The Story of Troy

The Story of Troy

In this book we are to tell the story of Troy, and particularly of the famous siege which ended in the total destruction of that renowned city. It is a story of brave warriors and heroes of 3000 years ago, about whose exploits the greatest poets and historians of ancient times have written. Some of the wonderful events of the memorable siege are related in a celebrated poem called the Ili-ad, written in the Greek language. The author of this poem was Homer, who was the author of another great poem, the Odys-sey, which tells of the voyages and adventures of the Greek hero, U-lysses, after the taking of Troy. Homer has been called the Father of Poetry, because he was the first and greatest of poets. He lived so long ago that very little is known about him. We do not even know for a certainty when or where he was born. It is believed, however, that he lived in the ninth century before Christ, and[Pg 8] that his native place was Smyrna, in Asia Minor. But long after his death several other cities claimed the honor of being his birthplace. It is perhaps not true that Homer was so poor as to be obliged to beg for his bread; but it is probable that he earned his living by traveling from city to city through many parts of Greece and Asia Minor, reciting his poems in the palaces of princes, and at public assemblies. This was one of the customs of ancient times, when the art of writing was either not known, or very little practiced. The poets, or bards, of those days committed their compositions to memory, and repeated them aloud at gatherings of the people, particularly at festivals and athletic games, of which the ancient Greeks were very fond. At those games prizes and rewards were given to the bards as well as to the athletes. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 16990
Author: Clarke, Michael
Release Date: Feb 8, 2006
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Contributor (Author): Homer, 750? BCE-650? BCE