Troy

Troy is an action/epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, besides material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources of the Epic Cycle, but it frequently diverges from myth. The film has the following cast of actors prominent at the time of its release: Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Orlando Bloom as Paris, Diane Kruger as Helen, Brian Cox as Agamemnon, Sean Bean as Odysseus, Rose Byrne as Briseis, Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus, Peter O'Toole as Priam, Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus, and Tyler Mane as Ajax. Troy was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by David Benioff. It received an Oscar nomination for its costume design.

King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) of Mycenae is in Thessaly, Greece, with his army looking to expand territory and influence. On the battlefield, Agamemnon's soldiers prepare to engage in combat against the army under the Thessalonian king, Triopas (Julian Glover). Rather than suffer great losses, Triopas agrees to Agamemnon's proposal to settle the matter in the traditional way - through a decisive match between the best warriors of the opposing armies. Achilles (Brad Pitt) is summoned by Agamemnon, and after arriving, easily kills the Thessalonian champion Boagrius (Nathan Jones). Accepting defeat, Triopas presents Achilles with a scepter as a token for his king. But Achilles refuses, saying Agamemnon is not his king.

In Sparta, Prince Hector (Eric Bana) and his young brother Paris (Orlando Bloom) negotiate an end to the war between the outlying kingdom of Troy and Sparta. On the last day of a week-long peace festival, Paris manages to smuggle Helen (Diane Kruger), Menelaus' (Brendan Gleeson) wife, back to Troy with him. Infuriated by Helen's disappearance, Menelaus vows revenge. Meanwhile, Agamemnon (Menelaus' brother), who had for years harbored plans for conquering Troy (an achievement which would give him complete control of the Aegean Sea), decides to use his brother's situation as a justification to invade Troy. He is advised by his general, Nestor (John Shrapnel), to call upon Achilles to fight for the Greeks, ensuring they can rally enough troops to the cause.

Odysseus (Sean Bean) is then sent to Phtia to convince Achilles and his Myrmidons to fight, and finds him training with Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund), his cousin and student. Odysseus says the fleet will be sailing to Troy in three days, and that this war will never be forgotten. Achilles consults his mother, Thetis (Julie Christie), and she tells him that should he stay, he will find peace and a long life, but his name will be forgotten. Should he go, he will find everlasting glory, but will die in combat. Achilles decides to go to war.

The Greeks land at Troy and take control of the beach on the first day of the war. Achilles and the Myrmidons kill many Trojans and also desecrate the seaside temple of Apollo, slaying the unarmed priests that reside there. Within the temple, Achi

lles and Hector meet but do not fight, with Hector outnumbered but allowed to leave. Briseis (Rose Byrne), a member of the Trojan royal family who has chosen to dedicate her life to service to the gods, is captured and taken as a prize to Achilles. However, he treats her with kindness, which makes her initially cautious.

Achilles and his Myrmidons do not take part in the next day's fighting because of Agamemnon's unfair claim to Briseis, but they watch the events from a distance. With the Trojan army beneath the walls of Troy and the Greek army surrounding it, Paris challenges Menelaus to a duel to settle things. Menelaus agrees, knowing he is the better warrior. Agamemnon then decides he will attack afterward anyway, regardless of the outcome. Paris, severely outmatched, is easily defeated. Terrified of dying, he crawls back to his brother's feet. Menelaus approaches and moves to finish Paris, but Hector intervenes and kills Menelaus. A shocked and distraught Agamemnon orders his army to charge the Trojans. The Greeks are easily repelled, mainly because their attack brought them within range of the Trojan archers. At the pleas of Odysseus, who realizes that the Greeks will be annihilated should they continue the fight, Agamemnon withdraws the troops.

To offer his men entertainment to assuage their bruised morale, he gives Briseis over to the encampment, where she is abused and on the verge of being raped and branded with an iron before Achilles cuts through and rescues her. He carries her back to his tent and attempts to help her with her wounds, but she still does not trust him and refuses his help. They then engage in conversation, during which Achilles reveals that he is not quite the "dumb brute" Briseis had initally assumed him to be and advises that she should enjoy the mortality of her own life, which gives her something to think on. Nonetheless, later that night, Briseis is seen pressing a knife to Achilles' throat as if to kill him in his sleep, but he quickly awakens and instead of being afraid, tells her to go ahead and "do it". She is slightly surprised at this and questions why he isn't afraid, to which he replies that since everyone dies, the timing doesn't matter much. Though he challenges her to kill him once again, Briseis seems unable to and hesitates. As she does so, Achilles slides her skirt up and kisses her passionately, she drops the knife and succumbs to his love. They continue to make love throughout the night and in the early morning, Achilles is seen to be watching her from a seat as she sleeps.

The next day, the Trojan council is arguing amongst themselves whether or not to directly attack the Greeks again, to conquer them once and for all. Hector, realizing that such an attack would be futile, strongly advises against it, but Priam, swayed by his priest's "bird signs" and Glaucus' convictions, gives the order. Meanwhile, Briseis and Achilles are lying in bed together, and it is inferred that Achilles is planning to leave the next day, as he had ordered Eudorus to load the ships, much to Patroclus' indignation. Briseis seems skeptical of his decision and asks him if he could really "leave this all behind", to which he asks if she could "leave Troy".

The Trojans launch a surprise attack on the Greek camp at dawn. As the Greeks seem to be on the verge of defeat, Achilles appears with the Myrmidons, and joins the battle. He brings courage to the Greeks, and eventually fights man-to-man against Hector. The Myrmidons are initially surprised by Achilles apparently being outmatched by Hector, and in a quick fight, having his throat cut by the Prince Hector. This energizes the Trojans and dismays the Greeks. Hector kneels and pulls Achilles' helmet off, and finds it is actually Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund) who he has killed, not Achilles. Grieved at having slain someone so young, Hector gives him a killing blow out of mercy. Both armies agree to end fighting for the day, and Odysseus informs Hector of the boy's identity. Achilles, who had slept through the battle, is told by the Myrmidons of his cousin's death. They had also mistaken Patroclus for Achilles, since he had put on the same armour, and moved in the same way. Later that night, Achilles leads the funeral ceremony, complete with a funeral pyre.

The next day, an enraged Achilles approaches the gates of Troy alone and demands Hector come out and face him. Hector requests a pact that the loser be given proper funeral rites by the winner, which is angrily refused by Achilles. The pair fight a fierce duel but in the end Achilles kills Hector, and then ties the body to the back of his chariot, callously dragging it back to the Greek camp. That night, King Priam visits the Greek army's camp to retrieve Hector's body. After an emotional talk given to him by Priam (Peter O'Toole), Achilles breaks down into tears near Hector's body. He lets Priam take Hector's body back, promising him that no Greek will attack Troy for twelve days in order to give time for the proper funeral rites to be performed on the prince, also saying that Hector was the best he'd fought. Achilles lets Priam take Briseis back as well, and gives her the shell necklace Thetis made for him. He later makes amends with Eudorus (whom he had beaten and almost killed over the death of Patroclus), and gives him one last order: to take the Myrmidons home.

During the 12 days that Troy mourns Hector's death, the Greeks plan to enter the city using a hollowed-out wooden horse, devised by Odysseus. The Greeks leave the horse at the location of their camp, then withdraw to the beach hiding in their ships behind a nearby island. Paris warns Priam about the dangers of the horse, and says they should burn it. However, Priam neglects his warning and is blinded by the priests' talk of the horse being a "peace offering from the Greeks", in order to appease the god Poseidon for a safe passage home during their retreat. Assuming victory, the Trojans take the horse into the city and celebrate. A band of Greeks come out of the horse at night, killing the guards and opening the gates to the city, allowing the main army outside the city to enter. Without the defenses provided by its walls, the outnumbered and unprepared Trojan resistance is overwhelmed. Troy is sacked, and King Priam is killed by Agamemnon.

Achilles frantically searches for Briseis, who is at the shrine of Apollo being threatened by Agamemnon. She kills him with a concealed knife, and is saved from Agamemnon's guards by Achilles. Paris finds Achilles, and shoots an arrow that goes straight through Achilles' heel. Crippled, he turns to face him but is hit in the chest by several more arrows, despite fervent pleas from Briseis. The wounds are fatal, and after a final passionate kiss and teary farewell, Achilles urges Briseis to join Paris as they escape the city through a secret passage.

After a last disorganized and futile attempt by surviving Trojan soldiers to repel the invaders, the battle ends and the Greeks storm the inner palace only to find that Achilles has died just a few moments earlier. Funeral rituals are performed for him the next morning in the ruins of Troy. The movie ends with Odysseus delivering the final words: "If they ever tell my story, let them say I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses. Let them say I lived in the time of Achilles."

Main differences between the original Greek myth and the film

• According to the myths, Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hera, Aphrodite and Poseidon all played active parts in the Trojan War. The film presents rites of Greek polytheism, including libation, prayer and Charon's obol (anachronistically, since coinage comes into use only 600 years later), but it does not show the gods as real or actively intervening. Achilles' mother Thetis is presented as a human woman.
• The Judgement of Paris is not mentioned. This was the impetus for the relationship between Paris and Helen, making it the catalyst for the entire war.
• The opening scene in Thessaly is not mentioned in the Iliad, nor are the king Triopas or the hero Boagrius.
• The Oath of Tyndareos is not referred to. This oath, an idea by Odysseus, was sworn by all the suitors of Helen prior to her marriage to Menelaus. The oath demanded that all rejected suitors would unite for revenge if Helen was ever taken by another. The omission of this helps portray the invasion of Ilios as nothing more than a grab for power by Agamemnon.
• Sparta has no harbour; it is situated well inland, although on the Eurotas River.
• Odysseus finds Achilles sparring with Patroclus, though some versions of the myth state that Achilles was hiding (disguised as a woman) at Scyros on the orders of his mother.
• The Trojan War takes about 10 years, instead of the few weeks as in the movie.
• The movie character Briseis is a composite amalgamation of Iliad characters Briseis, Chryseis, and Cassandra and another character from mythology surrounding the war, Polyxena.
• Menelaus is not killed by Hector in the Iliad. He is one of the few leaders to survive the war and returns to live with his retrieved wife Helen "happily ever after".
• Although Menelaus and Paris did engage in single combat, it was at the behest of Menelaus. As Menelaus was about to win the fight, Aphrodite snatched Paris from combat "under a cloud of darkness" and placed him safely inside Troy.
• Agamemnon does not die at Troy. He survi ves and returns to Mycenae where he is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra, as referred to in Homer's Odyssey, Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, and in Sophocles' Electra. However the manner in which he dies in the movie is reminiscent of the manner described in the aforementioned plays.
• Patroclus does not lead the Myrmidons on foot; instead, he rides a chariot drawn by Balius and Xanthus, Achilles' godly horses (after Patroclus was killed, the horses were reprimanded by Achilles for allowing Patroclus' death).
• Achilles knew of Patroculus' intentions to fight beforehand, and allows him to lead the Myrmidons in his place, lending him his armour and telling him to return after the Trojans are pushed back from Greek ships i nstead of pursuing them further.
• The body of Patroclus is not given over to the Greeks by the Trojans; the fight over the body takes the entirety of Book XVII of The Iliad.
• Patroclus is Achilles tentmate, not his cousin. A tentmate as defined by the Greeks is a close friend, war comrade and maybe lover. The Illiad does not explicitly state that Patroclus' and Achilles' relationship is anything more than platonic though.
• Patroclus' funeral pyre is not burnt until after Hector has been killed. After killing Hector, Achilles drags the dead body back to the body of Patroclus as a sign of vengeance.
• Hector does not readily engage in combat with Achilles. As the Trojans are retreating into the wall, Hector stays outside to engage Achilles, but as Achilles runs towards him, he panics and flees. As the city's gates have already been closed, Hector runs around the city three times before Athena tricks him into stopping and fighting Achilles. There is no protracted duel, as Achilles kills Hector with a spear while Hector is running towards him. Hector is also wearing Achilles armour, which had been taken from the body of Patroclus, and Achilles is wearing new armour, forged by Hephaestus at the request of Thetis after his old armour is taken.
• The Trojan Horse is claimed to be left as an o ffering to Poseidon while according to Virgil it was dedicated to Athena (Minerva).
• Ajax is not killed by Hector; he falls on his own sword in shame. He disgraced himself by a moment of madness: After the death of Achilles, Ajax slaughtered a herd of sheep thinking them to be the Greek leaders. This act arose from Ajax' rage because the Greek leaders did not hand him Achilles armour, after having a quarrel with Odysseus (after the quarrel, Odysseus got the armour).
• Achilles dies before Ajax. Ajax is often shown carrying the dead body of Achilles.
• Sinon, the agent sent by the Greeks to convince the Trojans that they have left for home and that the wooden horse is harm less does not appear in the movie; also missing is the Trojan priest Laocoön who warned not to trust Greeks bearing gifts.
• In Book 2 of Virgil's Aeneid Priam is killed, not by Agamemnon, but by Neoptolemus, Achilles' son. This is supported by numerous vase paintings showing that it was established in popular Greek culture.
• Andromache does not escape, but is captured . Her son Astyanax is killed.
• In the secret tunnel Paris asks Aeneas's name, though they were brothers-in-law and well known to each other.
• Aeneas is depicted here as a teenager whereas in the Iliad he was older (about the same age as Hector) and was second best warrior after Hector according to the story. Also, he is depicted as leading his father out through this tunnel, though book II of Vergil's Aeneid describes Aeneas as carrying his father on his shoulders. In addition, his father's (Anchises) house is far away from the citadel, as Vergil describes in the Aeneid, and Aeneas would not have been carrying him at this point anyway.
• No such object as the "Sword of Troy" is ever referred to in any myth, including the much later Roman story of Aeneas, who bears the sword away at the end of the film.
• The movie's closing titles state that the film was inspired by the Iliad of Homer, but the end of the film is based (loosely) on Book 2 of The Aeneid of Virgil. The Wooden Horse and the Sack of Troy do not appear in the Iliad which ends shortly after the funeral of Hector.
• In original myth, Cassandra tells her father that the horse is a trap, but she is cursed by Apollo so no one believes her prophecies.
• Laocoon from the Aeneid is not mentioned. Laocoon was a priest of Apollo who was killed by two serpents sent by Athena as retribution for throwing a spear at the Trojan horse.
• Paris and Helen do not escape and live happily ever after; Paris is killed before the end of the war and Helen is captured by Menelaus and returns to Sparta with him.
• Many of the event described in the Illiad are left out. These include Diomedes' aristeia, the plague that opens the Illiad and results in Agamemnon's claiming of Briseis, the Gods' battles on Greek and Trojan lines and more. Many other myths surrounding the Trojan war such as the taking of the Palladium and the slaughter of King Rhesus's horse are also not mentioned.