Abstract: It is widely believed that the first collection of written stories or literature in general was laid down by the Ancient Greece. The most memorable pieces within their rather extensive pool are Homer’s two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. These epics portray a grand image of their world, with gods and goddesses, heroes, monsters, curses, prophecies, and most importantly a war. The ten year long war, which started in the name of honour and ended with what is probably the most iconic siege in history, has been sketched out in the two epics a lot of other stories. Highly romanticised in all of these accounts, the war have been the subject of awe and speculation for centuries. Did the war of troy really take place? If yes how much of the story’s depiction was actually true? Drawing on an extensive collection of classical texts, including the works of Homer, Herodotus, and Hesiod this paper sifts through the layers of myth and history surrounding the Trojan War. Through this analysis, it seeks to discern the historical accuracy of the war and the extent to which it was romanticized in ancient storytelling.

Keywords: Trojan War, Myth, Archaeology, Excavations, Iliad, Odyssey, Epic, Greeks, Hisarlik, Helen of Troy.