For over 3,000 years the myth of Troy has fascinated artists and
audiences alike--from the epic tales of Homer's Iliad and Virgil's
Aeneid to retellings from Chaucer to Madeline Miller, and stagings
from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida to Brad Pitt's rendering of
the hero Achilles. But what is it about this tale that makes it so
eternally appealing, and what do we actually know about historical Troy?
This richly illustrated volume tells the story of Troy and the great
Trojan War through the lens of objects from the Greek Bronze Age to the
twenty-first century.
Using the Classical works of art for which the British Museum is
internationally known, this book considers the ancient myth through the
eyes of Greek and Roman artists. Drawing on the latest research, it
chronicles the search for Troy that convinced the world of the city's
existence, beginning with the nineteenth-century excavations by Heinrich
Schliemann. Focusing on the major characters in the story--Helen of
Troy, Achilles and Hector, Aeneas and Odysseus--it illustrates how
artists from Cranach and Rubens to Romare Bearden and Cy Twombly have
been inspired to explore contemporary themes of war and heroism, love
and beauty.
Troy sheds new light on a story that has resonated for millenia.
