Non-fiction thriller about the infamous Ancient War
Did the Trojan War really happen?
Spectacular new archaeological evidence suggests that it did. Recent excavations and newly translated Hittite texts reveal that Troy was a large, wealthy city allied with the Hittite Empire. Located at the strategic entrance to the Dardanelles, the link between the Aegean and Black Sea, it was a tempting target for marauding Greeks, the Vikings of the Bronze Age. The Trojan War may have been the inevitable consequence of expanding Greek maritime commerce.
Written by a leading expert on ancient military history, the true story of the most famous battle in history is every bit as compelling as Homer’s epic account – and confirms many of its details. In
The Trojan War, master storyteller Barry Strauss puts legend into its historical context, without losing its poetry and grandeur.
Author ProfileBarry S. Strauss is Professor of History and Classics at Cornell University and an expert in Military History. He is the author of nine books, frequently contributes to
Washington Post,
L.A. Times, and
Newsday and is often interviewed by the BBC. He holds Cornell’s Clark Distinguished Teaching Award.
ReviewsImaginative, sympathetic and plausible,An exciting tale written in a lively style that brings Homer’s heroes and the world in which they lived to vibrant and colourful life,Strauss’s brilliant interweaving of the mythic and the modern archaeological records makes for exhilarating […] reading,Consumed in one of those burning-the-midnight-oil situations… I really enjoyed it,A military epic of the first order, weaving together fact and fiction in a beguiling tapestry of blood, guts, gore – and terrible feminine beauty,This is as good an account as we are likely to get of one of the most famous wars in history. A must-read for anyone interested in war, history, or ancient times,It has taken a mere 2,700 years for archaeology to reveal Homer as a truly talented historian, not just a peddler of second hand myths. Contrary to age-old academic prejudice, finds since 1988 have confirmed that the Trojan War happened much as Homer – the Iron Age writer with an inspired grasp of Bronze Age culture – related it. Homer’s heroes remain mythical, but so much else is spot-on that Barry Strauss extends the benefit of the doubt by re-telling
The Iliad in his own chattily lyrical style as if Achilles & Co were as real as the other proven evidence. Cracking book ...,In this gripping reconstruction [Strauss] deploys an impressive array of archaeological, historical and linguistic evidence…
