Troy

Stories of ancient Greek mythology have always fascinated me. Since I was a little girl, I have been reading about the fabled powers of the Gods and the subservient fictionalized characters who find themselves constantly the object of celestial manipulation. This ancient culture deviates significantly from our contemporary society in that humans are powerless to mythological divinity and existential awareness is essentially nonexistent.

As an Agnostic believer, what I enjoy most about these tales is the individualized personification of such deities and their obvious presence of existence. In ancient Greek ythology, each particular God has traits specific to their legends. Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and sexuality, is known for her palpable beauty. Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, is identified by his winged sandals and hat. Ares is the God of War, with his dark colored spear and battle helmet. In ancient Trojan culture, Gods were revered by inhabitants because they were cognizant, powerful beings. If faith in their capabilities was questioned, punishment would befall the scrutinizer. In today’s culture, there are no conscious penalties to challenging Gods existence. Skeptics are not castigated in this lifetime because the powers of the Gods are reserved for eternal judgment, if at all. I like that the Gods hegemonic power is obvious in Greek mythology. If this was the case in society today, it would be a lot more difficult to question Gods existence and label oneself a non-believer.

I had a sympathetic response to this story. When a story of war is written from the perspective of the battle’s losing side, it is hard to not sympathize with the defeated. How can you abstain from vilifying a culture when they publicly mutilate the opposing civilization’s respected leaders, slaughter the male population, desecrate the holy temples, and enslave the women? This story exposed the reader to the lives of many Trojan citizens and their interwoven conflicts. I empathized with the character’s struggles and saw their hatred of the war as justified. When their culture was destroyed by the enemy, I felt the loss of the Trojans. I sympathized with the characters I had come to know and saw the Greeks as barbaric, ruthless victors. Because I was never exposed to any Greek characters in depth, it was easy to denigrate their existence in the battle.

From a more critical perspective, there are a few elements of fiction that I think greatly add to the story. I think the selected point of view of the narrator makes the story much more interesting. Having a third person omniscient narrator describe the plot allows the reader to see what is going on in each characters head, whether the thoughts be spoken or unspoken. This particular narrative mode is often used in epic tales, so I find it a very appropriate point of view to utilize in a story depicting the classical Trojan War.

Another element that is critical to this story is the setting. As this story is about events revolving around the Trojan War, it is essential that it be in an environment that is directly effected by the presence of war. Troy is, in this book, an antagonist to the plot. The city, because of its direct involvement in the war, represents a major threat to the Trojan characters. It is an obstacle to the Trojan goal of victory. In the end, the city is overrun and the protagonists are captured and enslaved.

In conclusion, I thought this story was an excellent example of fantasy fiction. I enjoyed reading about the powers of the Gods, their affect on the human population, and their response to the ancient war. I think this story would greatly appeal to students in that it is rooted in ancient Greek mythology and displays fantastical situations, but that it also depicts conflicts that may be present in today’s culture and therefore, more relatable for adolescents.