The war at Troy was important to the Greeks because it was the story of their heroic ancestors. Consequently many poems were composed about this war, including the Troy Cycle, a series of epics that dealt with the entire Trojan War from its mythic origins in a quarrel of the gods to the homecomings of the weary Greek heroes after the end of the war. All of these epics have been lost, except for two by Homer---the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer's epics were composed orally, but were eventually written down and became almost a bible for later Greeks, because they were considered history as well as poetry, and because their language was so brilliant. Without Homer's wonderful poems, the story of Troy might have remained a Greek story; instead it endured and evolved over many centuries into a central story of the origins of western civilization.
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AUDIOBOOKS
- The Iliad by Homer: a free online oral version. This site includes both the prose translation by Samuel Butler AND an audiobook version.
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The Odyssey by Homer: a free online oral version. This site
includes both the prose translation by Samuel Butler AND an audiobook
version.
ETEXTS
- The Cypria (fragments): translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White.
- Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica: Etexts of various ancient Greek poems, including fragments from the Epic Cycle.
- The History of the Peloponnesian War: By Thucydides. Written 431 BCE. Translated by Richard Crawley. Book 1 starts with intriguing estimates of the economics and strategies of the Trojan War by a fifth century BCE general.
- Homer in Performance: Not exactly an etext, but an oral presentation of part of the Iliad.
- The Iliad by Homer: Translated by Samuel Butler. From MIT. Includes reader comments page, search engine and links to buy books. A download version is available.
- The Iliad by Homer: a new, public domain translation by Ian Johnston.
- The Odyssey by Homer: Translated by Samuel Butler. From MIT. Includes reader comments page, search engine and links to buy books. A download version is available.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- About Helen of Troy: An interesting essay by Robert E. Bell about the myth of Helen and how it changed over time.
- The Amazing Ancient World of Western Civilization: Greece. This well-developed section of a much larger Internet book on the history of the ancient world by Dr. F. Keig. The site is hosted by Foothill College.
- Ancient Ships: images of Greek ships from the time of the Trojan War and later.
- Archaic Period: Includes sections on society, economy, politics and culture of the Greek Archaic period.
- The Dark Age of Greece and the Rise of the Polis.
- Overview of Archaic and Classical Greek History: by Thomas Martin. From Perseus.
- "The Trojan Horse Just Might Have Been an Earthquake": An article on the geology of Troy from the Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 1988. Includes a map of the region possibly affected.
- Trojan War: Various interesting background essays on Homer and Homeric Greece from About.com
IMAGES BASED ON HOMER AND THE TROY CYCLE
- Achilles and Ajax playing a board game: Some Greek legends claimed that board games were invented at Troy. At times, Troy itself seems like a board game played by the gods.
- The Kleophrades Painter: Images of the Trojan War on kraters (large vases).
- Mythology Gallery; Many beautiful images of classical myth figures.
LITERARY MATTERS
- "About Helen of Troy": A useful excerpt about the historical background of Helen from Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictonary, by Robert E. Bell.
- Achilles' Wrath and the Plan of Zeus: This essay on human-god interaction in the Iliad is adapted from my Dissertation, "Human Responsibility and the Fall of Troy" (CUNY, 1981).
- Homer and The Iliad: An excellent, useful overview by Professor Mark Damen from his course: A Guide to Writing in History and Classics.
- How to Read an Oral Poem: This useful site supplements a book of the same title.
- "Odysseus: Fascinating Man and his Many Transformations." By Moya K. Mason. This interesting essay follows the career of Odysseus from Homer to the classical Greek dramas.
- Wily Penelope: An essay on Penelope from About.com.
MYTHOLOGY
- Bulfinch's Mythology: See especially Chapters 27 and 28 of Volume I. Chapter 27 narrates the events of the Trojan War. It is especially useful because the names of characters and places are linked to descriptions and other interesting information about them. This site also includes links to classical sources and other Trojan War information and visuals. Chapter 28 tells of the fall of Troy, the return of the Greeks and the stories of Agamemnon, Orestes and Electra.
- Classical Myth: The Ancient Sources: This site from the University of Victoria is a set of links to "ancient texts and images available on the Web concerning the major figures of Greek and Roman mythology." It contains links to many wonderful images of the gods.
- Encyclopedia Mythica: an encyclopedia on mythology, folklore and legend; includes Greek myths as well as many others.
- Greek Mythology Link: A large, complex and slow-loading site, but with lots of searchable information about Greek myth matters. Based on articles from the Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology by Carlos Parada.
- Helen of Troy: Links to all sorts of interesting sites dealing with Helen.
- An Introduction to Classical Mythology: An excellent, useful overview by Professor Mark Damen from his course: A Guide to Writing in History and Classics.
- The Mythological Background of Homer's Iliad: By John Porter, University of Saskatchewan.
- Theoi Greek Mythology: An attractively designed large site, "exploring Greek mythology and the gods in classical literature and art." Wonderful resources for Greek mythology, including many classical texts, beautiful images, profiles of the gods and heroes, etc. Definitely worth a visit.
- Women in Greek Myths: An index to all sorts of materials from Amazons to minor goddesses and nymphs.
RESOURCE SITES
- Center for Hellenic Studies: at Harvard; links to various classical journals and other resources.
- The Classics Pages: An interesting, varied collection of materials on the classics, including interactive games for the Iliad and the Odyssey.
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