epic poem.
  • The Odyssey (2009) (Hardcover),ISBN 978-0-7851-1908-1, collecting issues #1–8, adapted by Roy Thomas and Greg Tocchini from the epic poem.
  • The Trojan War (2009) (Hardcover),ISBN 978-0-7851-3862-4, collecting issues #1–5, adapted by Roy Thomas and Miguel Angel Sepulveda based on Epic Cycle and other ancient sources.
• The Trojan War app (2013) (App Store (iOS) application), published by Kichigai Editions.

• Gates of Troy a turn based strategy expansion for the gameSpartan, by Matrix Games and Slitherine Soft, released in 2004.
• The Trojan War appears a scenario in theGreek campaign for theRTScomputer gameEmpire Earth.
• Age of Mythology, anRTS game by Ensemble Studios and Microsoft released in 2002, in which several missions deal with the capture of Troy.
• "Warriors: Legends of Troy" is a hack and slash game developed by a Canadian branch ofTecmo Koei. Released on consoles in 2011, the game is centered around the events of the Trojan War.
• Zeus: Master of Olympus features an adventure centered around the events of the Trojan War.
• Age of Empires Online, an MMORTS game published by Microsoft, contains missions relating to the Trojan War.
• The Settlers IV, an RTS game by Blue Byte, features the Trojans as a playable race in its expansion pack.
• Total War Saga: Troy a 2020strategy game of theTotal War series.

• Military fiction
• Works about the Trojan War
• Trojan War literature
• Ancient Greece in art and culture

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