A Modern Epic?: Differences between Troy (2004 Film) and The Iliad Megan Hails 11th Grade

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem telling the story of the last 50 days of the ten year long war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Although the poem is attributed to Homer, it is a compilation of the long-standing tradition of oral storytelling by the Greeks when they often told the story of the Trojan war. The poem speaks of a war in about 1250BC, waging war between Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae and the leader of the Greek army, and King Priam of the city of Troy. The Iliad was written as a sort of fable, telling the Greeks what was wrong and what was right in their actions and the world. They learnt of an important hero, Achilles, and of a famous battle and of the gods relationships with mortals.

In comparison, the 2004 film Troy, directed by Wolfgang Petersen tells the Hollywood blockbuster version of the same myth as the Iliad, although in a slightly different way. The film stars Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Brian Cox, and Peter O’Toole as the main characters, specifically casting the ‘conflicted hero’, the ‘good guy’, and the ‘villains’ to tell his story of the Trojan War. The purpose of this movie, although possibly for self-indulgent purposes, was primarily to make money off the masses using famous ‘hot guys’, (Brad...