Furious, Achilles withdraws from battle, together with his troops. King Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, seizes Briseis for himself. In the 10th year of the Trojan War, dramatic events unfold, as told in Homer's Iliad. Below, Eros playfully allows a dog to chase a goose, perhaps suggesting infatuated humans are just a plaything of the gods. Aphrodite stands directly behind Helen, who is lifting her veil to Paris for the first time. The South Italian artist of this vesselsuggests the blame lies with the gods.
Some think Paris abducted Helen, others say she fell in love and followed him willingly. Among them is Briseis, a young woman who is given to Greek hero Achilles as a prize of honour. The Greeks succeed, however, in raiding neighbouring Trojan cities, taking some inhabitants as prisoners. But Troy has strong walls and the Trojans defend the city bravely, throughout nine long years of fighting. The army sails to Troy, sets up camp and lays siege to the city. Its leader is Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, king of the powerful Greek city of Mycenae. To bring Helen back and restore his honour, the deceived husband, King Menelaus, assembles a huge army of Greek heroes. Paris, prince of Troy, comes to Sparta on a state visit but, outrageously, leaves with his host's wife Helen, queen of Sparta. On the right, Helen is approached by three women bringing jewellery and perfume. Aphrodite, last of the three, lifts her dress to show a flash of leg. At the left, Paris awaits the three goddesses. This Etruscan painting from a tomb shows the Judgement of Paris. Its heroes – and none more so than the great Achilles – are complex, with heroic strength but human weaknesses and in the end it is unclear who, if anyone, really wins.
Even the gods are involved.īut this isn't a straightforward tale of right and wrong. This ancient world war features a stellar cast of characters. At its heart is the powerful city of Troy on the western coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), besieged for 10 years by the Greeks, who sailed across the Aegean Sea to take revenge for a grave insult – the abduction of a woman. Spanning several decades, the tale is set in Greece's mythical past. It's a story that has it all – love and loss, courage and passion, violence and vengeance, triumph and tragedy – on a truly epic scale. Just as it enraptured audiences in the past, it still speaks to us today and it's easy to see why. Spread by travelling storytellers, it was cast into powerful words by the Greek poet Homer as early as the eighth to seventh century BC – and into powerful images by ancient Greek and Roman artists. The story of the ancient city of Troy, and of the great war that was fought over it, has been told for some 3,000 years.
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