In Search of the Trojan War

1985 British TV series or programme

In Search of the Trojan War

Region 1 DVD cover

Genre| History documentary
Written by| Michael Wood
Directed by| Bill Lyons
Presented by| Michael Wood
Composers| Terry Oldfield
David Pash
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of series| 1
No. of episodes| 6
Production
Executive producer| Colin Adams
Producer| Bill Lyons
Running time| approximately 345 minutes in total
Production company| BBC
Original release
Network| BBC2
Release| 24 February (1985-02-24) –
31 March 1985 (1985-03-31)

In Search of the Trojan War is a six-part BBC TV documentary series written and presented by Michael Wood, first broadcast in 1985 on BBC2. It examines the extent to which historical and archeological evidence matches the tale of the Trojan War as recounted by Homer in The Iliad.[1]

## Outline

[edit]

In Search of the Trojan War was the first follow-up series to Michael Wood's initial major broadcasting success, the documentary series In Search of the Dark Ages, which the BBC had aired between 1979 and 1981.

The essence of the new series was to expand the successful format of the eight programmes of the earlier series, such that instead of searching for a single historical character in each programme, all six programmes would search for the true story behind a single historical figure, Helen of Troy.

Wood compares to what extent the historical and archeological evidence matches with the tale of the Trojan War.[2]

Many cities have come and gone, bearing the name Troy, in the historical record of Asia Minor. Michael Wood seeks the evidence for each of them, and analyses whether the details match Homer's account of the city.

Michael Wood's motivation was to seek a legend: a character as deeply embedded in the collective memory of his audience as King Arthur had been in the earlier series; he sought Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships, although, as he himself remarks, romance is something which leaves no traces in the archaeological record.

## Episodes

[edit]

* 1985-02-24 : Episode 1: The Age of the Heroes - outlines the story of the Trojan War and introduces the work of Heinrich Schliemann
* 1985-03-03 : Episode 2: The Legend Under Siege - explores the work of those who followed Schliemann such as Wilhelm Dörpfeld, Arthur Evans and Carl Blegen
* 1985-03-10 : Episode 3: The Singer of Tales - discusses Homer and the bardic tradition
* 1985-03-17 : Episode 4: The Women of Troy
* 1985-03-24 : Episode 5: Empire of the Hittites
* 1985-03-31 : Episode 6: The Fall of Troy

## Book

[edit]

Wood also wrote a book based on the series. C. Brian Rose considered the 1996 edition "the best overall treatment in English of the evidence for the Trojan War."[3] The 1998 edition includes a new final chapter to take into account more recent developments in the search for Troy.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ In Search of the Trojan War, DVD (BBC Video)
2. ^ "In Search of the Trojan War", BBC Two
3. ^ Rose, C. Brian. "Assessing the Evidence for the Trojan Wars", Archaeological Institute of America
4. ^ Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War, Updated edition, University of California Press, 1998 ISBN 9780520215993

## External links

[edit]

* In Search of the Trojan War at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Homer's Iliad

Characters|

| Achaeans|

* Acamas
* Achilles
* Agamemnon (king of Mycenae)
* Agapenor
* Ajax the Greater (king of Salamis)
* Ajax the Lesser
* Alcimus
* Anticlus
* Antilochus
* Arcesilaus
* Ascalaphus
* Automedon
* Balius and Xanthus
* Bias
* Calchas (prophet)
* Diomedes (king of Argos)
* Elephenor
* Epeius
* Eudoros
* Euryalus
* Eurybates
* Eurydamas
* Eurypylus
* Guneus
* Helen (queen of Sparta)
* Ialmenus
* Idomeneus (king of Crete)
* Iphigenia (princess of Mycenae)
* Leitus
* Leonteus
* Lycomedes
* Machaon
* Medon
* Meges
* Menelaus (king of Sparta)
* Menestheus
* Meriones
* Neoptolemus
* Nestor (king of Pylos)
* Nireus
* Odysseus (king of Ithaca)
* Palamedes
* Patroclus
* Peneleos
* Philoctetes
* Phoenix
* Podalirius
* Podarces
* Polites
* Polypoetes
* Promachus
* Protesilaus
* Prothoenor
* Schedius
* Sinon
* Stentor
* Sthenelus
* Talthybius
* Teucer
* Thersites
* Thoas
* Thrasymedes
* Tlepolemus

|

Trojans|

* Aeneas (royal demigod)
* Aesepus
* Agenor
* Alcathous
* Amphimachus
* Anchises
* Andromache
* Antenor (king's brother-in-law)
* Antiphates
* Antiphus
* Archelochus
* Asius
* Asteropaios
* Astyanax
* Atymnius
* Axylus
* Briseis
* Calesius
* Caletor
* Cassandra (princess of Troy)
* Chryseis
* Chryses (priest of Apollo)
* Clytius
* Coön
* Dares Phrygius
* Deiphobus (prince of Troy)
* Dolon
* Epistrophus
* Euphemus
* Euphorbus
* Glaucus
* Gorgythion
* Hector (prince of Troy)
* Hecuba (queen of Troy)
* Helenus
* Hyperenor
* Hypsenor
* Iamenus
* Ilioneus
* Imbrius
* Iphidamas
* Kebriones
* Laocoön
* Lycaon (prince of Troy)
* Melanippus
* Memnon (King of Ethiopia)
* Mentes
* Mydon
* Mygdon of Phrygia
* Othryoneus
* Pandarus
* Panthous
* Paris (prince of Troy)
* Pedasus
* Peirous
* Penthesilea (Queen of the Amazons)
* Phorcys
* Podes
* Polites
* Polydamas
* Polybus
* Polydorus (prince of Troy)
* Polyxena (princess of Troy)
* Priam (king of Troy)
* Pylaemenes
* Pylaeus
* Pyraechmes
* Rhesus of Thrace
* Sarpedon (king of Lycia)
* Scamandrius
* Theano
* Ucalegon

Gods|

* Aphrodite
* Apollo
* Ares
* Artemis
* Athena
* Dionysus
* Eris
* Hades
* Helios
* Hephaestus
* Hera
* Hermes
* Hypnos
* Iris
* Leto
* Poseidon
* Scamander
* Thanatos
* Thetis
* Zeus

Major deities|

* Aphrodite
* Apollo
* Ares
* Artemis
* Athena
* Hades
* Hephaestus
* Hera
* Hermes
* Poseidon
* Zeus

Minor deities|

* Deimos
* Eris
* Iris
* Leto
* Phobos
* Proteus
* Scamander
* Thetis

Sections|

* Catalogue of Ships
* Deception of Zeus
* Judgment of Paris
* Trojan Battle Order
* Trojan Horse

Study|

* Dactylic hexameter
* Homeric scholarship
* Homeric Laughter
* Homeric Question
* Chorizontes
* Jørgensen's law
* Historicity of the Iliad
* "The Iliad or the Poem of Force" (1939 essay)
* Interpretation of Achilles' and Patroclus' relationship
* Milawata letter
* Parallels between Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
* Rediscovering Homer

Manuscripts|

* Ambrosian Iliad
* Codex Nitriensis
* Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 20
* Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 21
* Uncial 098
* Venetus A
* Venetus B

Alternate versions|

* Ilias Latina (60-70 CE)
* Dictys Cretensis Ephemeridos belli Trojani (c. 4th century)
* Daretis Phrygii de excidio Trojae historia (5th century)
* Hermoniakos' Iliad (14th century)
* Men in Aida (1983)

Translation|

* English translations of Homer
* "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"
* On Translating Homer

Literature|

| Verse|

* Aeneid (19 BCE)
* Priapea 68 (c. 100)
* Roman de Troie (1155)
* De bello Troiano (1183)
* Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1380s)
* The Rape of the Lock (1712)
* The Shield of Achilles (1952)
* War Music (1959)
* Omeros (1990)

|

Novels|

* The Firebrand (1987)
* Black Ships Before Troy (1993)
* Troy (2000)
* Ilium (2003)
* Ransom (2009)
* The Song of Achilles (2011)
* Starcrossed (2011)
* The Silence of the Girls (2018)

Stage|

* Rhesus (5th century BC play)
* Troilus and Cressida (1602)
* The Trojan War Will Not Take Place (1935)
* The Golden Apple (1954 musical)

Films|

* Helena (1924)
* Helen of Troy (1956)
* The Trojan Horse (1961)
* Troy (2004)

Television|

* The Myth Makers (1965)
* In Search of the Trojan War (1985)
* Helen of Troy (2003 miniseries)
* Troy: Fall of a City (2018 miniseries)

Music|

* King Priam (1961 Tippett opera)
* The Triumph of Steel (1992 album)
* "And Then There Was Silence" (2001 song)

Art|

* Tabulae Iliacae
* Achilles and Briseis
* Andromache Mourning Hector
* The Anger of Achilles
* The Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the tent of Achilles
* The Apotheosis of Homer
* Jupiter and Thetis
* The Loves of Paris and Helen
* Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus
* Orestes Pursued by the Furies
* The Revelers Vase
* Thetis Receiving the Weapons of Achilles from Hephaestus
* Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Phrases|

* "Achilles' heel"
* "Ever to Excel"
* "Hold your horses"
* "In medias res"
* "Noblesse oblige"

Other|

* Warriors: Legends of Troy (video game)
* Age of Bronze (comics)
* Sortes Homericae
* Heraclitus
* Weighing of souls
* Where Troy Once Stood
* Blood rain

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