Existing comment:
Mythology and the Trojan War:
Myths -- the stories people tell to explain the world around them -- permeated ancient society. There could be countless versions of a story, each of which was considered equally true. For centuries, myths were the primary means by which poets and artists worked out their most profound thoughts; in doing so, they laid the foundation for ancient religion, literature, figurative art, philosophy and science.
Central to Greek mythology was the Trojan War, the great struggle between the Archaeans (Greeks) and Trojans. For Homer and later Greeks, the war was a historic event whose heroes and heroines (e.g. the warrior Achilles and Penelope, the virtuous wife of Odysseus) served as models of behavior. By reimagining the war, the ancients explained changed in their own world -- as Rome's power and influence grew, the city's roots were traced back to Aeneas, a Trojan who escaped the sack of Troy and fled to Italy. In this was, myth also allowed individuals and states to find their place in the world. |