One of the most famous events of the ancient world is war between the Greeks and the Trojans, which is told in the epic novel The Iliad, and then finished in The Odyssey. Funny thing is, we don’t know for sure if this war really happened!
Regardless of whether the battle really happened, the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey are two of the most important and famous written works in all of human history. So today we’re going to look at the stories, their author, their historical background, and the impact they had on Greek society, and on history.
The Triumph of Achilles, a tapestry by Franz von Matsch
One of the oldest bits of text from the Iliad, from around 470 AD. These lines are on a wooden board, probably from someone practicing their Greek writing in school. It’s from Egypt, but it’s on display in the British Museum, as is much of Egypt.
Actual image from the battle of Troy, taken moments before the photographer was killed by a Greek spear.