The Trojan War is the most famous conflict in history, the subject of Homer's "Iliad," one of the cornerstones of Western literature. Although many...
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Dec 28, 2011
max
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I grow weary of books on the Trojan War. Who was Homer? When did he live? Where did he come from? Did he compose in the Greek alphabet that was apparently adopted sometime around 750 B.C. or was he an oral poet who dictated his poems to a scribe? Were the Iliad and Odyssey composed by the same individual or by different authors? Was the author a man or a woman? If they were in fact oral compositions, how were poems of such extraordinary length recited -- piecemeal or in their entirety?
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Mar 12, 2008
Will
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I loved this book so much I immediately lent it out to my mother, and I hope it has made the rounds of the family. Ever since I was a kid with my children's Goldenbook version of both of Homer's epics I have been fascinated with the stories. As an adult I have come to appreciate the storys' plot, dialog, reflection of Bronze age life and culture. Yet always I loved the heroes, the adventure,and of course the percentages of fact and fiction to the legend.
For years, I followed the lates More...
For years, I followed the lates More...
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Dec 19, 2007
Reid
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Strauss crafts a great short book, replete with quick prose, great language and interesting scholarship, tying together Egyptian and Hittite records to show that many of the outlandish tales from the Iliad and the Odyssey are not nearly as surprising as we might think. Anyone who has seriously enjoyed the epics would love this book, a contemporary version of the classic The World of Odyseeus by M.I. Finley. I highly recommend this book for novices and serious scholars. The approachable length ma
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Jul 10, 2009
Steven
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Barry Strauss examines the Trojan War in terms of what our contemporary knowledge might tell us in illuminating this sanguinary contest between Greeks and Trojans. The underlying conceit to this book is to assume that Homer's listing of actors is a useful starting point. Thus, he speaks of Paris, Helen, Achilles, Menelaus, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Ajax, Hector, Priam, and others as if they were actual historical figures. As Strauss notes (page 11), ". . .this book will refer to Homer's characte
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Jul 27, 2011
This is a decent book if you're not a historian. Historians will justifiably scoff at Strauss for presuming to put the word "history" in his subtitle. Basically, the author weaves several hundred generalizations (enriched by unending conjecture) into a somewhat systematic, somewhat chronological narrative. He tells what could have happened in the campaign for Troy, based upon Homer and broad historical data from the Hellene and Hittite cultures.
It is difficult for me to read more than More...
It is difficult for me to read more than More...
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May 25, 2009
Joshua
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A very interesting look at a very old war. Barry Strauss shows how remarkably accurate Homer was in describing Bronze Age warfare- when Homer lived during the Iron Age. Of course, we cannot know if Homer got the real names and actual events right, so Strauss uses the names and events in the Iliad to show the mindset of the warriors involved, the problems that they faced, the political climate of the war, and even the strategical mistakes that Hector, as the Trojan general made, which is a pleasa
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Apr 07, 2011
Alan
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This was an excellent, truly superb book. It examines the possible realities of the Trojan War by combining archaeological evidence, historical knowledge and texts from the period and lands around Troy, and works of Homer and other storytellers, and combines them into a narrative that explains how much of what we know in Homer may actually be based in fact. It's an engaging read, easy to approach without worry of dry and sometimes irrelevant facts, but also provides a huge section of notes tha
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Dec 01, 2010
John
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Short and decent book. Strauss isn't exactly writing "a new history" but he surely is making the story of the Iliad more approachable. He does make some historical clarifications to help the reader determine exactly how much history is behind Homer's work and the story of the Trojan War itself. Then chapter by chapter, Strauss takes the reader through the story and describes the characters as they would have been, gives a more honest picture of how the battles would have occurred, h
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Jul 23, 2011
Taking as a premise that Homer's account of the Trojan War may well be oral history as accurately passed down as other preserved knowledge (griot law recitations, ancestry chants, Albanian folk songs about Kosovo), Strauss uses archeology and Egyptian and Hittite written accounts (with the added recent availability of translated Hittite diplomatic documents from Hattusa) to lay out the realities of Bronze Age warfare and show that with a few flourishes, Homer was probably very close to the thin
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Mar 23, 2011
Caroline
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This book works chronologically through the course of the Trojan War and compares everything Homer writes to what is known about Bronze Age Mediterranean society - warfare, weaponry, the position of the nobility, the treatment of women, even the clothes that they wore. It's very good and very comprehensive, although it's a bit too 'written-for-the-layman', if that makes sense. I could have done with it being a bit more scholarly. It almost reads like a non-fiction thriller, with no small amount
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May 12, 2008
Gregory
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An accessable and entertaining account of the Trojan war that does an admirable job of defending the classical accounts. Barry Strauss breaks down the war and presents a solid argument for accepting the visions of the Trojan war that have been passed down for centuries as opposed to rejecting the ancient accounts out of hand. His arguments are plausible and well researched and offer an excellent blueprint for anyone who is interested in uncovering history that is embedded in legend. The Trojan w
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Aug 17, 2009
James
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Barry Strauss' account of the Bronze Age history of the Trojan war is delineated in The Trojan War: A New History. He writes a narrative drawing on recent archaeological data that he uses to explain the events at Troy more than 3,000 years ago based on current evidence. Ever since Heinrich Schliemann discovered the "gold of Troy" archaeologists and historians have been expanding our knowledge of this era at the beginning of Western history.
This book puts the events of the age int More...
This book puts the events of the age int More...
Jun 29, 2011
Tom
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Good, but not as good as his book on the Battle of Salamis. He does a lot of speculation about the events which could be forgiven for two reasons... 1) the primary sources are few and far between and 2) he's trying to echo the lyrical nature of Homer's writings. While I appreciate that somewhat, his jumping to conclusions gets a bit old after a while. I would say that this book is aimed more for a general population as opposed to a historial population.
Aug 08, 2010
Nicholas
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I'm very much a believer that Fall of Troy is not an elaborate legend built upon by Homer. Strauss has painfully trawled a host of ancient texts, artifacts and archeological sites to construct a strong argument that the Trojan War did happen.
The guy is pretty much the first historian I've read who discusses Troy's relationship with the Hittite empire...very interesting indeed.
Defo worth a look if you're into Ancient history!
The guy is pretty much the first historian I've read who discusses Troy's relationship with the Hittite empire...very interesting indeed.
Defo worth a look if you're into Ancient history!
Jan 02, 2010
Mike
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Short but good book that looks at the Trojan Way in light of recent archaeological and scholarly study of the Bronze Age. Strauss takes the position that the Illiad was based on an actual historical event and then discusses in what ways Homer's account may be accurate and in what ways the traditional accounts are probably poetic license. Not long enough to be a complete study of the period, but a good starting point for non-experts like me.
Aug 29, 2011
Marcus
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The cover says 'New History', but it should really say 'Homer had it right from the start'. Barry Strauss basically narrates the classic work and throws into the mix referencesto whatever archeological finds that suit his interpretation. A nice read in some respects, but fast and loose play with scant factual evidence makes it as plausible as a Hollywood movie.
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May 18, 2010
Joel
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Love Barry Strauss. At all times he feels like he grounds you in the reality of the situation, which is that we can't know everything about the past for certain, but that shouldn't stop us from weaving an exciting and clear-cut narrative. This book is awesome. Check out "Battle of Salamis" too. He's just great. I'm going to buy more of his shit right now.
Mar 19, 2009
Jeff
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Well written, informative, and very accessible. More pop history than in depth academic work, but perfect if you want a good overview of both the war (as presented mainly by Homer) and the archaeological evidence for an actual conflict between Greeks and Trojan. The author also shows how comparable societies existed at that time and conducted war.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Oct 10, 2011
Fred
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A very good read, very easy and as little text book like as it's possible to get when dealing with a potentially three thousand year old study in history. I learned quite a bit while reading this and it was a good precursor to some of the other books on this subject. Definitely recommend this book for nonhistorians interested in the subject.
Jul 22, 2010
Irene
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Excellent analysis of what we know and do not know from Homer and other ancient epics fragment and what known about the Bronze Age in the Aegean and Anatolia. The author is also making use of Bronze Age Hittite and Egyptian writings to set the scene for the era, in order to make Troy (and Homer) believable.
Vividly written!
Vividly written!
Jun 07, 2011
John
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This is a remarkable book in many ways. It recognizes that the Trojan War of Homer's and others' telling is a myth with historic underpinnings. It treats the myth, step by step, with the reality of Bronze Age warfare. Worth the read; it puts The Iliad in historical context.
Feb 01, 2011
Liam
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Argues that Homer spends a lot of time pointing out the ugliness of war and the horror. He compares Hittite and Egyptian and NE texts to give a broad Bronze Age perspective and how the Iliad fits in. A lot of literary hyberbole and assumptions.
Mar 17, 2009
Jeremiah
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I am obviously a huge fan of the Illiad. I really liked this book because it broke the Illiad down and also offered insight into what may have actually happened and other events of the world at the approximate time of the Illiad's events
Jun 21, 2011
Peter
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Barry Strauss has picked his way through the sources to produce an engrossing and believable synthesis of current thinking about the Trojan War. A good deal of light is being shed on the context of the war by close study of the Hittite and other non-Greek texts, a process begun several decades ago especially by Denys Page, and Strauss's more recent blend of Homer, archaeology and Near Eastern history is very welcome.
Oct 14, 2011
Pete
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This book was not what I expected. I thought it would focus on archeological evidence as a support for the existence of Troy. Instead the author asks us to imagine what a real battle at Troy would have been like. He does this by comparing events in The Iliad with practices and events from other bronze age sources. It certainly provokes some interesting thoughts and is presented well. I found it to be most intriguing during the sections when the actual archeological evidence is being discuss
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Aug 17, 2009
Writerlibrarian
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Read side by side with The Iliad it's a really good companion to the epic tale. It's a wonderful guide to get an introduction to the characters, the civilization of the Bronze Age and if this Trojan War really happened. Strauss has put together the archaeological data, the historical and anthropological data and make Homer's epic tale come alive.
