FREE ESSAY ON TROJAN WAR

TROJAN WAR

The Trojan War took place in approximately the 13th century. The ancient Greeks defeated
the City of Troy. The Trojan War started after an incident at the wedding feast of
Peleus, the king of Thessaly, and Thetis, a sea goddess. All the gods and goddesses of
Mt. Olympus had been invited except Eris, the goddess of discord. Eris was offended and
tried to stir up trouble among the guests at the feast. She sent a golden apple inscribed
"For the most beautiful." Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each claimed the apple as their
own. Paris judged the quarrel and awarded the apple to Aphrodite because she had promised
him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen was already married to Kin
Menelaus of Sparta but when visited by Paris, she fled with Paris to Troy. Menelaus
organized Greek war against Troy to get Helen back. The Greeks battled for ten years but
could not defeat Troy. The fall of Troy occurred when the Greeks built a large hollow
horse and placed it outside the walls of Troy. The Trojans took the horse inside and
thought the had won the war and the horse was a gift from the Greeks. Later that night,
the Greeks stormed from the horse and opened the gates to allow their fellow warriors in
and the Greeks conquered the City of Troy. 
Ancient Greece was the birthplace of Western civilization about 2500 years ago. Greek
civilization consisted mainly of small city-states. A city-state consisted of a city or
town and the surrounding villages and farmland. The Greek city-states were independent
and quarreled often with one-another. These city states established the world's first
democratic government. The Greeks believed that certain gods and goddesses watched over
them and directed their daily lives. Families would try to please these gods by offering
sacrifices, gifts, and ceremonies. Greeks flocked to oracles to consult priests and
priestesses to answer questions and fore-tell the future. Greek men enjoyed drinking,
talking, and dancing at parties. They also like sports and religious festivals Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle are the most important Greek philosophers. Socrates taught by
carefully questioning his listeners to expose the weaknesses of their ideas and
arguments. Plato explored such subjects as beauty, justice, and good government.
Aristotle summed up the achievements of Greek philosophy and science. His authority on
many topics remained unquestioned for more than 100 years Most Ancient Greeks were
suspicious of philosophers and their theories. They continued to believe in superstitions
and in myths. In 399 BC, an Athens jury sentenced Socrates to death for showing
disrespect to the gods. Greek architects, sculptors, and painters made great
contributions to the arts. They were trying to create ideal beauty based on equal
proportions. Greek sculptors portrayed figures of gods, goddesses, and human beings. The
most famous Greek sculptors were Phidais, Praxiteles, Lysippus, and Myron. Music often
was played with Greek plays. Melody was common and harmony was not. The government of
Athens was headed by Pericles for most of the Golden Age. An assembly of all male
citizens would pass the laws, at the height of its power, Athens had the most advanced
democracy in Greece. The Parthenon in Athens is a Greek Temple. Athena was the goddess of
wisdom and warfare. Apollo the god of the sun and of poetry represented the ideal young
man. 
The ancient Greeks built Athens upon a great plateau upon a great hill. The flat hill
covers about ten acres. Athens became known as the Acropolis. The Greek words akro and
polis mean high city. The Athenians built temples and public buildings on the Acropolis.
By 1200 BC the Athenians had built a wall around most of the city. The Athenians built a
temple to Athena on the hill. Pericles also began the Propylaea in addition tot he
Parthenon. The Propylaea was never completed. All citizens except those of the city's
poorest class were eligible for the council and for all other offices. Women were not
citizens and could not vote or hold office. All public officials were chosen annually by
drawing lots. Generals were elected. Unpopular government officials could be banished for
ten years by vote of the people. 
The Coliseum is one of the chief landmarks of Rome. Romans watched gladiators fight each
other or animals. Forums were the center of public life in he city. Public meetings were
held here and many important buildings and statues stood there. 
The Parthenon is an ancient Greek temple in the city of Athens. It stands on a hill
called the Acropolis overlooking the city of Athens. The Parthenon is dedicated to the
goddess Athena. The best Greek sculptors and designers erected the Parthenon between 447
and 432 BC When the Turkish people owned the Parthenon, they filled it with gunpowder
which exploded and destroyed the central part of the building. The Parthenon was built
entirely of Pentelic marble. One room in the Parthenon contained a huge gold and ivory
statue of Athena. Around the top of the outer wall above the columns of the Parthenon was
a set of small sculptured panels called metopes. 
Athens was a city known to protect people from the Athenians. The Greeks living in Athens
were people with a passion for perfection. Artists excelled in beautiful works of love,
beauty, and passion. Pericles was leader of the Athenians and built Acropolis to honor
Athena. 39 foot high statue of Athena sits in the town. Many people and small countries
looked to Athens for protection. Athens was completed in 50 years. Sculptors such as the
great Fidius designed statues to display in Athens. We as Americans took so much from the
Greeks. Politics, Rhetoric, biology, geology, first to calculate atom, position of
heavenly bodies, all were first done by the Greeks. Great Philosophers included Socrates,
Plato, Hypocrates, Pythagorean, Pindler, Escelus. Athens had the worlds first democracy.
The citizens participated males only in the government. We took the Greek form of
Government and applied it to American Government. Our founding fathers knew Latin and
Greek and realized the importance of the language. The Greeks erected many statues to
honor their gods and one was found in 1928 by divers. The found statue, one dedicated to
Poseidon, god of the sea was probably stolen by the Romans but the ship sunk and the
statue was under water for hundreds of years. Sea at Sunneam was the name of a temple
built in honor for Poseidon. Zeus, the father and leader of the Gods liven on Mt.
Olympus. Delphi was an important Greek Temple for Apollo. 
The Greek people were highly educated and built stadiums and offered sacrifices to uphold
their high religion. The oracle of Delphi, was a well known oracle. The theater
originated as a place for religious festivals. Amphitheater was for plays about woman.
The Olympics were every four years. The competitors competed naked and their were
cheering sections along the side of the competition area. 770 BC was the first Olympic
Games played. Physical Beauty was a great thing for Greeks. Sculptors tried to capture
great eye-pleasing physiques for their statues. Homosexual activity was accepted between
men and boys. A plague in Athens wiped out Pericles and many Greek people. 
The Greek people inspired cultures and countries for years to come and we are all in debt
to the Greek people for the knowledge and wisdom they showed to invent new theories,
laws, ideas, and ways of life. The Greek people were very advanced for their time and
without them we would not know many of the things we know now. Pythagorean helped us to
develop math skills and Socrates as well as other philosophers taught us theories of
science and evolution.