Trojan War
In Greek mythology the Trojan War pitted a coalition of Greek principalities
against Troy, a city located on
the coast of what is now Anatolia, just south of the entrance to the Dardanelles.
The war was the subject of Homer's
Iliad and Odyssey.
According to Homer and other Greek epic poets, King Priam's son Paris
brought Helena, wife of King Menelaus
of Sparta, back to Troy with him.
To recover Helena, the Greeks sent an expedition to Troy under Agamemnon,
brother of Menelaus. The war lasted 10 years, although the first
9 years seem to have been indecisive. Only in the tenth year, after
Achilles had killed Hector,
the greatest of the Trojan warriors, were the Greeks assured of victory.
Using a stratagem devised by Odysseus,
the Greeks feigned retreat; the Greek fleet sailed out of sight,
leaving behind as a "gift" the Trojan Horse. Inside the large wooden
horse was concealed a squad of Greek soldiers who, after the horse had
been dragged into the unsuspecting city and under the cover of darkness,
emerged and opened the gates. After the Greek fleet quietly returned,
the soldiers entered Troy and great slaughter followed. Many Trojan
women, including members of the royal family, were carried off into captivity.
The work of the 19th-century archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann showed
that the story of the war was probably based on historical events of the
early 12th century BC. Some scholars believe that the Trojans were
a Luwian-speaking people who came into conflict with the Mycenaean Greeks.