Troy 2004 Movie

Troy 2004 Warner Bros

Troy

The film "Troy" was released in 2004 by the Warner Bros company and starred: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom. Written by Homer and David Benioff and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. (1)

Troy is a modern adaptation of Homer's epic poem: " The Iliad" (4). (2) 

  Summary

Paris (prince of Troy) takes Menelaus' wife Helen while visiting his kingdom Sparta. Menelaus' is enraged by this and asks Agamemnon "the King of kings" (his brother) with the most powerful army to go to Troy and fight to get Helen back. Agamemnon uses his brother's rage to lead his army to Troy to try and conquer yet another place, having never lost a battle. Along with Agamemnon's army Achilles the greatest warrior leads his men into the war. Achilles brings along his beloved cousin Patroclus who he had been training. Achilles agrees to join to earn honor for his name and his memory to outlast far beyond his mortal life. (1)

Achilles in battle

Having run away from Menelaus, Paris and Helen board Troy's ship and head to Troy. Hector Prince of Troy (Brother to Paris) learns of his brother's actions and is angry and fearful of what will happen once Menelaus finds out. Upon returning home the King of Troy (Hector and Paris' Father) welcomed his sons and Helen. (1)Not long after their arrival home ships full of Spartans come to the shore of Troy. The fighting begins, and Achilles and his men conquer the beach and Apollo's temple, killing the priests and taking Brisies captive (Hector and Paris's cousin). Brisies is given to Achilles as a "slave" She is angry and fights back rather than giving up. Achilles takes a liking to Brisies and becomes very protective over her. When Agamemnon takes Brisies from him Achilles refuses to fight alongside him and stays out of the war. 

Both Armies come face to face with full gear and weapons prepared to battle. Paris volunteers to fight Menelaus for the rights of Helen. Agamemnon disagrees because he doesn't care about Helen he cares about winning. Menelaus agrees to the one-on-one fight and gathers his weapons. Paris hugs Hector and seems afraid Hector advises him to tire him out because he is old, but he underestimates him. Paris and Menelaus' fight begins and tensions are high. At first, it is clear Menelaus is much stronger than Paris, but Paris keeps fighting until he gets slashed by Menelaus' sword on his leg causing him to fall. Paris crawls to Hector and hugs his legs afraid to be killed. Menelaus demands Hector move out of the way so he can finish the battle, Hector refuses and Menelaus goes to kill Paris but is stopped when Hector pulls out his sword and kills Menelaus breaking the agreement to the battle for Helen. (1)

Spartan Army

Agamemnon takes this opportunity to start the war and urges his men to attack. The battle is violent and eventually the Spartans retreat to their beach. Agamemnon never having to retreat was frustrated and is angry with Achilles for not fighting alongside him. Knowing his men are feeling down he gives Brisies to them. Brisies fights the men back but isn't strong enough. Achilles sees this and attacks them freeing Brisies and taking her back to his tent. Achilles tries to help her but she refuses his help but does take the food he offers. In the middle of the night, Achilles wakes up to Brisies holding a knife to his throat which he encourages her to kill him, she is afraid to hurt him and doesn't move. Achilles then sleeps with Brisies. It seems Achilles is in love with her. She urges him not to kill again because it isn't right, so he stays away from battle and prepares to leave the next day. (1)

Patroclus is furious that Achilles won't allow him to fight and even more angered that Achilles isn't fighting when everyone needs him. Patroclus steals Achilles' armor and weapons, leading the Spartans into battle. The Spartans believe it is Achilles following Patroclus into the fight. Hector slashes Patroclus' throat, thinking he is confronting Achilles. When he removes Patroclus' helmet, he sees it is not Achilles and realizes he has made a terrible mistake. Patroclus is young, and Hector recognizes him as Achilles' cousin. Hector mercifully kills Patroclus, who is lying in pain, choking on blood. 
When Achilles learns what happened, he attacks his men and Briseis. He burns Patroclus' body and mourns. Discovering that Hector killed Patroclus, he sets out to find him. He reaches the wall that protects the kingdom and repeatedly calls for Hector. Knowing he will be killed, Hector kisses his father, brother, wife, and son goodbye. Hector confronts Achilles in battle and is killed. Achilles ties Hector's body to his chariot and rides away, dragging him behind. 
That night, Hector's father, the King of Troy, sneaks into Achilles' tent, begging for Hector's body to give him a proper burial. Achilles allows him to take Hector and also releases Briseis. Achilles promises twelve days of peace so they can grieve Hector's death.
In those twelve days, the Spartans hid their ships made a big wooden horse, and put men inside of it.

The famous "Trojan Horse"

Trojans thinking it was a gift to Poseidon brought it into Troy to bring to his temple. In the middle of the night the Spartans snuck out of the horse and began killing everyone in sight, then opening the gates for the other Spartans to invade. During this Achilles is searching for Brisies. The King of Troy is killed during this battle as well. Some Trojans escape with help from the prince's wife through tunnels. Achilles finds Brisies and so does Paris who shoots Achilles through his heel with an arrow. Achilles is weakened but not dead Brisies begs Paris not to but Paris shoots Achilles many times. Achilles comforts Brisies and urges her to leave with Paris. Brisies flees and Achilles dies. The film ends with Troy burning and Achilles given the proper burial. (1)

Paris aiming for Achilles during the invasion of Troy.

Representation

This film represents the characters well by giving them their distinct personality trait, while also giving them a more modern feel by using more modern grammar and dialogue. (1) The costumes worn look like they are from their period, but were made in this century. This gave the illusion that it took place in the period of The Iliad. The storyline of the film follows The Iliad demonstrating this ancient Greek mythology storyline. (4)

Some more contemporary values that were demonstrated in this film are the bond between men like "brotherhood".  (1) This can be seen with Paris and Hector's relationship, Achilles and Patroclus, and even with his soldiers. Another one is love. Paris took Helen because he "loved" her. Achilles fought off the men from Brisies because he "loved" her. In other storylines, it wasn't so much love, but lust. There was no rape shown during the film, which did occur a lot in this story. I think this adaptation gives a good visual representation of part of the Iliad by Homer. It was easy to follow and was entertaining and attention-grabbing. Great for modern audiences. 

Works Cited

(1) Movie: Troy Petersen, Wolfgang, et al. Troy Distributed by Warner Home Video, (2004)

(2) Website/images: "Troy.” WarnerBros.Com | Troy | Movies, www.warnerbros.com/movies/troy. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

(3) Website/images: "Troy 2004" IMDb.com  | Troy  2004| Movies, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332452/ Accessed 21 Mar. 2025

(4) Homer. The Iliad of Homer. London, Gilbert & Rivington, 1841