April 24, 1184 BCE: The city of Troy is sacked by the besieging Greek army, ending the legendary Trojan War

The story of the Trojan War has mostly been one of myth and legend. It was not until the 19^th century that the legendary city was proven to be real. In 1822, Scottish journalist, Charles Maclaren first identified the correct location for where the city would have been. Throughout the 19^th century, many archeologists attempted excavated the site. By the end of the century, archeologist dug deep enough to categorize the ancient walls that once stood during the Trojan War. We can only speculate the events that may have brought down the walls. Our only historical source for the war is Homer’s Iliad.

In the Iliad, a shepherd named Paris stumbles upon a cave while tending to his flock. Inside he discovers the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The three goddesses ask Paris to judge which one of them is the most beautiful. However, Paris could not decide, so they each suggested a reward should he chose them. Hera offered to grant him power. Athena offered to make into a great warrior. Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful women in the world, Helena of Sparta. Unsurprisingly, Paris chose Aphrodite. When Paris arrived in Troy with his flock, he was taken in by the town guard, and brought before the king. The king told him that he was his long-lost son, and he was quickly adopted into the Trojan court. In order to acclimate their new son in the ways of the politics, they sent him on a diplomatic mission to Sparta. When Paris arrived, he was greeted fondly by King Menelaus and his wife, Helen. When Helen laid eyes upon Paris, she was instantly smitten by the former shepherd. Later that night, they decided to run away and elope back to Troy. When Menelaus found out the next morning, he was furious. He went to Troy and demanded his wife back, but the king refused. Menelaus went back to Sparta and called all his allies around the Aegean to war. Most agreed to support Menelaus’s claim. Fifty ships of the allied Greek city states were launched to avenge Menelaus, thus began the Trojan War.

When the Greeks arrived at the gates of Troy, they were unable to penetrate the gigantic city walls. They decided to bleed Troy dry, and attacked the Trojan countryside. For ten years, the Greeks waged war against the Trojans, but the city would not fall. And then one day, all was quiet. The Trojan cautiously looked over their walls to see a large wooden horse standing idly by. They believed it to be a gift to them from their exhausted opponents (not an uncommon practice for the time). They gladly accepted the gift and brought it into the city. That night as the Trojans slept, the Greeks covertly left the horse and began laying waste to the city. In the melee, the royal family including Paris were massacred. Helen was captured and put on ship back to Sparta. And tragically so ended the Trojan War, or at least that is how Homer told it.