The Inevitability of the Trojan War in “The Iliad” by Homer

Who are responsible for the the Trojan War in “The Iliad” by Homer?  

The Trojan War, a great military adventure of Greek mythology, undertaken by the kings of ancient Greece against the city of Troy, has beautifully narrated by the great poet Homer in his epic poem "The Iliad". The devastating war lasted for ten years and cost many livesand ended with burning of the affluent city of Troy (Ilium).Though the mythical war started after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta, There are a variety of reasons that makes the war inevitable.  Now we are going to discuss them in our following discussion.

The events that led to the Trojan War began long before the war. The war originated, as myth goes, from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after the goddess of strife Eris, enraged for not being invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, threw them a golden apple, known as “the Apple of Discord”, inscribed "for the fairest”. Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy.So “the judgment of Paris” triggers the destruction of Troy.

According to another mythical version, the reason behind the Trojan War was founded on the belief of the ancient Greeks, that god Zeus arranged the whole thing, because he was convinced that such a war which would cause many deaths, would be the right solution for the problem of overcrowding, which plagued the earth at the time!

According to Homer, the apparent cause of the war was the abduction of beautiful Helen. She at the time was married to Menelaus, king of Sparta and brother of the wealthy Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.Despite this fact and ignoring the warnings from his sister Cassandra who can foretell the future, Paris left for Sparta.Menelaus and Helen's brothers all welcomed him at their palace and entertained him for nine days. When the king left the palace to attend his grandfather's funeral, Paris seized the opportunity and left off for Troy, taking Helen with him.

Paris, the Trojan prince, abducting Helen violets the host and guest relationship and commits a crime of “treachery to a host”which was considered as gruesome crime in ancient Greece. Menelaus, being furious at Paris called on all the Greek kings to help him punish the Trojan.His campaign was successful: In a few months, a great army was gathered in Aulis, ready to set sail. Being the most powerful of all kings, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and brother of Menelaus, took the position of Chief Commander.

The whole Greek army consisted of 28 contingents which originated from all over Greece. The total contribution of ships amounted to around 1,200 and the head count of warriors was estimated to reach 130,000.

The failure of avoiding war by fighting a duelhastens the deadly war. The armies approach each other on the plain, but before they meet, Paris offers to end the war by fighting a duel with Menelaus, urged by his brother and head of the Trojan army, Hector. While Helen tells Priam about the Greek commanders from the walls of Troy, both sides swear a truce and promise to abide by the outcome of the duel. Paris is beaten, but Aphrodite rescues him and leads him to bed with Helen before Menelaus could kill him.Having no other option, the Greeks decided to land and start the Trojan War.

The association of gods and goddess with the war makes it inexorable. Despite Zeus's strict directions to the immortals not to actively engage in the Trojan War, almost all of the Olympians lined up on either the Greek or the Trojan side. Aphrodite, chosen by Paris as the fairest of all goddesses, naturally sided with the Trojans. So did Artemis and her brother Apollo. On the other hand, Hera and Athena,being lost the beauty contest to Aphrodite, took the part of the Greeks. The same decision was taken by Poseidon, Hermes and Hephaestus Ares, fought on both sides. Zeus, Hades, Demeter and Hestia, remained neutral throughout the Trojan War.

The war startsin full swing when Achilles, who had withdrawn himself for a conflict with Agamemnon over “Briseis”joins the war after Hector killed his best friend “Patroclus”who had been fighting wearing Achillesarmour. Hector takes Achilles's armour from the fallen Patroclus, but fighting develops around Patroclus' body. Achilles becomes mad with grief when he hears of Patroclus'sdeathand vows to take vengeance on Hector and finally kills him.

The Iliad (sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.

Homer’s epic poem Iliad covers only a few weeks in the final year of the Trojan but the events that led to the War began long before the war. The feud among the goddess, abduction of Helen, the failure of diplomatic way etc. cause the one of most remarkably destructive wars in mythical world turning the city into ashes.

This paper is prepared for you by Talim Enam, BA (Hons), MA in English.

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