The Trojan War: A Brief Explainer

Ever wanted to know exactly what happens and why? Here's a quick guide!

The following article will form the basis of a background episode of our upcoming video/podcast series Let’s Read the Odyssey.

The Trojan War is a pivotal moment in Greek mythology, both within the lore and history of that mythology as well as for the culture that developed and maintained it. The story was the culmination of the lives of many of the great heroic figures in myth, a focus point for creativity and imagination, and the impetus for many of the most significant stories ever told.

While the story may have had humble origins in a historical conflict between rival Aegean civilisations, it quickly outgrew any foundation in fact to become the most complex and significant event in ancient fiction. The story expanded and swelled over time, as the events leading up to and following on from the war became sagas in their own rights, and every possible angle of the events was explored. These even crossed genres of literature, from epic poetry to tragedy and even philosophy; the Trojan War dominated Greek thought and art. Vases, statues, paintings and more would capture myriad moments from this conflict to immortalise them to this very day.

Since the story was so widely known, the Ancient Greeks would already be familiar with the characters and events when engaging with all these different works of art and literature. For modern audiences, however, there’s a lot to unpack that doesn’t come naturally to us - so for our purposes, we’re going to look at all the important things you need to know about the Trojan War, so you can read works like the Iliad and Odyssey, or the Trojan Women, with a handy grasp on the context. We’ll start at the beginning, of sorts, and trace it through to the aftermath - but keep in mind that at all times, we’re barely scraping the surface of a rich world populated with hundreds of characters and stories of their own, and that’s just based on those that still survive today!