The Trojan War: A New History
by Barry Strauss
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barry StraussEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-21
ISBN: 0743264428
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book Reviews of The Trojan War: A New History
Book Review: Fact vs Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, I would like to say that this is one of the best accounts of the Trojan War I have ever read. Strauss provides maps in the front of several different maps of Greece, and also shows the geographic location of Troy and a rough layout of the city and its infamous walls. Pictures are provided, primarily by the author, to show examples of ancient Greek potter, items, and architecture recovered from archeological digs. All this, however, is not the strong points of the book.
The best thing about this book is Strauss's ability to tell a story of a happening that took place over two thousand years ago. Using Homer's account from the Iliad as his base, Strauss tells the story of the Trojan War, the causes of it, and the aftermath. He does so by using Homer's characters to tell the story and at the same time compares legend with fact and what we know to be true. Dozens of times does Strauss tell us the legend and then compares it to archeological findings and other historical accounts (primarily Liner Tablet B and Herodotus.) Strauss also goes into detail of the "thousand ships" that sailed to Troy, how they were made, how they were operated, where the wood came from, and even a rough estimate on exactly how many actually set sail.
Strauss also shows his knowledge of the story when he explains the culture and society of Sparta, Troy, the Hittites, and other Greek city states surrounding the area. References to ancient Egypt and even some present day events are used to back up possible explanations when separating fact from fiction.
Another thing I loved about this book was the Glossary of characters mentioned in the back of the book. 3 pages full of characters names that Strauss had mentioned throughout the text. He even has a timeline of major events leading up to the war and events happening after the war.
I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a history of the Trojan War and who really wants to know more about Greece during that time period.
Summary of The Trojan War: A New History
The Trojan War is one of history's most famous conflicts, a ten-year-long war waged over the beautiful Helen. For more than two thousand years this story has been a source of artistic inspiration. But is it true?In The Trojan War historian and classicist Barry Strauss explores the myth and the reality behind the war, from Homer's accounts in The Iliad and The Odyssey to Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of ancient Troy in the late nineteenth century to more recent excavations that have yielded intriguing clues to the story behind the fabled city. The Trojans, it turns out, were not ethnic Greeks but an Anatolian people closely allied with the Hittite Empire to the east. At the time of the Trojan War the Greeks were great seafarers while Troy was a more settled civilization. And while the cause of the war may well have been the kidnapping of a queen -- and, more significantly, the seizure of her royal dowry -- the underlying cause was a conflict between the Trojans and the Greeks for control of the eastern Aegean Sea.
Through vivid reconstructions of the battles and insightful depictions of its famous characters, The Trojan War reveals the history behind Homer's great epic, without losing the poetry and grandeur of the epic myth.
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