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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 939.21
EAN num: 9780743264426
ISBN number: 0743264428
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: August 21, 2007
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 160156
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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The Trojan War is one of history's most famous conflicts, a ten-year-long war waged over the beautiful Helen. For more than two thousand years this story has been a source of artistic inspiration. But is it true?
In The Trojan War historian and classicist Barry Strauss explores the myth and the reality behind the war, from Homer's accounts in The Iliad and The Odyssey to Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of ancient Troy in the late nineteenth century to more recent excavations that have yielded intriguing clues to the story behind the fabled city. The Trojans, it turns out, were not ethnic Greeks but an Anatolian people closely allied with the Hittite Empire to the east. At the time of the Trojan War the Greeks were great seafarers while Troy was a more settled civilization. And while the cause of the war may well have been the kidnapping of a queen -- and, more significantly, the seizure of her royal dowry -- the underlying cause was a conflict between the Trojans and the Greeks for control of the eastern Aegean Sea.
Through vivid reconstructions of the battles and insightful depictions of its famous characters, The Trojan War reveals the history behind Homer's great epic, without losing the poetry and grandeur of the epic myth.
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Rated by buyers 
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For centuries the established wisdom has held that the Trojan War is pure myth, a heroic fabrication of poets like Homer. This idea was little altered even with the discovery of Troy's ruins. Barry Strauss's contention in this book is that Homer's account is not as outlandish as has been believed. Strauss doesn't endeavor to show that the Trojan War occurred in exactly the way Homer described, but only that it certainly could have. He does an admirable job.
The book takes most of its structure from the Greek myths themselves, especially the version found in The Iliad. Strauss begins with Paris abducting Helen and proceeds quickly from there to the final destruction of proud Ilium. Each chapter covers a particular section or theme found in The Iliad, including the initial abduction, the bickering between Achilles and Agamemnon, the plague, the nighttime treachery of Odysseus and Diomedes, and the great final duel between Hector and Achilles.
With each section Strauss adopts something of an "if-then" approach, for example: if a Trojan prince named Paris seduced and abducted a Greek queen how would it have happened, knowing what we now know historically and archaeologically about that period in history? IF he had THEN they may have spoken in Greek, or perhaps Luwian, a near-relation of Hittite etc. The results are endlessly fascinating. Strauss clearly knows his stuff and knowing you're in the hands of a master makes the book a joy to read.
The book is not without its flaws. It's very short, offering a very tasty sample of a rich subject but not a full course meal. And, quite honestly, the vast majority of Strauss's work is conjecture. Well-reasoned conjecture based on extensive research and an obviously keen mind, but conjecture nonetheless. Also, Strauss extrapolated from the Hittites and Egyptians just a little too often. They may have lived in close proximity in both time and place to the bronze-age Greeks and Trojans described here, but there still must have been huge cultural differences.
In the end, all we do know for sure is that Troy once was and then burned to the ground in some catastrophe. Whether Strauss's book offers the answers or not, it is engaging, enlightening, and never boring. It gave me not only a greater appreciation for the history that may lie behind the myth, but for the myth--and Homer's account of it--itself. The subsequent time I read The Iliad I'll do so with this book firmly in mind.
Recommended.
Rated by buyers -
"Both in his exaggerations and his honesty Homer is truer to the Bronze Age than is usually recognized."
The author plays along with Homer's version of the war as far as plausibility permits. Underneath the homeric exaggerations there's usually a basic truth that fits the Bronze Age ways of war. For example, if the story of Helen, or of the Trojan Horse, were not not exactly as Homer tells us, or were not true at all, what is important is to know is that somehow some woman (Helen) and a figurative Horse could have been involved in the triggering and conclusion of the story, perfectly.
It would be foolish to expect accuracy from a bard like Homer; but evidently he did not make up the basics of the story; and if the story hadn't been grand and worth singing he wouldn't have sung it. Never mind it took the war 10 years or 10 months to resolve. Barry Strauss puts the story in its plausible historical context and follows Homer respectfully.
Yes, it was possible. From the eyes of a modern historian one can only blame Homer legitimately for exaggerating the numbers and the resilience of his heroes.
It's a fine book, a good companion, easy to read. I don't give it 5 stars because -given the subject matter- it could have been even better.
Rated by buyers 
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This book's been my evening "laptop book" going home on the subway. And with Barry Strauss - "you are there", not only in ancient Greek society, but also with the Hittites eastward on Anatolia (where Troy was). His narative style is always flowing and informative (it reads like a novel, but without the phony dialog or padding). To quote: "We might imagine the twanging of bowstrings, the hum of javelins in motion, the swish of slings, the bang of missiles hitting shields that protected soldiers' backs as they climbed the scaling ladders...the grunts of defenders...the moans of the wounded, the blare of the trumpet...the gurgling of a dying man." Not only are the kings & nobles pictured, but also the common sailors (Greek only had rower-fighters - Troy had no navy) and the soldiers and cityfolk of Troy. Strauss gives us the geography of ancient world places, and photos of Troy and the many Greek islands. I liked his brief contrasts of the cultures & ways of Greece and the Troy/Hittites. He really takes us there, step by step (I can picture vividly in my mind his physical details of the people, action and settings. Movie-like storytelling, I say. So read this book and see the movies, if you like ancient epic tales.
Rated by buyers -
In this fascinating book, author and historian, Professor Barry Strauss examines the Trojan War. Pulling together such sources as ancient epics and poems, and recent archaeological findings, he reconstructs the players and events of the War, bringing clarity and insight to this foundational event in Western history.
Overall, I found this to be a very interesting and informative book. Homer's epics present a barebones look at the Trojan War, showing it entirely from the Greek side. In this book, we get to meet the real Trojans, and see them within their Anatolian context. If you really want to understand the Trojan War, then I would say that this is the book that you simply must read. I give this book my highest recommendations.
Rated by buyers -
First off, I would like to say that this is one of the best accounts of the Trojan War I have ever read. Strauss provides maps in the front of several different maps of Greece, and also shows the geographic location of Troy and a rough layout of the city and its infamous walls. Pictures are provided, primarily by the author, to show examples of ancient Greek potter, items, and architecture recovered from archeological digs. All this, however, is not the strong points of the book.
The best thing about this book is Strauss's ability to tell a story of a happening that took place over two thousand years ago. Using Homer's account from the Iliad as his base, Strauss tells the story of the Trojan War, the causes of it, and the aftermath. He does so by using Homer's characters to tell the story and at the same time compares legend with fact and what we know to be true. Dozens of times does Strauss tell us the legend and then compares it to archeological findings and other historical accounts (primarily Liner Tablet B and Herodotus.) Strauss also goes into detail of the "thousand ships" that sailed to Troy, how they were made, how they were operated, where the fibre came from, and even a rough estimate on exactly how many actually set sail.
Strauss also shows his knowledge of the story when he explains the culture and society of Sparta, Troy, the Hittites, and other Greek city states surrounding the area. References to ancient Egypt and even some present day events are used to back up possible explanations when separating fact from fiction.
Another thing I loved about this book was the Glossary of characters mentioned in the back of the book. 3 pages full of characters names that Strauss had mentioned throughout the text. He even has a timeline of major events leading up to the war and events happening after the war.
I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a history of the Trojan War and who really wants to know more about Greece during that time period.
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