An Analysis of Mythological Background to the Movie Trojan War

王秀偉

【Abstract】The movie Trojan war produced in 2004 didnt reach desired effect because the mythological background was neglected. This thesis will analyze the difference between the movie and the mythology from two aspects， so that people can heighten the culture sensitivity of the movie.

【Key words】Trojan war； mythological background； movie

1. Introduction

The culture of a nation can be embodied perfectly by its movies. The movie Trojan war produced in 2004 has been the newest version of the famous war. The movie which had strong cast and enormous investment didnt reach expected effect after its first public screening. The reason is that even though this movie come from Greek and Roman mythology， it havent not been found the figures of gods in that the director neglected the contradiction between gods and gods， gods and people and turned it to one that between different people and different nations. It made people who longed to taste the beauty of mythology disappointed because people felt the movie plots were abrupt and obscure without the mythological groundwork. Therefore， in order to understand and appreciate the movie well， its necessary to learn some mythological background knowledge about Trojan war and at the same time can heighten peoples culture sensitivity of the movie.

2. Mythological Background

2.1 The Genesis of Trojan War

The genesis of Trojan War was Helen and Pariss elopement in the movie Trojan war. However， in the Greek and Roman mythology， the blasting fuse of Trojan War was not only Helen and Pariss elopement but also three goddesses fighting. The story began with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. All gods were invited to attend the grand wedding party accept Eris， the goddess of discord， which led to Eriss grudges. So she threw a golden apple bearing the words “For the fairest” to cause a dissension among goddesses. The golden apple caused the fighting among Hera， Athene， and Aphrodite. Zeus couldnt decide it， so he instructed them to find Paris， the Trojan princess to give a ruling.Three goddesses made promises to Paris respectively. Aphrodite promised to send him the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris loved beauties so he made the final decision that the golden apple belonged to Aphrodite. Sure enough， Aphrodite fulfilled her promise and helped Paris abduct Helen， the queen of Sparta-an absolutely gorgeous beauty， which led to the ten years Trojan War.

2.2 Achilles Heel