Here are some of the questions and issues people face when new to the Trojan War stories or Homer's epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Where in Homer is the Trojan Horse?
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At Mykonos is a large ceramic vase from the 7th century B.C. with the oldest graphic record of the Trojan Horse, but where in Homer's Iliad is this famous wooden creature that put an end to the 10 years of the Trojan War?
Greeks Bearing Gifts?
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The saying "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" comes from the actions of the Trojan War Greeks under the direction of Odysseus.
Was Achilles in the Trojan Horse?
Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia. In the Staatliche Museen, Antikenabteilung, Berlin.
The Trojan Horse was important for the winning of the Trojan War and Achilles was the greatest of the Greek heroes, so it would make sense to find Achilles in the wooden beast that won the war for the Greeks, but was he?
Who Created the Trojan Horse?
Did an artist name Epeus build the Trojan Horse or was it the creation of the master strategist of the Greeks, Odysseus?Where Does "Sword and Sandals" Come From?
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"Sword and Sandals" is the name of our own special sub-genre of action/adventure movies. While it's a self-evident title, there's more to the name than the obvious.
Did Odysseus Really Go Mad?
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It seems the Iliad is full of mad men. There's Achilles mad with rage at Agamemnon. There's Ajax who in his madness slaughters the cattle. And then there's Odysseus. Did such a clever man really go mad or was he faking?
Who Was Briseis?
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Achilles gets bent out of shape when he loses Briseis. Find out more about her.
What Was the Sequence of Events in the Trojan War?
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You know about the Trojan Horse at the end of the story, and probably the apple that Paris awarded Aphrodite that started all the trouble. You may even know the Trojan War is said to have lasted 10 years. What happened during all this time?
Why Are the Greeks Hellenes and Not Helenes or Helens?
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Homer doesn't call the Greeks Greeks. The ancient Greeks don't either. Instead they call themselves Hellenes. Most people who study the Trojan War are familiar with Helen of Troy, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine the name Hellenes comes from Helen, but if that's the etymology, there shouldn't be a double "l".
