The 2004 film "Troy," directed by Wolfgang Petersen, came under intense scrutiny for its historical inaccuracies, despite drawing inspiration from Homer's Iliad to craft its narrative.
Backed by an impressive ensemble, including Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Diane Kruger as Helen, and Orlando Bloom as Paris, the movie managed to amass substantial box office earnings. Nevertheless, the film was riddled with numerous errors or, as the production company argued, artistic interpretations of the events surrounding the Battle of Troy.
From a historical perspective, the film featured inaccuracies such as the presence of torches, which did not exist in the Turkey of that era. Furthermore, the Greeks were depicted with Mediterranean features – dark hair, brunettes, and generally brown eyes – whereas historical evidence suggests that they did not have the blonde and blue-eyed appearance of Brad Pitt. In terms of the timeline, the Trojan War spanned a decade, in contrast to the film's portrayal of a few weeks. These are just a few glaring examples of the film's deviations from historical accuracy.
The notion that all warriors donned identical attire and armor is a modern and erroneous concept. In the early Greek era, armor and weaponry were individualized, with each warrior possessing custom-made gear. Close scrutiny of Homeric texts reveals additional minor errors that, while not fatally detracting from the film, are noteworthy for those familiar with the source material. The movie also takes creative liberties with the myth when it has Paris fatally wound Achilles with multiple arrows, including one to his heel inside the walls of Troy. According to the myth, Achilles is felled outside the city by an arrow from Paris, guided by the goddess Aphrodite, piercing his heel. All these deviations stem from Petersen's interpretation of the Homeric text, adapting it to a more visual medium.
Inconsistencies extend to character relationships within the film. For example, Achilles and Patroclus were not cousins as portrayed in the movie but lovers and comrades-in-arms who shared Briseis. Homeric texts suggest that Patroclus had Achilles' consent to join the battle, though the director chose to depict it differently.
Moreover, the film misinterprets the character of Briseis. She was Achilles' concubine, not the niece of King Priam, as the film suggests. Additionally, King Priam was not a widower; he had his wife, Hecuba. Menelaus and Agamemnon did not meet their demise in Troy but returned to their respective lands, as is evident when reading the Odyssey, which recounts Agamemnon's murder by his wife Clytemnestra's lover upon his return from the Trojan War. Paris, portrayed by Orlando Bloom, meets his end during the conflict, struck by an arrow, and Helen returns to Sparta with Menelaus, rather than fleeing together, as the film depicts.
Despite these inaccuracies, the film's props team did excel in capturing the Greek practice of polychromy, featuring shades of red, blue, white, and other pigments. This portrayal provided a realistic glimpse into how the Greeks employed colors in their statues, temples, and palaces, although some of the depicted artworks, like that of Apollo, fell short of historical accuracy. The team also diligently recreated the kouroi, stone or marble statues with a masculine appearance that held religious or heroic significance. Amid the film's evident focus on glorifying Brad Pitt's character, Petersen and his team did manage to capture the essence of the Greek civilization, not only in terms of artistic beauty but also the concept of areté, excellence, honor, and the intricate relationship between the Greeks and their gods.
