A Comparsion Between The Epic Poem The Iliad And The Modern Film Troy
The film Troy is a movie released in 2004 and was directed
by Wolfgang Petersen, and has been influenced by the classical epic poem, The
Iliad which has been credited of the Greek poet Homer. Both texts deal with the
same subject, the siege of troy which was ended with the trickery of the wooden
horse. However the characters themselves are shown with different actions
between the two texts which revels different motives and thoughts.
These differences are what are to be discussed today from
within the film and the Iliad:
Within the Iliad, the war upon Troy lasted for 10, presumably very long years before the
wooden horse ploy was developed and put into play, this is very different from
what the film Troy depicts, which only has the war last for 17 days before the
walls of Troy are breached from within inside. This difference is pretty
massive, however there is very likey a practical reason for this length
difference, in that there is just too much time to cover over the entire film
within three hours, others the film would have had to be split into multiple
different parts which it is possible the directors wouldn’t have the budget to
fund this massive project which would have been required over several films. The
audience appeal would have very likely have diminished over the films,
especially considering that there wasn’t always action occurring, such as
during the nights with politics taking place.
One of the major differences between the two texts is the
role of the Greek Gods. Within the Iliad, the Gods take sides within the Trojan
War and are seen fighting amongst the common soldiers. However, in the movie
Troy the Gods are barely even mentioned, and are only mentioned when referred
to when signs are received. This major difference could be the result of the
massive cultural differences between the two time eras, the Iliad, when it was
thought to have been written around 8th century BC which would have the prime religion of the
time, the Ancient Greek faith which has the 13 major gods on the pantheon. As a
result, the gods would have been expected to be present in the stories to be
accepted within their society. However with today's society being culturally
friendly concerning religion, by having the gods play a major role like they
did in the Iliad, the movie would have been very likely frowned upon
considering today’s thoughts. However this theory doesn’t hold up that well
since the Ancient Greek religion has too all accounts, died out. Perhaps
therefore, they were unwilling to write the part of the gods with little
information upon them? Afraid to get their facts wrong? I personally believe it
was likely as a result of a smaller budget so they couldn’t hire more actors.
Whatever the reason, the lack of the gods in Troy left the film with a sour
taste in my mouth as i was interested to see how they would portray the gods
and how big of a row they would have.
The lack of the gods in the film Troy also made the heroes
stand out much more, as each indivual hero had less "blessings" for
example, Achillies was said to be invincible since he was dipped into the river
Styx except for his ankle within the Iliad. However in Troy, Achillies can be
seen as a stronger warrior because he could still defeat everyone without
having been dipped into the Styx (even if they did have Achillies die by being
shot in the ankle).
However Troy since it is based off the Iliad, still has its similarities
with which it shares. One of these similarities is of Achilles mother, Thetis,
and more importantly, what she reveals to Achilles about his fate. "For my mother the goddess, silver-footed Thetis, tells me that twofold fates are bearing me toward the doom of death: if I abide here and play my part in the siege of Troy, then lost is my home-return, but my renown shall be imperishable; but if I return home to my dear native land, lost then is my glorious renown, yet shall my life long endure, neither shall the doom of death come soon upon me." (Achilles to Odysseus. Homer, Iliad 9.410).
This dialogue here is mentioned within the movie troy when
Achillies goes to consult his mother down at the beach, to which she tells
Achillies of his fate, that how he will live a long life if he does not go to
troy, and meet a loving wife and have children. However if he stays, his name
will be forgotten within a few generations of his family. If he sails for Troy,
he will be known throughout the ages, yet he will live a short life. Not only
is this message similar, it shows the motivation which drives Achilles in the
Trojan War, that he wishes to be remembered, for great glory. These two similarities
help connect the audience with the film as it concedes with its roots within
the epic poem the Iliad which some may already be familiar with. It also
provides part of the backbone to the plot within both texts which involve Achilles
battle for glory which will last forever.
Messages conveyed
In Homer's Iliad, Homer shows his views on heroes, villains,
and war. He shows that heroes have great qualities to them and that villains
have evil qualities to them. He also shows that even heroes have villainous
qualities. Homer also tries to convey that all warriors have a choice between a
life of war and a life of peace. This is an extract from an essay from
http://goo.gl/Hhg5l and it shows what i believe to be valid remarks about the
messages conveyed within the Iliad and i would like to expand on these
messages.
This essay mentions that
every warrior has a choice between war and peace, and i agree on this which is
shown from the Iliad. A perfect example of this is for Achilles. Achilles is
given the choice of peace or war when his mother Thetis tells him his fate, of
glory from sailing to troy but a short life, or staying home to live a long
life with a family yet his name will be forgotten within a few generations. This is a very clear example of
Homer's which shows that even if Achilles is displayed in the light of a villain,
he is still offered the choice between war and peace. that Achilles whom is
very obviously devoted to war and lives for war so that he may gain glory and
be remembered is a very clear example of this theme which every warrior is
given the choice since it could be assumed that by now if Achilles has already
made this choice then he is given a final chance to redeem himself for his past
actions which is given by his mother with what would happen if he was to sail
for troy.
Homer conveys a message of that even the greatest man has
his downfall, which can be changed to no matter how great a man is, he has a
flaw within him which defiles the man so that he cannot be perfect. This is
shown very clearly (as the essay says) of when Hector flees from Achilles whom
is hell bent on killing Hector.
Like a dream in which a man cannot catch
someone
who's running off and the other can't escape,
just as the first man can't catch up—that's how
Achilles, for all his speed, could not reach Hector,
while Hector was unable to evade Achilles. (22.247) [22.199]
who's running off and the other can't escape,
just as the first man can't catch up—that's how
Achilles, for all his speed, could not reach Hector,
while Hector was unable to evade Achilles. (22.247) [22.199]
However this theme is a bit more obscure as the defining
elements of a "great man" changes from time to time and therefore
what today may be seen as a flaw could have been when this was written
considered a brilliant trait, and vice versa. An example of this is Hector
fleeing (in my own opinion), I see it this way because Hector has been
displayed as a loving father and family man, so Hector may have been trying to
live so that he may protect his family whom are inside the walls of troy, so
the option to flee, could have been seen by hector as a way to protect his
family instead of fighting someone whom he was very obviously outmatched by (Achilles!)
However to the soldiers of Troy in this time, it would have been an extremely
signicant flaw in which their commander and greatest hero broke ranks to flee
from the greatest warrior of the Greek army. However whatever the point of
view, the theme does humble those whom read it. Even those, whom are considered
great men and women, will contain their own personal flaw which stops them from
remaining as a perfect specimen of the human species. Not to mention that one society’s
definitions of a perfect human being is vastly different from other societies.
It is a way of bringing the greats back down to earth amongst the common people
(a modern day example of this has is Winston Churchill whom is considered one
of the greatest leaders of the united kingdom, yet it is widely known that he
had a drinking problem, this bringing the great man's image down due to the
flaw within his nature). Within the Iliad, Hector whom is portrayed as a great
man is brought back down to earth amongst the soldiers of the Trojan army by
breaking ranks in times of great fear felt, and perhaps even degrades him under
the common soldier, because even if some of them did break ranks, that their
commander fled means he is less of a figure to those who didn’t flee whom
idolise this man.
This message which is conveyed so strongly within the Iliad
is much more diluted when it comes to the modern day film Troy. Troy moves away
from its classical roots regarding the messages conveyed of how every the
greatest have flaws, and instead chooses to disregard which could be argued as
the predominant message which is contained within the Iliad and instead just
adds more material to greaten the wedge between the great in the film, from the
lesser, common solders which inhabited the armies who are based on the shores
of Troy.
Cultural Rites
And as
a father mourns as he burns the bones of a son, who was married
only now, and died to grieve his unhappy parents,
so Achilleus was mourning as he burned his companion’s
bones, and dragged himself by the fire in close lamentation. (23.221-225)
a father mourns as he burns the bones of a son, who was married
only now, and died to grieve his unhappy parents,
so Achilleus was mourning as he burned his companion’s
bones, and dragged himself by the fire in close lamentation. (23.221-225)
This shows within the Iliad that the Greeks at the time did
not use the commonly thought of method of burial, in which those who were
buried has a gold coin place upon their eyes as shown in the film Troy, which
was believed to be sued to pay the ferryman to cross the river Styx into the
realm of Hades and their afterlife in the Underworld.
Limitation of sources of the Iliad
Since the Iliad was considered to be originally told in an
oral format and passed down until it was finally written down, much of the
original composition could very easily been lost in the telling of the “epic
poem” which means that the written copy could actually be limiting our
knowledge with the incorrect telling, for example even if it is extremely
unlikely, in the original oral story, Achilles may have been a woman. Another
limitation on the sources involves the translations from Greek to English.
Since the English and Greek language are not 100% compatible, when translated,
the Iliad in Greek will not be the same Iliad when translated to English which severely
limits our understanding of the ancient epic poem. These massive limitations
mean we can’t fully rely on the Iliad as a foundation for our understanding of Greek
lore/literature.
Sources that were not mentioned in post already~
http://damnationgreekmythology.blogspot.co.nz/2004/11/iliad.html
http://www.maicar.com/GML/Achilles.html
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliadessay6.htm
http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~demilio/2211unit1/homrlc23.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad
