How Long Did the Trojan War Last?

How long did the Trojan War last? According to Homer, who wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey which tells about the Trojan War, it lasted 10 years.  Whether it actually happened has been debated for years and will probably continue for years to come.  Let’s look at the story of the Trojan War and how long the Trojan War lasted.    

Most historians believe that if it did happen, the Trojan War lasted either nine or ten years.  Most people consider Homer the expert on the Trojan War since he chronicled it in the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey.  You can also find text referring to the Trojan War in the poems of the Epic Cycle:

• Aethiopis
• Cypria
• Iliou Persis
• Little Iliad
• Nostrol
• Telegony

Information for these poems and Homer’s works came from stories that were passed down orally from generation to generation. 

So we’ll stick with the literary experts and say the answer to how long the Trojan War lasted was 10 years.  One of the most famous parts of the Trojan War is the Trojan Horse.  If this had not been used, the Trojan War may have lasted for more years than it did.

The story goes that the Greeks built a wooden horse with enough room inside for 30 soldiers.  The rest of the army sailed away, with the exception of one who was left behind to talk to the Trojans.  He told them that the army had left him with this horse that was an offering for the goddess Athena.  Since the Trojans saw the army leave, they celebrated their victory.  Later that night, the soldiers climbed out of the horse, attacked the Trojans, and won the war.      

Trojan War - Fact or Fiction

The city of Troy did in fact exist.  Troy was located in present day Turkey.  There have been several archaeological digs there that have uncovered a lot of artifacts and information about the city.  We know that Troy was destroyed around 1180 BC and the cause was most likely a war that Troy lost.

Archaeologists have also concluded that there have been nine cities on the same site as Troy, built from 3000 BC to the 1st century BC.  It has been estimated that Troy was around 75 acres, which is much bigger than previously thought.    

Just because the city of Troy existed does not mean the Trojan War actually happened.  For example, if someone in the far future read the Harry Potter books, they might think they were real because they were based in the real city of London.

Also, Homer was working with general facts and may have taken “artistic license” and embellished the story to make it more entertaining.  We’ll never know.  So far, archaeological evidence does not prove or disprove the Trojan War.   

Story of the Trojan War 

Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, wanted to give a golden apple, marked “for the fairest” to one of the three goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, or Hera.  Zeus sent the three goddesses to Paris (of Troy) so that he could chose which one was the “fairest” and he picked Aphrodite. 

Aphrodite was so grateful, that she made Helen, the most beautiful of all women, fall in love with Paris.  Paris took her home to Troy, effectively stealing her away from her husband, Menelaus. 

Menelaus was the king of Sparta so he sent his brother, Agamemnon, to Troy, along with many Achaean troops.  Some of the heroes that died during the Trojan War, that lasted 10 years, were Achilles, Ajax, Hector, and Paris.

At the end of the war, the Achaeans slaughtered many Trojans, kept some of the women for themselves or sold them into slavery, and desecrated temples that incurred the wrath of the gods.  Because of this, only a few Trojans returned home and others lived in distant lands.  It is said that some Romans can trace their origin back to Aeneas, who was one of the Trojans who escaped and led a group of survivors to Italy.