Best Books on the Trojan War

The tale of the Trojan War is gleaned from a variety of sources from Greek Literature, such as 'The Iliad' and 'Odyssey" by Homer, the Cyclic Epics, and 'The Aeneid' by Aeneas. And as tales from myths go, this one also has its share of stories within the stories.

Paris was on a diplomatic mission from Troy to Sparta, and he fell in love with Helen. At that time, her husband Menelaus, King of Sparta, had left for Crete to attend his uncle's funeral. Paris and Helen eloped and set sail to Troy.

When Menelaus returned, he enlisted aid from his brother, Agamemnon, to get Helen back. Agamemnon then sent several emissaries to the Achaean kings and princes to help retrieve Helen. Amongst them were past suitors of Helen who, even though they had taken oaths to come to the rescue if any harm should befall her, tried various tricks to get out of going to war.

Odysseus tried to portray that he was mad and Achilles disguised himself as a woman and hid in the womens' quarters.

The men sailed away, and it would be ten years before Troy fell. Not many details of the first nine years are documented, the emphasis is on the last year of the Trojan War.

Achilles was amongst the most aggressive of the Achaeans and he raided, looted and conquered several of the outer territories of Troy. As the war lingered on and on, plots within plots and politics ruled the scene.

At one stage Achilles refused to participate in thefighting after Agamemnon took a slave woman from him.

There was a fight between Menalaus and Paris, which ended with Aphrodite snatching the almost defeated Paris from the battlefield. Diomedes, an Achaean hero, won repute amongst his people by killing Pandaros, a Trojan hero, nearly wounding Aeneas and also for wounding the gods Aphrodite and Ares. But by then the Trojans were enraged enough to drive the Achaeans back to their camp. The next day, the Trojans entered the Achaean camp and were about the burn down the Achaean ships.

Finally, Patroclus, a relative and dear friend of Achilles, went into battle wearing Achilles' clothes and armour - he was killed by Hector.

Enraged by the death of Patroclus, Achilles hurled himself back into the fray, and fighting a duel with Hector. When Achilles killed Hector he refused to give the body back to the Trojans for the funeral but instead dragged it behind his chariot around the walls of Troy.

As the war raged on, Achilles ended up killing Penthesilea, the Amazon Queen, and Memnon, the King of Ethiopia. It was at that point that Paris shot a poisoned arrow, guided by Apollo, into the heel of Achilles, the only part of his body which was vulnerable, and Achilles died on the spot.

A battle began to rage, and Ajax held back the Trojan army while Odysseus dragged Achilles' body back to their camp.

Finally, to totally destroy Troy, the wily Odysseus came up with a plan. A giant, hollow, wooden horse was built, inscribed with the words: 'The Greeks dedicate this offering as thanks to Athena for their return back home'.

The horse was filled with troops which were led by Odysseus. The rest of the army burned their camp and set sail for Tenedos.

The Trojans rejoiced, thinking that the armies had finally left. They dragged the horse back into the city and began to debate what to do with it.

Kassandra, who had been given the gift of prophecy but cursed so that no one would believe her, warned the Trojans not to keep the horse. Of course, her warning went unheeded.

At midnight, when the full moon rose, the Greeks came out of the horse and began to attack the Trojans most of whom were drunk or sleeping. Disorganised, leaderless and disoriented, the Trojans began to fight back. But to no avail.

Eventually no men were left behind in Troy. The city was burned to the ground.

Everybody has a favourite subject, everyone is an expert in something, Get your own revenue generating page about your favourite.

All you need is an email address, no complicated forms! Making a Squidoo Lens is a great way to get the word out about any topic, a garden gnome collection, your passion for scuba-diving, that recipe from your grandmother, tips for pruning hibiscus or tuning a truck, how to start a celebrity fan club or how to supplement your home income.

The first step is to think of your topic and make your first lens now. Come and join the Squidoo community.