Comparison of Troy and the Iliad Essay

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Wolfgang Peterson tackles the job of bringing the epic of Homer's The Iliad to the big screen in his film Troy. Iliad being a lengthy text, it is impossible to include every detail in a movie. Therefore, there are obvious deviations from the book such as the length of the Trojan War, and the absence of celestial participation in the war. There is also an absence of mortal female characters such as Chryseis, Hecuba, and Cassandra in the movie. In contrast, though, the female characters who are included in the film are developed more elaborately than they are in the book.
In The Iliad, the first of many quarrels between Agamemnon and Achilles is ignited by Briseis and Chryseis. Because Agamemnon is forced to relinquish his prize, …show more content…
And how you used to boast, year in, year out, that you were the better man than fighting Menelaus in power, arm and spear! (Homer, III. 499-504)

Helen does though, express her worries and thoughts to Paris and Hector in the movie, and even attempts to return to Menelaus when she realizes how many people she has endangered by following Paris.
Aside from whether Troy is a good movie or not, there are many discrepancies between the movie and the story on which it is said to be based. When Peterson was deciding how to go about shortening the epic into a still long two hours and forty-three minute movie, he chose to leave out various characters, among whom are Chryseis, Hecuba, and Cassandra. Because the story focuses predominantly on war, it is reasonable that female characters such as these are left out. However, in the movie, it is only possible to see the effect of war on women mainly through Briseis and Andromache, since Helen is only essential in the start of the war and she isn't necessarily a victim. Therefore, the movie elaborates these characters more to make up for the absence of the other female characters.

Works Cited

Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York, New York: Penguin Putnam Inc.,

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