39 pages • 1 hour read
Barry StraussThe Trojan War: A New History
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
In the light of Strauss’s primary source of evidence of the Trojan War, how convincing do you find Homer’s account of it?
Who is the better historian, Strauss or Homer? Consider the role of the historian in your answer.
To what extent are the characters and events in the ancient epics symbolic of the facts of the Trojan War that took place in the Bronze Age?
How does your understanding of the Bronze Age influence your reading of the Homeric story?
Overall, how convincing is Homer as a historical source?
Discuss the role of the gods in the Trojan War.
Evaluate the statement “Homer’s poetry more accurately portrays the Trojan War than the available archaeological evidence.” How can one writer’s fictional tale outdo archaeological research?
How relevant do you find Strauss’s account of the Bronze Age to a contemporary reading of the classical epics?
Discuss the role of women in the Trojan War.
“The forgetting of history is also necessary for its memorialization.” Evaluate this statement in relation to Strauss’s engagement with ancient epic.
