The Trojan War

The Trojan War

The Trojan War is narrated in Homer’s Iliad and may have been inspired by a real conflict that took place in the 12th century BC. According to the Homeric tradition, the war was initiated by the Greeks, led by Agamemnon, in order to recover Helen, his sister-in-law who had run away with Paris. During the first nine years, neither side gains the upper hand, but in the tenth, Troy is defeated.

Deceived into thinking that the Greeks were surrendering, the Trojans accept an enormous wooden horse delivered as a religious offering. Once the city gates are closed, the Greeks hidden inside emerge and sack Troy. Aeneas, a Trojan prince, manages to escape and founds Rome. According to another legend, the grandson of his grandson, Brutus, settled in Britain and, with the remnants of the Trojan lineage, would found New Troy (present-day London).