Is the Trojan War story biased to the Greek side?

Question

I'm writing a paper for school comparing and contrasting Achilles and Hector. It seems that Hector is made out to be a bad guy, and that Troy was an evil city. Achilles was portrayed as a hero, but he was vengeful. So is the story of the Trojan War, as far as "facts" go, biased towards the Greeks? Was it indeed such a bad thing for Hector to kill Patroclus, thinking him as being Achilles, then wearing his armor, even though it was in the instance of war?

I know that Homer wrote it; but in your opinion, are most of the facts majorly leaned towards the Greek side? Or did Homer actually tell it how it supposedly was, both with Greek and Trojan interests involved?

Answer 1

As much as I hate to say this cause I am not a huge Bradd Pitt fan, watch the movie Troy. It clearly depics Hector as not being an evil man and historical writing even in wikopedia state that just as in the movie Achilles wept before he returned Hectors body to King Priam.

Troy was not evil. It was all polotics, like most wars. Sure A Trojan stole the wife of a Greek who could not hold on to his own woman as stated by Achilles in Pitts role, that is no sin against Greece. Agemennon use this as his catalyist to invade Troy. Agememnon was a qounqeror united Greece by force.

Achilles has great disdain for Agemenon and much respect for King Priam as well as Hector. He was after all much like Achilles. He was protecting the mistakes of his younger brother Paris. Much like Achilles protected Petroclus.

KIng Priam actually kissed Achilles hand to retreive Hector after being dragged around the city for 13 days.

So no the Trojans and Hector were not evik, they were just the losers in a war against the Greeks. Had Patroclus not taken on the armor of Achilles and stayed his ground as commanded then the greeks would have been pushed from the beaches.

The fact Helen left her husband for Paris is no reason for two nations to war over, it was a used as a reason to start one. IF anything the The Great Field Marshall as he liked to be called was nothing more than a war mongrel. Achilles had more class than he which is why he disdained him so and yet respect King Odysseus.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say that Hector was necessarily portrayed as the bad guy, according to Homer's account of the Trojan War. Quite the contrary, actually. I mean, many feel that Homer did favor the Greeks, whereas other accounts, like Virgil's Aeneid shows more favor towards the Trojan side, but I think that Homer was pretty objective in how each of these heroes was portrayed.

We get a glimpse of both the good and the bad sides of each hero. We see Achilles as this great Greek warrior with incredible skills on the battlefield; we see him as the grief-stricken friend when his dear Patroclus is killed; we see how petty and disloyal he is for quarreling with Agamemmnon and refusing to join in battle; and then we see his "evil" side when he not only slays Hector out of vengeance for Patroclus' death, but then he proceeds to drag Hector's slain body behind his chariot, refusing to do the honorable thing of relinquishing the body to the family for the funeral rites.

We see Hector as this great warrior on the Trojan side that is respected by those of Troy; and then in contrast we see the loving father that he is, devoted to his family; then we see him making the mistake of ignoring counsel because he grows overly confident, leading him to make rash decisions that result in many unnecessary casualties; and we even see him run in fear from Achilles during battle.

So we see just how war can bring out the best AND the worst in people, on both sides. Personally, I always felt Achilles was more of the villain than Hector. If he hadn't refused to fight because of his quarrel with Agamemmnon, then Patroclus most likely would not have been killed. I can understand that he would be angered over Hector killing his dear friend (though unwittingly), but he should have been angered that it was his own pettiness/selfishness that cost Patroclus his life. And dragging Hector's body behind his chariot along the walls of Troy, in front of Hector's family, that was just wrong.

I do think the Iliad leans just a little more towards the Greek side, but I feel that it also showed enough of the Trojan side that it couldn't be considered completely biased. Read Virgil's Aeneid sometime. Virgil takes a different approach by not focusing on the Greek heroes, presenting the other side of the story, after the war. Virgil didn't see the Greeks in the same light that Homer did.

Answer 3

Actually, I never got the sense that Hector was supposed to be a bad guy. Homer mentions his strength, his bravery, and even shows a touching scene of him saying goodbye to his wife and baby. He loves his family, but feels a duty to protect his city, and so he doesn't stay inside where it's safe.

Meanwhile, you see Achilles sulking in his tent for a ridiculously long time, and only returning to the fight when he has lost his good friend. Why is he sulking? Because the king won't give back something he shouldn't have taken in the first place. Not exactly model behavior from either of them. If you're tempted to see Hector as a bad guy, it may be because you experience the loss of Patroclus through Achilles' eyes.

My sense is that Homer didn't see any valour in winning a war against a weak enemy. If they won against a strong and virtuous army, it was a greater testament to the power and virtue of the Greeks.

Answer 4

Well Homer was Greek so it can be biased although he never actually makes a biased statement concerning the two sides.
Troy was a Greek City state.
But because he was Greek allot more detail pertaining to the Greek series of events is included.
Mainly because Achilles has a goddess mother he is held in higher esteem, along with the Helinistic love of hero worship, since Achilles defeats Hector he is the bigger hero of the two.

Answer 5

It depends on whose account you read. Most accounts of the war were written from a Greek perspective, as few inhabitants of Troy survived the war to tell their tale. An interesting retelling of the war from a Trojan perspective is Marion Zimmer's novel 'The Firebrand', which tells the story of Cassandra, the Trojan princess.

Answer 6

If you are talking about the Illiad, and not the historical event (which probably there never was one), then no it isn't biased. The story itself isn't sympathetic either way.

Thats just it, there are no "facts", as the Trojan war isn't true. Sure it was probably based of an actual battle, but there are no details or history of that battle. The only original reference to the Trojan war is Homer, all others after him are based off that.

Answer 7

All of hitory is biased. You will note that history is always the word of the victor.

If you speak to the vanqished, a completely different story often emerges. Intelligent truth hunters will always seek out both sides of the story before making a decision of fact.

Answer 8

Both sides were Greek so it cant be biased on the Greeks. It was a battle between the Spartans and the Trojans.

Answer 9

napoleon said history is nothing but accounts agreed upon. the trojans were all dead or in hiding when the greeks decided how they would recount the story.

Answer 10

Just remember that history is usually written by the victors.