Troy (the Movie)

War has existed throughout History. Some men fight for power, some for glory, some for honor, and some for love. Troy is a movie inspired by Homer¡¯s epic tale ¡°The Iliad¡±.
It tells the story of two worlds that go to war for honor and power. Both sides are in pursuit of glory, but love turns out to deceive their hopes and aspirations (as with Paris and Achilles), causing a nation burnt to the ground and the death of an invincible warrior.
Although the story has been manipulated in many aspects, it is an entertaining movie with abundant visual actions and effects that blends love, revenge, and betrayal.

Troy had just made peace with the Greeks after many years of war. The Spartan King, Menelaus, was tired of war and thought it wise to make peace with Troy, who was their most powerful rival at that time. He invited the two Trojan princes, Paris and Hector, to celebrate the reconciliation, not knowing that Paris was having an affair with his beautiful wife Helen. The next morning, he finds out that the Trojans had taken Helen with them, and enraged turns to his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, who soon united a vast army to take Helen, back from the Trojans, supposedly to defend his brother¡¯s honor.

This resulted benefiting Agamemnon, whose honor was corrupted by his overwhelming greed. He saw the situation as a perfect cover-up to open war against Troy and take over the greatest city in the world, since he needed to conquer Troy to gain control to the Aegean and thus ensure the superiority of ¡®his¡¯ empire and ¡®his¡¯ economy. Therefore in the movie he is portrayed as a merciless tyrant who only craves for power.

Among his soldiers was the great Achilles, believed to be the greatest warrior alive. He was overconfident, rebellious, and apparently invincible. Achilles was not at all pleased serving Agamemnon, however, his desire of being remembered throughout History for his courage and bravery was what led him to attack the Trojans. In the other hand, Agamemnon also hated Achilles but he knew he needed him in order to accomplish his tasks. And, although hard to admit, Achilles was his most valuable warrior.

Unlike Agamemnon, Achilles did not fight for wealth, or power, and, of course, he did not fight for kings. He fought for himself so that he could become a legend. Hector was just the opposite. He fought for his country, his people, to defend the honor and safety of Troy. He represented the key to ¡®victory¡¯ or ¡®defeat¡¯ over Troy, and he was conscious of it. If not, he would not have told his wife to escape when the Greeks attacked.

With the unbreakable walls of Troy and the courageous Prince Hector as their leader and defender, the Greeks had no hope in winning the war. Although the outraged Achilles had killed Hector, for killing his cousin Patrocles, it did not make it easier to take over the Trojan fortress. Until Odysseus came up with the idea of the ¡®Trojan Horse¡¯, which was offered as a gift to the Gods, particularly Poseidon. The Trojans celebrated their victory and danced around the wooden horse. At night, when everyone was asleep, the Greeks began to sack the city, sparing no one and destroying everything in their way.

An interesting factor in the movie is that none of the men on either side of the conflict, with the exception of King Agamemnon, can be considered ¡®villains¡¯. Indeed, they were all honorable men who were simply fighting from different perspectives. The Greeks were practically dragged to war for one man¡¯s greed. They fight when they are told to fight; they die when they are told to die. The Trojans, as well, had no choice but to fight against the Greeks because of one man¡¯s love. And if they fought, they fought till the end, because being held as a slave was much worse than death.