Homer's Inspiration For The Trojan War In The Iliad

Around the world, artists use nature and the world around them to create beautiful pieces of art like paintings and pictures. These painters mimic the details they see in the world around them, then they manipulate them to make them more beautiful, perfect, and fitting than they ever were. Similarly, Homer used the Trojan war to make The Iliad. Around 800 B.C., Homer wrote The Iliad. The Iliad contains distinct details that show that some outside inspiration was used. Homer’s inspiration for the Trojan war was the Mycenaean people. The similarities between the Mycenaeans during the war in Troy and the Achaeans in Homer’s The Iliad show that Homer inspired his epic from the historical events that occured in Troy. In The Iliad, Homer included …show more content…
In Homer’s epic, The Iliad, the ninth year of the ten-year Trojan War is recounted. The war begins with the abduction of Agamemnon’s sister, Helen (Sacks). Once nine years have passed, the Agamemnon and Achilles are beginning to get very frustrated. They argue with each other over war-prize women (Homer 1). Consequently, their bickering leads to the deaths of many Greek soldiers (Thompson). These deaths made the sieging to Troy much more challenging. In order to siege a city, the aggressor must have high funds, many troops, and other means of executing the siege. In The Iliad, the Achaeans had these means, and, historically, the Mycenaeans had the means of sieging the city of Troy (Sacks). Afterwards, Achilles discovers that his best friend, Patroclus, has been killed. Consequently, Achilles goes on a murderous rampage. A fight breaks out. The gods see what is transpiring in the city of Troy, and some gods decide to join the fight, while others opt to watch from a distance. The fight only concludes when Zeus ends it. The epic concludes after a funeral is held for one Greek soldier and one Trojan soldier (Homer 24). A year later, Odysseus devises a plan. This plan sends a group of Greek soldiers inside of a wooden horse. This horse's’ goal is to act as fake peace offering. When the Trojans are not expecting it, the Greeks file out of the horse, disperse into the …show more content…
Like a painter, Homer used the tales he heard of the past to make a poem so beautiful that is capable of entertaining and teaching those of the future of the realm of the past. You can do the same. Around the world, great, noteworthy events take place every day. Like Homer, you can use the world around you to create something perfect that can entertain the world, today and the world of the