End Of The Great Trojan War example essay topic

The famous Judgement of Paris has nothing to do with a city in France. However Paris was the Prince of Troy. The golden apple referred to by the Judgement of Paris was the time bomb that ended up destroying the city of Troy. The city of Troy was built for Priam's father by the gods, Apollo and Poseidon, during a time in which they were being punished by having to work among mortal men. Since destiny had decreed that Troy would one day be captured in a place built by human hands, the gods invited the mortal man Abacus to help build the city. Troy was attacked by Hercules, Telamon, and Peleus as a punishment for Laomedon not giving Hercules a reward of immortal horses for rescuing his daughter, Hesione from a sea monster that Poseidon had sent after Laomedon had denied to pay his debt to him.

Hercules promised to return Hesione unharmed if Laomedon who had promised to give him two stallions which he (Laomedon) had received from the gods of Tros years before. Hercules seized Hesione and married her off to his friend, Telamon whom later killed Laomedon after Hercules had sacked Troy with only a handful of troops. But this was a full generation and a half before the famous Trojan War. King of Troy had a son, Paris, from his wife, Hekate. It was foretold that Paris should be killed at birth or he would destroy the city. Paris was rescued by shepherds, and grew up on an 800 acre farm by Mt.

Ida. He returned to the royal family after being recognized while competing as a young adult in the athletic games in Troy. All the gods except Eris, the goddess of strife, were invited to celebrate the marriage of Peleus, a mortal, and Thetis, the sea nymph. Eris went anyway, and took with her a golden apple reading "For the Fairest". Zeus's wife and two daughters made claims for the apple.

Zeus refused to cast a judgement between his wife and daughters. So the task of choosing a winner went to Paris. Prizes were promised to Paris by each of the three goddesses: Wife Hera offered power, daughter Athena offered military glory and wisdom, and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite and this became known as the Judgement of Paris. Helen, daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, was famous for her beauty throughout the world, and was the very woman whom Aphrodite had destined for Paris. Helen married Menelaus, King of Sparta and her twin sister, Klytaimnestra married Agamemnon, King of Argos, the most powerful leader in Greece.

Paris went to Sparta as a Trojan ambassador and fell in love with Helen. Helen left Sparta with Paris and went to Troy. Menelaus, the heart broken husband demanded Helen to return to Sparta. After the Trojans refused to heed to the demand, the Spartans had the Greeks assemble an army to invade Troy. The Greeks assembled a fleet of a thousand ships at Aul is with Agamemnon as commander-in-chief. The high winds continued to delay the sail of the fleet until Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to Artemis, the moon goddess.

Protesilaus was the first man ashore with the first army of Greeks, and was killed by Hector, son of Priam and leader of the Trojan army. The Trojans denied the recovery of Helen to the Greek's second embassy, which caused a seige of many years. Achilles son of Peleus and Thetas was educated by Chiron, the cent uar (half man and half horse) and it was foretold that he would die in battle and his mother would mourn in great sadness. To protect him, she bathed him as an infant in the river Styx, which was told to make anybody that touched it invulnerable to any kind of weapon. Known for being a powerful warrior; Achilles was offended by Agamemnon in the tenth year of the war, which caused him to withdraw himself and his forces from any further participation in the battle and Agamemnon knew Achilles was a crucial key factor to conquering Troy. Hector enjoyed great success against the Greeks during the absence of Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors.

There are several different stories regarding the different battles and numerous incidents that took place during this time. Achilles, still offended, refused to participate in battle and gave his suit of armour to his friend Patroclus. However Patroclus was killed by Hector forcing Achilles to return to battle. Achilles without his suit of armour, cornered Hector alone outside of Troy. Hector, choosing to fight instead of returning to the city, was killed mutilated and drug behind Achilles' chariot.

Achilles's career as the greatest warrior ended in the tenth year of war when Paris, Hectors brother shot him in the heel with an arrow, his only vulnerable spot - still called the Achilles tendon. Philoctetes, whom the Greeks has abandoned on Tenedos for ten years, killed Paris with an arrow shot from the bow of Hercules. The sacred statue of Athena was taken by Odysseus and Diomedes in hopes that Troy would fall. However the city did not fall. Now the Trojan horse came into being.

The Greeks filled a wooden horse with armed soldiers and left it at the front gates of Troy. The Trojans were told that the horse was an offering to Athena, but the Greeks has built it so large that it would not fit through the gates of Troy. The Trojans tore down the wall, pulled the horse inside and celebrated their victory. The city of Troy was totally destroyed at night when the Greek soldiers came out of the wooden horse. Helen was returned to Menelaus. This was the end of the great Trojan War that lasted ten years.

There are several different, even contradictory versions of events. There is no one authoritative narrative of the whole war. The Old Testament and the story of Jesus Christ are the two possible exceptions that no story in our culture has inspired over centuries more then the Trojan War. The Trojan War was fundamental narrative in Greek education. Those tragedians whose works survived wrote plays on various aspects, these treatments in turn helped by adding variations to the traditional story. The Old Testament narratives over time became codified in a single authoritative version.

However the Trojan War story exists as a larger collection of various versions of the same events. The war could be interpreted as a heroic tragedy, as a fanciful romance, as a satire against the warfare, a love story, a passionately anti-war tale and more. There is no single version that defines the "correct" sequences of events nor one single interpretative slant as to how one should understand the war. The golden apple is the key factor to the beginning of the Trojan War. Once again a single apple has ruined lives just like with Adam and Eve..