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Was “Troy” The Movie Accurate According To Homer
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Was “Troy” the Movie Accurate According to Homer?
Did the movie Troy, released in 2004, accurately depict the story of Homers
epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, and was it a good movie from a critical point of
view? I think it was a good movie from an entertainment standpoint, but it fell short in
its comparison to Homers epics. As a fan of “epic” movies, I have watched the movie
Troy a couple of times. In comparing the movie to the epic, there are various
discrepancies between the two. First Ill address the overall flow of the movie, in other
words the organization and coherence of the movie.
The movie Troy was a lavishly produced movie, often quoted as
a “Blockbuster”, it was a movie with a large budget and big name actors. But was it
accurate? The time period involved with the legend of Troy is basically attributed to
around 1334 – 1184 BC depending upon several individuals who chronicled events in that
area. Many believe the excavations at the site discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in
1871 are of the city of Troy. If true, this excavation dates the burning of Troy to around
1200 BC time which is close to the traditional date of 1184 BC generally associated with
the siege of Troy. So how did the movie reflect these times? Was their presentation of
weapons, ships, clothing and such accurate?
“Homers warriors are often described as being heavily armoured with bronze (Iliad
5.698, 13.372, 14.383), while the epithet commonly used to describe them collectively
is bronze-armoured Achaians (Iliad 1.371, 3.131, 10.287). The regimented figures
depicted on the Warrior Vase (LH IIIb/c), found by Schliemann at Mycenae are the best
representations of warriors from the Trojan War period. The bearded warriors wear
plumed horned helmets, body armour and greaves, and carry shields that are round
except for a scallop on the bottom; they are armed with short spears.” (Mycenaean)
Based upon the excavations at the site attributed to Troy, the clothing (Armor) and the
weapons used within the movie appear fairly accurate. Brad Pitt and Eric Bana as
Achilles and Hector both wear bronze and leather based armor and use weapons which
are similar in look and appearance to the bronze weapons of 1184 BC. This was also the
start of the Iron Age, so slightly darker weapons (mainly spears) make their appearance
also.
The ships used by the Greek army in their trip from Menelaus kingdom were
triremes which were the multi-decked and rowed military ship of the day as shown in the
movie. Overall the movie seemed to follow the historical path of weapon evolution and
nothing from later dates was thrown in to make it more “exciting” except maybe the
shields. It was difficult to tell from the movie, but most shields of the time period were
several layers of stretched animal hides. The shields in the movie appeared to be metal.
Also apparent (and admitted to by the producers) was the scale of the city. The buildings
and statuary are generally regarded as a feasible look for the period; however “the
movie enlarged the building and statues for the sake of making things more dramatic in
appearance”. (Troy)
The personalities and depictions of the characters in the movie had to be “interpreted” by
the actors. The main characters are presented in a manner that is accurate is some
places and seemingly exaggerated in others place for the period. Overall, the
ruthlessness and brutality of the warfare of this time was pretty accurate considering this
is a movie and you cant actually kill people. So the acting was very important in
conveying this type of battle. The Iliad itself describes characters such as Achilles, Ajax
and Patroclus as formidable and fearless warriors. The actors therefore had to present
this image and convey the attitude of superiority and ruthlessness of the time. I was a
little disappointed in the Achilles and Patroclus characters. Neither character appeared to
be sufficiently hardened for the time, with the exception of Achilles first scene in the
movie where he takes on the best warrior from the other army. Ajax was pretty well
portrayed as a Greek warrior of the time, played as arrogant and brash and craving the
fight. The way he pushed his rowers to get them to the beach so he could join the fight
seemed appropriate for the attitude at the time. Patroclus however just did not seem like
a typical warrior that would have been the friend and companion of Achilles. In the
movie hes introduced as a relative, not the mighty warrior type he is portrayed in the
Iliad. Although Brad Pitt was not terrible in the role of Achilles, it did not seem his overall
portrayal