This war will never be forgotten : A study of intertextual relations between Homer's Iliad and Wolfgang Petersen's Troy

Abstract:

In 2004 Troy was released in movie theatres worldwide and almost immediately sparked up discussions on film’s relation to the ancient epic of Homer.

 The main purpose of this paper is to see the connection between Troy and Homer’s The Iliad– motion pictures’ only officially credited source of inspiration. By using comparative method and intertextual approach I try to see how a literary piece, for centuries recited and cherished by the highest academic circles is remodelled to fit the taste of a mass public. How The Iliad mutates to be a marketable product.

   I discuss the changes of the plot that were introduced in Troy and try to see those changes as an outcome of mutation process. Apart from the plot, the notion of a hero is also discussed: how the definition of hero changed through time? To illustrate the changes, two main heroes – Achilles and Hector are discussed, yet again using the comparative method.

   By approaching Troy and The Iliad as two separate cultural products (I did not view Troyas a documentary on The Iliad) I was able to connect them. I could see that the essence of the literary work and the film appears to be the same. It shows that the ancient Greek values, especially those, related to warfare and heroism, have definitely survived long enough to penetrate the modern thought.