tour 1 of 11
The myth of the Trojan war
The Myth of the Trojan War
The myth of the Trojan War was a great and
continuing inspiration to Greek artists and poets. The main lines
of the story were sketched out by early epic poets such as Homer
(eighth century BC), but the tradition was never firmly fixed.
Later poets treated the myth freely; small incidents were enlarged,
new episodes were introduced, local variants incorporated and
different (even contradictory) interpretations
offered.
This rich
tradition was also explored by visual artists, who felt equally
free to formulate their own visions and interpretations of the
myths.
The tour which
follows presents a series of key scenes from the myths relating to
the Trojan War, as depicted on Greek vases now in the collections
of the British Museum. The paintings illustrate the variety of ways
in which ancient Greek artists chose to visualize the
myth's significant moments.