• In the Iliad the war took 10 years (quote: "Already have nine years of great Zeus gone by"), whereas in the film Troy it only took 17 days
• In the Iliad, Patroclus was not the cousin of Achilles, only a friend
• Achilles was dead before the Trojan Horse was built (described in Vergil's Aeneid, no mention of the horse in the Iliad)
• In the Iliad, Paris is killed, Hector’s baby is killed, and Hector’s wife is enslaved, however in the film Troy they escape safely.
• Ajax doesn’t die by the hand of Hector, he kills himself due to the shame of not receiving Achilles armour (this occurs in the poem Metamorphoses by Ovid)
• Agamemnon was killed by his wife, Clytemnestra, back in Greece, immediately after the war, not Briseies who kills him in the film
• Hector was too scared of Achilles to fight him, and so he ran away and ran round the walls of troy several times
Citations to http://isaacclassics.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/major-differences-between-homers-iliad.html
But what both texts give us is a peek into ancient times, although the Iliad provides better insight, the film Troy gives an otherwise unknowledgeable audience a chance to understand Ancient Greek customs and values. For this reason, we must respect that many of the changes made by Wolfgang Peterson are justifiable and still give us a representation of the story.
It is difficult to decide who the main character is in the movie or who the audience should be cheering for. The Iliad is mainly focused on the wrath of Achilles and the personal struggles between characters and the gods. There is a true fantasy feel for a modern reader that would leave the stories difficult to believe as history but engages them in a deeper level of thinking about humanity. From a modern perspective, it can lead to asking why the Greeks needed and believed so much in their gods and could even lead to some self-reflection of contemporary religion.
The film, to me, is more of a visual recollection of what a real-life Trojan War would have looked like along with some generic action movie plot and dialogue.
The one piece of dialogue in Troy I enjoyed was the first quote I mentioned, where Achilles is telling Briseis about his thoughts on the gods and mortality. I had already delved into this train of thought before watching the film but it did provide a well worded statement and definitely provoked thought on the subject. The rest of the films themes however, seemed like they had been done to many times before. This is not surprising seeing a majority of western film and literature is based on the Iliad in some way or another.
To sum up, the film has been adapted to suit a modern audience. Being a few thousand years apart means differences in the preferences of the audience will inevitably result in two very different retellings of the story. Both texts give insight to the values of Ancient Greek society. I believe it is important to keep stories such as the Iliad alive throughout history as there is much we can learn from the mistakes and triumphs of the Ancients. The best way to do this is in the form of film as it will reach a younger audience, even if it means we must change the story.
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_war#Origins_of_the_war http://isaacclassics.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/major-differences-between-homers-iliad.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28339487/Comparison-of-Book-Iliad-and-the-Film-Troy
http://www.shmoop.com/iliad/
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/the-iliad/critical-essays/themes.html
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040514/REVIEWS/405140304
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Troy_%28film%29
http://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad1.html
http://www.camws.org/meeting/2006/abstracts/larkin.html
http://www.anyclip.com/movies/troy/trojan-war-room/#!quotes/
http://www.youtube.com
The film, to me, is more of a visual recollection of what a real-life Trojan War would have looked like along with some generic action movie plot and dialogue.
The one piece of dialogue in Troy I enjoyed was the first quote I mentioned, where Achilles is telling Briseis about his thoughts on the gods and mortality. I had already delved into this train of thought before watching the film but it did provide a well worded statement and definitely provoked thought on the subject. The rest of the films themes however, seemed like they had been done to many times before. This is not surprising seeing a majority of western film and literature is based on the Iliad in some way or another.
To sum up, the film has been adapted to suit a modern audience. Being a few thousand years apart means differences in the preferences of the audience will inevitably result in two very different retellings of the story. Both texts give insight to the values of Ancient Greek society. I believe it is important to keep stories such as the Iliad alive throughout history as there is much we can learn from the mistakes and triumphs of the Ancients. The best way to do this is in the form of film as it will reach a younger audience, even if it means we must change the story.
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_war#Origins_of_the_war http://isaacclassics.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/major-differences-between-homers-iliad.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28339487/Comparison-of-Book-Iliad-and-the-Film-Troy
http://www.shmoop.com/iliad/
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/the-iliad/critical-essays/themes.html
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040514/REVIEWS/405140304
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Troy_%28film%29
http://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad1.html
http://www.camws.org/meeting/2006/abstracts/larkin.html
http://www.anyclip.com/movies/troy/trojan-war-room/#!quotes/
http://www.youtube.com
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