Trojans vs Spartans: The Two Combatants of the Trojan War
Trojans vs Spartans is an interesting comparison because they both play the opposite roles in the infamous war of Greek mythology. The Trojans and the Spartans lost their people, their heritage, and their time fighting for no cause other than that of a twisted Trojan prince. The war went on for 10 years and caused much havoc and destruction. Here we bring you all the information on the Trojans, Spartans, and the Trojan war facts.
Trojans vs Spartans Comparison Table
Features | Trojans | Spartans |
|---|---|---|
Origin | Greek | Greek |
Type of Creature | Normal People with some Demigods | Normal People with some Demigods |
Popularity | Very Popular in Greek Literature | Very Popular in Greek Literature |
Place | Troy | Sparta |
Major Myth | Trojan War | Trojan War |
Famous Characters | Paris, Priam, Hector | Helen, Menelaus, Achilles |
What Are the Differences Between Trojans vs Spartans?
The Trojans are best known for being the antagonists in the Trojan war whereas the Spartans are best known for defending the honor of their women. The Trojans and Spartans fought in the trojan war where the Spartans also known as the Greeks won the war.
What Are Trojans Best Known For?
The Trojans are best known for their land, Troy and the part they took in the Trojan war. In addition to their land, they were even best known for their hero warriors Paris, Priam, and Hector who took part in the war that was on their land.
The Land and People
The land of Troy was at the Northwestern part of present-day Anatolia, Turkey. This land was famous for its connection to the Aegean sea and all sorts of businessmen that came through this route.
In their city which was one of the most famous cities in the olden times and its existence has been curated in many different kinds of literature throughout time, the townspeople were soulful people and believed wholeheartedly placed their fait in the Olympian gods and goddesses.
Their whole lives were spent in worshipping and pleasing the gods. The story of the fortunate and rich people was however different. The rich lived in their highly constructed and ornate palaces with all the riches and materials.
The Trojans were therefore well known for their religious practices and being wealthy people. The name Trojan later became a famous name for various hidden plots carried out in the wars to come.
The King
King Priam was the faithful leader of Troy at the time of the infamous Trojan war. Before him, his father, Laomedon, was the King of Troy so the legacy was in their family. He was also the last ever king of Troy before Troy fell to the ground. The king had two children: Hector and Paris, who then became the warriors of their land.
King Priam had great alliances with the neighboring cities and their people. They did business together, various athletic tournaments were a norm, and the people married from the neighboring cities as well. All was great and mellow among the citizens as they loved their King and would do anything for him. On the other hand, of course, poverty and diseases were everywhere but for what it was worth, they did not have any bad business with their king. Overall, the city was wealthy because of the contact with neighbors and the tradings took place.
Priam was warned by one of his sons, Paris, that he will bring destruction and death to Troy. This worried him to a great extent and because he could not just let his people suffer, he sent his beloved son away.
Paris went abroad and lived in oblivion as a farmer's son, away from all merriment and the King lived in peace, knowing that he had saved his city from all the possible problems. Little did they know that Paris would actually still be the cause of their destruction and death.
Their Prince Paris
Paris was living as a farmer, not knowing that he was the prince of Troy. One day three goddesses, appeared in front of him and asked him to choose the one he liked. Paris being a common man, did not know much and was having a hard time picking one goddess. Each of the three goddesses offered to help him and gave him additional benefits if he chose her.
He was offered the abilities of the best warrior and craftsmanship, the other goddess offered him political power and the throne of Troy, and lastly, he was offered the hand of the most beautiful woman, Helen, who was, unfortunately, already married.
Paris chose the last goddess who had offered him the most beautiful woman, Helen and after he chose, the goddesses told him the story of his true identity and left. Paris was left baffled and speechless by all the knowledge, in addition to the uncontrollable lust and love for Helen. He started his journey to take what was his and that included Helen of Sparta as well.
He first went to Troy and claimed his title of prince. His father was very happy to see his son and thought that the curse has been lifted so agreed to let him live with them. The next thing on Paris' list was to get Helen but it was not going to be easy because she was married and to have a loving husband.
Part in the War
The Trojans were on the wrong side of the war and the reason behind it was also a little controversial. According to the works of Homer and Hesiod, Paris abducted Helen from Sparta and brought her to Troy.
She was tranformed from initially being Helen of Sparta to Helen of Troy. A lot of different stories exist about how Helen was abducted, some say she fell in love with Paris when she saw him, while others say that she was poisoned and her mind changed, but whatever the reason was she went to Troy with the prince and left her husband.
The king was devastated to hear what his son had done and recalled the prophecy which was told to him. Nevertheless, he could not lose his son again so he vowed to protect him and his love, Helen.
He called his allies to arms as most of them showed up, and with the big and strong army that he had, together with the state-of-the-art defences in place, and loyal citizens, he was ready to fight and win.
What he did not anticipate was that the war would go on for 10 years and in the end, they would be on the losing side. They lost their standing in the region, his allies would give in one by one, and he would lose his sons, and most importantly his kingdom. He lost all.
What Are Spartans Best Known For?
The Spartans are best known for defending the honor of their women against the Trojans. They were on the right side in the Trojan war and in the end won the war with many of their heroes dead. They were famous for their heros Menelaus and Achilles.
Townspeople
In Greek mythology, the Spartans are very well known for their bravery and most of all their resilience. They were very religious and got help from the gods and goddesses on a daily basis.
Spartans belonged to the land of Sparta which was located in the South of Greece. It was most famously also known as Lacedaemon in Greek mythology. The Spartans were the rising military power of Greece. They had an unbeatable army and weapons at their disposal.
The Spartans had many famous heroes and warriors that were killed in the Trojan war. The war went on for 10 years so it was bound to bring destruction to Sparta as well. Sparta however gained access and control of Troy.
Helen of Sparta
Menelaus was the King and ruler of Sparta at the time of the war and the husband of Helen. He was a beloved king and the son of Atreus, the king of Mycenae. He married Helen after a long line of men were rejected as she was the most beautiful woman after the goddesses of course. Her father, however, made sure that all the rejected men and their kingdoms would still vow their allegiance to Helen and Menelaus.
In this way, Sparta gained many alliances and became stronger than ever. Helen and Menelaus lived a very happy life before the advent of the Trojan war. The pair looked like a couple made in heaven and Helen could not have found a better suitor. They were in the eyes of many people and they were always the talk of the town.
After the three goddesses disappeared in front of Paris, he started his search for Helen. Before her name was mentioned by the goddesses, he had no clue who or what Helen was. He went to Sparta and abducted Helen right from her castle, nonetheless, this abduction started a series of unfortunate events like the tumbling dominoes.
The Horse
Due to the abduction of Helen of Sparta, the Trojan war started, basically this was core reason for the distruction. The war that should have lasted some days or months lasted for years and that too for 10 years.
However, the main reason why the war lasted that long was that the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus jumped in. They took sides and the issue did not resolve but dissolved the cities and their inhabitants.
Nonetheless, the Spartans or also known as the Greeks won the war in the end by the use of a warfare strategy. This was when the Greeks sent a big wooden horse inside the walls of Troy which was filled with hidden soldiers who took control of the city. Just as the horse was accepted, and rolled in, the soldiers dropped in the city and evacuated it, and the Trojans were caught by surprise.
Their Victory
They won by tricking the Trojans and eventually won by taking back Helen back to her roots. After which, she and Menelaus, her husband lived in Sparta for the rest of their days.
The war is thus one of the most well-known wars in all of Greek mythology. It has been talked about various times in the works of Homer and Hesiod. The Spartans thus played a very important part in the Trojan war and won. At the end, they won Helen back who then lived happily with Menelaus till the end of her life.
FAQ
What Are Important Wars in Greek Mythology?
The other two most famous wars in Greek mythology are the Titanomachy and the Centauromachy. Both these wars were fought between the Olympian gods and the other party. Titanomachy was fought between the Olympian gods and the Titan gods for the ultimate throne of the gods. Centauromachy was fought between the Olympian gods and the centaurs for Mount Olympus.
Conclusions
Trojans and the Spartans are the two most famous groups of people of later Greek mythology. We learn about them from the works of Hesiod and Homer in their books, the Illiad and the Odyssey. Trojans were famous for their prince Paris and the Spartans were famous for their queen Helen. Both came face to face in the Trojan war and lost 10 years of their lives fighting and dying in the war.
There is not much to know about the Trojans and the Spartans except for their involvement in the Trojan war which is why this article focused on that. Many famous Greek mythology characters can be seen in linkage with the Trojan war. Even thousands of years after Greek mythology was written, the Trojans and the Spartans are still remembered in their glory.
