The Trojan War lasted a long time due to various factors, including power struggles between different Greek factions, military strategies implemented, numerous political twists and turns, and interventions by the deities of Greek mythology.
The Greek gods, who constantly take sides in battles, clearly play a decisive role in the duration of the Trojan War. Aphrodite regularly protects Paris, as when she snatches him from a duel against Menelaus just as he was about to lose. Apollo, a major supporter of the Trojans, sends divine arrows to weaken the Greeks and energetically prolongs the conflict. Even Zeus, often neutral, manipulates events several times to balance the forces and maintain the suspense. Each god defends their favorites, sabotages the other camps, provokes endless quarrels, and prevents any quick resolution of the conflict. These celestial schemings thus make a brutal end to hostilities impossible and seriously extend the war.
The Greeks placed a lot of emphasis on direct assaults and quick incursions from their fortified camp near the beach. On their side, the Trojans exploited the strength of their imposing walls, playing the game of endurance and rapid counterattacks. In terms of fighters, it was heavy hitting: Achilles, a formidable Greek warrior known for his almost total invincibility, regularly faced Hector, a Trojan prince admired for his impressive bravery and strategic skills. Naturally, when such tough and experienced fighters clash with such opposing strategies, it's hard to hope for a quick victory. Add to that the occasional attacks, honor duels between heroes, and the tactical positioning that paralyzed decisive advances for long periods. The logical result: it dragged on.
The Trojan War did not simply pit two cities against each other; it was a confrontation between several kingdoms, each with its allies and external supporters. The Greeks had recruited warriors from all over the country, with famous leaders like Achilles, king of the Myrmidons, and Odysseus, renowned for his cunning. On the Trojan side, it was the same: neighboring peoples, such as the Thracians and the Lycians, came to their aid, regularly bringing troops and supplies. These numerous allies, often coming from afar, kept the fighting alive, allowing both sides to replenish their forces and preventing the battle from coming to a swift conclusion.
Holding a siege for ten years requires a lot of resources. For the Greeks, it was mainly a matter of supply by ship: food, drinking water, weapons, and materials were regularly delivered to their camps set up on the coast. A classic problem of ancient logistics: the wear and tear of ships, storms, or enemy attacks sometimes prevented timely delivery. The Trojans, on the other hand, had the advantage of being fortified behind their high walls. They could rely on their surrounding farmland to hold out and on a few overland trade routes for supplies and occasional reinforcements. This endurance game between besiegers and besieged, with each hoping the other would crack first under logistical pressure, partly explains the unusual duration of this mythical war.
The Trojan War went far beyond a simple love quarrel: it involved significant political interests. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and leader of the Greeks, primarily wanted to expand and consolidate his influence over the entire region. Troy was ideally situated to control maritime access to the Black Sea, a strategic location to master for trade and economic exchanges. For their part, the Trojans defended their city to maintain their independence and preserve their wealth. Behind this battle, the political stakes were enormous: to dominate Troy was to assert one’s power over the neighboring kingdoms, and anyone who emerged victorious would have undeniable influence throughout the Mediterranean. These conflicting ambitions explain why no quick peace was conceivable.
The figure of Helen of Troy was considered in antiquity as the perfect embodiment of fatal beauty, to the point that the expression 'to have a beauty like Helen's' meant that the person was beautiful enough to spark a war between powerful city-states.
Although Homer's account describes a war lasting ten years, some historians believe that this figure symbolized a lengthy period of intermittent military expeditions rather than a continuous conflict during the siege of Troy.
The famous Trojan Horse does not explicitly appear in Homer's Iliad, but in other ancient tales such as the Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid, which delve into this emblematic episode.
During the Trojan War, the Greek army struggled to maintain its supplies and frequently had to carry out incursions into neighboring territories to obtain food and materials, which exacerbated the duration and difficulty of the conflict.
The length of the siege laid before Troy posed significant logistical challenges such as the supply of food, weapons, men, and resources needed to support a considerable army far from home. These logistical challenges often slowed military operations, further prolonging the war.
If the kidnapping of Hélène was the immediate cause of the outbreak of the conflict, it is important to understand that behind this apparent reason lay complex political, economic, and territorial issues that further explain the duration and significance of the conflict.
The Trojan Horse is a trick devised by Ulysses, designed to bypass the thick walls of the city, which were considered impregnable. After years of unsuccessful warfare, this surprising and unexpected strategy allowed the Greeks to penetrate Troy, bringing the conflict to an end very quickly after a decade of stalemate.
The historical reality of the Trojan War is still a subject of debate. While the existence of a city corresponding to Troy is now established, the specific details of the conflict are primarily known through mythology and literary accounts. The historical reality may be that of a regional war that was embellished and amplified by oral tradition and later by literature.
The Greek deities, by taking sides with one camp or another, prolonged the conflict through their regular interventions. For example, Apollo often protected the Trojans, while Hera and Athena actively supported the Greeks. These interventions created a precarious balance, making any quick or decisive victory impossible.
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