Troy - Movie Review

I reviewed the movie Troy (theater version), directed and produced by Wolfgang Peterson from January 19-22, 2008. The film is about the Trojan War, as described in Homer’s Iliad and other Greek myths. The Trojan War was considered the most critical event in the early history of ancient Greece. According to ancient reports, the Trojan War was started by a conflict between three of the leading goddesses. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite held a contest to determine who was the most beautiful and in turn would receive the golden apple. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy was selected to judge the contest. Paris chose Aphrodite as the loveliest and in return she promised him the most beautiful wife. Paris then selected Helen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus as his prize and so started the most famous war in history between the Greeks and the Trojans.

In the movie, I think Achilles ultimately realized that fame and glory are not worth the price of war and really wanted to escape Troy with Briseis, cousin of Prince Hector of Troy. Achilles was a great Greek warrior filled with a destructive rage that made him the most feared man of his time. He became romantically involved with Briseis. I believe she somewhat influenced his change of heart, she had a way of quelling his rage. Her many conversations with Achilles regarding the tragic losses suffered during war helped to soften his heart and seemed to curb his rage. It was during this time that his anger began to waver at times during the Trojan War until his cousin, Patroclus was killed by Prince Hector. His uncontrollable rage momentarily returned as he planned to kill Prince Hector but I think in the back of his mind he knew his death was imminent. He knew this because prior to the battle, Thetis, Achilles mother advised him that he would become famous but would die in the Trojan War. I believe knowing this also influenced his state of mind.

Troy is a movie about the famous Trojan War which began as a dispute between two men. The Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the armies of the Achaeans after Paris; a Trojan Prince eloped with Helen, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta. An angry Menelaus tells his brother Agamemnon, King of Mycenae what happened and asks him to join him in waging war on Troy and taking back Helen. Agamemnon at first thought a fight for love was silly but soon realized that a victory at Troy would give him complete control over the Aegean which was more pleasing to him. Agamemnon called upon Achilles to help him. At first Achilles was reluctant, but after consulting with his mother, Thetis, he decided to join forces with Agamemnon and take his inexperienced cousin Patroclus. Thetis had convinced him that it would be better to die a famous Greek warrior in the Trojan War than to lead a simple life with a wife and a family. She said glory would be his doom. Agamemnon led the expedition of 1000 Greek ships to Troy to retrieve Helen and take control of Troy. After the initial attack on Troy, Agamemnon met with Prince Hector and Prince Paris and makes two demands. First they must return Helen to Menelaus and second Troy must submit to his command and fight whenever he needs them. Hector and Paris reject the demands and Paris challenges Menelaus to a fight for Helen. Menelaus accepts and the two fight. Paris is wounded and crawls back to his brother, Hector like a coward. Hector steps in for his brother and delivers a fatal blow to Menelaus. This unfair cowardly act infuriated Agamemnon and so the battle fiercely raged on. The next significant casualty was the death of Patroclus, cousin of Achilles. After Patroclus donned the armor of Achilles he led the soldiers into battle and was slain by Prince Hector. Prince Hector thought it was Achilles and was upset that it wasn’t. This act enraged Achilles so he fought and killed Prince Hector and dragged his life-less body back to the Greek camp. King Priam, father to Prince Hector snuck into Achilles tent and requested that he return his son’s body and to allow the Trojan’s twelve days for mourning. Achilles made the pact with King Priam and the fighting ceased for twelve days which infuriated King Agamemnon. On the morning of the twelfth day, a large wooden horse is found on the beach and the Greek ships were gone. The Trojan people believed the wooden horse was a token from the Greeks for winning the battle and they moved the horse into the city of Troy and celebrated the victory. During the night, while the city slept, the Greek soldiers hiding in the wooden horse took over the city and ultimately took control of Troy. Achilles then returned to Troy looking for Briseis and is killed by Prince Paris. The battles ends and the Greeks perform a funeral ritual by cremating Achilles.

I compared the movie to information found in our textbooks as well as an online resource at www.ancienthistory.about.com and found a few similarities. It seems there is no single reliable story that tells the entire events of the war, but Greek author, Homer is credited as writing the most important literary source in his epic poems known as Iliad and Odyssey. Our textbook parallels with the movie by indicating that the Greek’s real goal of the Trojan War was to gain control of the wealth of Troy. In the movie, the initial goal was to retrieve