Trojan War Greek Heroes

Greek Figures in War against Troy

Dec 31, 2009 Thomas Wyatt

The Trojan War, a Greek enterprise against the city-state of Troy, is one of the most renowned tales in Greek mythology. Several key figures played important roles.

According to Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged by Greece against Troy so that a Greek King could re-acquire his wife, who was taken by (or, awarded to, by a goddess) a Trojan prince. A number of Greek gods and goddesses also influenced the mythological conflict. Following are the Trojan War Greek characters and key figures who played important roles in the war, based on the works of Homer and Virgil.

Trojan War Greek Heroes and Figures

Although the numbers of basic troops for both sides were vast in the war, according to myth, it was the skill, action, and cunning of particular characters that determined the course of the war. Greek heroes and figures all played roles that brought about and ultimately decided what occurred.

Achilles, Greek Character in the Trojan War

A Greek war hero, Achilles was invincible in body except for his heel, by which his mother had held him when she dipped him in the River Styx, which could make people immortal. He was seriously influential in battle, and defeated Prince Hector of Troy, but was killed by an arrow to his heel, fired by Paris of Troy, Hector's younger brother, who was awarded Helen of Troy to begin the war.

Agamemnon, Greek Commander in the War against Troy

Brother of King Menelaus of Sparta, whose wife, Helen of Troy was the focal point of the war, Agamemnon was a Greek king who commanded Greek forces in the war. He was a motivational character who influenced the spirit of the Greeks in the war, and after the conflict, Agamemnon was killed upon returning home.

Helen of Troy and the Cause of the War

Wife of Greek King Menelaus, Helen of Troy (as she came to be known in mythology), was granted to Paris of Troy upon his choosing Aphrodite as the fairest of the Greek goddesses. Greek forces invaded Troy to retrieve Helen, as Paris had taken her back to his home.

Odysseus, a Source of Wisdom for the Greeks

The subject of Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus was a cunning Greek hero who came up with the idea of the Trojan horse, which was used to secure a Greek victory in the mythological tale of the war told in Virgil's Aeneid. The Trojan horse was a fake gift to signify a Greek surrender, but upon being wheeled into the city, Greek soldiers, who had been hiding within the large wooden structure, lept out, opened Troy's gates from inside, and took the city at night.

Patroclus' Influence on the War

Achilles' best friend and a fellow Greek fighter, Patroclus was killed by Hector, upon whom Achilles exacted his revenge, dragging Hector's body around the city of Troy by chariot after defeating him in combat. Patroclus' death was the Achilles' main motivation for fighting.

Greek deities also aided particular characters on both sides, according to their own intentions. However, the above figures and heroes were the most important Greek Trojan War characters.

The copyright of the article Trojan War Greek Heroes in Ancient History is owned by Thomas Wyatt. Permission to republish Trojan War Greek Heroes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Odysseus, a Greek Trojan War Hero

Greek Achilles Dragging Paris' Body

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