An Ignoble Experiment: The Greatest of the Greek Wars Part 2 by Medieval Collectibles


The Greatest of the Greek Wars pt. 2 When last we left, the war was only just beginning. We spoke of Helen, her circumstances, how the Trojan War began, and how the affairs of gods spilled over into the mortal world. The impending war over one woman would define cultures to come and have a lasting effect on the world. But the Greeks did not set sail blindly. They knew what awaited them. What do WE know of Troy? Let's look closer. Troy: An Overview Troy was a large city and surrounding lands somewhere across the Aegean Sea. It was a distant memory because there are not all that many myths that draw attention to Troy - save for myths involved with the war itself, as well as a few heroes who went there on their own time. Still, Greek heroes were well-known in Troy, and the Greeks were aware of Troy's success at times, but until the war, major details are not made apparent. Still, Troy is obviously Grecian in origin: they worship the same gods and are close enough in location to be reached by a massive fleet, yet still distant enough to have completely different allies. The city of Troy was relatively large in size, and the lands that surrounded it were fertile and great enough to have farms and small villages which were used to support the larger city itself. We know this from the story. The Greeks wage war with Troy for 10 years, and they spend most of those years raiding and pillaging the villages that support Troy as well as its many surrounding neighbors.
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Perhaps Troy's most noteworthy feature was its walls. Said to be nigh-impenetrable, these massive fortifications were among Troy's greatest defenses. After all, the Greeks were sailing to Troy with no siege weaponry to speak of and no way to topple such fortifications. In mythology, the walls were said to be built by Poseidon and Apollo. The story goes that both had participated in an event that had greatly offended Zeus, and as punishment he temporarily stripped them of their Divine Authority. Cast out of Olympus but still possessed of their godly power, they were sent to King Laomedon of Troy. King Laomedon ordered the gods to build massive walls about the city and promised them great rewards, but refused to deliver on completion of the task (it is interesting to note that while both cursed Troy for this slight, Apollo was still on their side, when the Greeks waged war against them). Indeed, Troy's walls might be why the war lasted nearly 10 years. Without them, Troy certainly would have burned sooner. Troy: Its People King Priam was the ruler of Troy during the war. Priam was the only surviving son of Laomedon (who had been served by Apollo and Poseidon and had them build the Walls of Troy). It is also a funny story behind how Priam came to be king. Poseidon had sent a sea monster to attack and tear down the Walls of Troy, and Laomedon was going to sacrifice his daughter, Hesione, to Poseidon to appease his wrath. Heracles showed up and saved her while also killing Poseidon's beast. Laomedon reneged on his agreed payment to the hero again (he seemed to have a problem remembering that nothing good comes for free), and Heracles took it personally. He put Troy to siege and killed Laomedon and all his sons, save for Podarces, who traded his life for a golden veil made by his sister, Hesione. After that, Podarces was forever called Priam, and as the only surviving son, ascended to the throne to rule Troy. Priam himself had many wives and many more children: a total of fifty sons, as well as at least 12 daughters. Priam's most well-known child was Hector, who was his oldest and heir apparent, as well as the greatest of Troy's warriors and heroes (he was also staunchly against the war, but fought to defend his nation like a true patriot would). Other well-known Trojans include: Paris, who ultimately doomed his city; Cassandra, who is gifted with prophecy but cursed to never be believed; and Aeneas, a son of Aphrodite who fought some the Greek's greatest heroes and lived to tell the tale. Little else is known of the people of Troy other than vagaries that would associate them with Grecian traditions. Even far-removed and across the Aegean they were similar to the Greeks. The Trojans made prayers to Poseidon and had altars dedicated to Zeus. Their particular patron seems to be Apollo, as he was supposedly responsible for aiding the founders of Troy, and his likeness and symbols were found at the Gates of Troy in the Homeric tale. Beyond this, it is safe to assume that they were like their Greek cousins in most other ways, with perhaps a touch of exotic in their culture given their closer proximity to the Middle East. Troy: The Real Place Like Atlantis, there is some debate as to whether Troy was a real place. Greek stories are often like this - fanciful yarns spun from threads of truth. So it remains entirely possible that Troy was a real place, and perhaps, even a real city besieged, although the circumstances of the war are sure to differ from what Greek myth and legend tell. In fact, modern-day archaeologists have found a location that they believe holds the ruins of the City of Troy.
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Hisarlik, located near the Dardanelles in modern-day Turkey, is a location that holds the ruins of not one, not two, not three, but nine different cities all superimposed over one another in varying degrees. Each and every ruin has been dubbed Troy, while also featuring a numerical designation: I through IX. These cities, having existed from as far back as 3000BC to as recently as 1 BC, have spanned countless cultures, and pre-dates the Greeks down to the Romans, who revived the name and built their own Troy over the ruins of the others. Of the nine layers, Troy VII is often cited as the Homeric Troy as evidence points to a great fire and slaughter that occurred around 1184 BC. Since Troy was sacked and burned by the Greeks, it is a valid possibility that this is accurate. Troy: The Lasting Legacy Even though it was sacked and burned, Troy had a lasting impression. Later cultures would preserve the story of Troy in their own ways across the ages. The Greeks wrote about the event extensively, and Roman Emperor Julius Caesar claimed to have been descended from Venus thanks to his ancestry supposedly including a survivor of Troy named Aeneas. Medieval scholars continue to study the tale, and even today, almost all of the Trojan War's heroes are well-known, and tales of the Trojan Horse are almost instantly recognizable. This is as much as an iconic story as a parable with deeper meaning. Troy itself might have burned, but it left a permanent mark on history, which will no doubt continue to carry the names of Hector, Achilles, Paris, and Helen forward into generations to come.
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