Correlation of people you know to the characters of Troy (minimum of 15

characters, give explanation/evidence of correlation)

King Priam – He is a strong believer of fate and gods, thus, he follows everything about
the interpretation of the High Priest in the omens sent by the gods. Also, a good
father.

Somehow, I can see King Priam’s personality to my Grandfather for he always

believes in myths. He thinks that all of us here in this world have a predestined
fate.

King Odysseus – a wise king. His wisdom showcased when he created the wise plan
that would make the Troy fall. He is also very low profile.

I correlate King Odysseus to my high school friend, Kim who is very wise. He once
plotted a very wise plan to save our class from getting failing grades. I always seek
his advices when I have problems.

Prince Hector – His loyalty and love for his family, country, and his people defined him
as the greatest warrior of Troy. His respect for the elderly, especially for his dad
and the High Priest was admirable; even they have different perspectives in war. A
very selfless father.

I correlate Prince Hector to my dad. My dad is such a selfless father whom he said,
he learned from his father, my grandfather. He would do everything for the sake of
our family regardless of how difficult it is.

Briseis – She is a Trojan priestess and she dedicated her life to serve the gods.

I correlate Briseis to my cousin, Lorna which is a nun. She dedicated her life to
serve our Lord Almighty.
Andromache – She is loving, loyal and dutiful. She is the loving mother of Astyanax
and the wife of Prince Hector

I correlate Andromache to my mom. My mom always tells us how much she loves
us and how would she sacrifice everything for the sake of our family.

Achilles – He follows only himself. He doesn’t want to take orders or commands to

other people. He hardly shows his emotions.

I correlate Achilles to my older brother, Bryan. He always does things on his own
and sometimes doesn’t want to be in company of many people. He is a silent lover.

Prince Paris – He is the younger brother of Prince Hector and the lover of Helen of
Troy.

I correlate myself to Prince Paris. There are times when I make decisions without
really thinking about its future impact to me and to the people around me. And
sometimes, I make decisions on my own even though there are people who are
willing to listen and guide me in making decisions.

King Agamemnon – the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Troy. He is a

brother of Menelaus.

I correlate King Agamemnon to the President who always pick fight but never fight
his own battles.

Patroclus – He’s the close cousin and war-companion of Achilles.

I correlate Patroclus to my Cousin, Ian who’s always eager to learn something

new. Sometimes, he’s hard-headed but I understand because he’s still a kid.
Ajax – A big man. His reputation is due primarily to brute strength and courage.

I correlate Ajax to my old friend, Rafael who’s in Canada now. He was known in
our school for being strong because he competes as a Javelin thrower. Little did
they know that Raf, is also a good poet.

King Menalaus – King of Sparta who robbed of his wife, Helen. He seeks to avenge his
dirtied honor and pride.
I correlate King Menalaus to all public officials who only care for their image. For
those who’s not doing anything good for their country and their countrymen.

Thetis – Mother of Achilles.

I correlate Thetis to all mothers who want glory for their children.

Eudoros – Second of Achilles’ five commanders in Myrmidons.

I correlate Eudoros to all my loyal friends. My friends who never talk about me in
my back and tells me the wrong decisions that I make.

Helena or Helen of Troy – She has the face that launched a thousand ships.

I correlate Helen of Troy with Miss Universe 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. Though
she doesn’t have the face that can launch a thousand ships, Pia’s beauty
conquered the universe and she is confidently beautiful with a heart.

High Priest – He remind me of the Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque because,

only Harry Roque can interpret the words and action of our President Rodrigo
Duterte.
Correlation of 1 character to me (give explanation/evidence of correlation).

Somehow I can see myself with Prince Paris. There are times when I make decisions
without really thinking about its future impact to me and to the people around me. And
sometimes, I make decisions on my own even though there are people who are willing
to listen and guide me in making decisions. Just like Prince Paris, he made the decision
to include Helena to their voyage to Troy without seeking his older brother, Prince
Hector’s guidance and approval. His decision served as the pathway to the annihilation
of his loved country, Troy. But now, as the officer-in-charge of our organization, I always
make sure to hear their advices and my decision will not just be in my favor but to the
whole organization.

If you were put in the shoes of the characters, what would you do? Would you do
the same decisions?

Probably, yes. There are times when you feel like you just have to do it. Also, that it’s
the right thing to do in that specific moment. The factors and reasons in making their
decisions may sound crazy and out of this world, but those decisions made significant
changes and great historical shift in their time.
.
How can you relate the movie to the context of life?

I have several points to show the relationship of the movie to the context of life. First,
the high tide and low tide of life. In the movie, life has no assurance on the
perspective of the story. It easily goes from one way to another and back again. You
may be friends now, but sooner or later you would be opponents. You may be the ruler
of a kingdom, but later you and your kingdom will just be part of an army. You may be
the strongest and the greatest warrior, but later you will be defeated and marked as the
weakest warrior. This just reveals that you cannot always be on top of the world, taking
advantage on the privileges of being the greatest and the smartest of all. Time will come
that somebody would replace you on top and you will be back to the grounds where
nobody know you. Second, not all lovable are to be loved. In the movie, Prince Paris
took away Queen Helen of Sparta and soon became the Queen Helen of Troy. That act
was the root of all heartaches, deaths, pain, and desolation of all people who tried to
protect them and all people who tried to avenge the dirtied pride and honor of King
Menelaus. Just like in life, you should take all the considerations before making big
decisions. We should acknowledge the future impact of what we do or what we want to
do. And, we must distinguish the difference between infatuation and love. Third and
last, fear is as important as courage. Sometimes it is important to feel fear; it may
serve as the way for you to return back and gather yourself up. Just like what Prince
Paris did, He lost to King Menalaus in their duel but he decided to train as an archer to
help himself and other people in the future.

Comparison between Troy (the film) and Homer’s Iliad

The Iliad is an epic poem written by the Ancient Greek poet Homer which recounts
some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege
of the city of Troy written in the mid-8th Century BCE. This epic poem influenced the
film Troy directed by Wolfgang Peterson in 2004.

However, like any other book adaption films, there are many differences in the epic
poem The Iliad and the 2004 film Troy. In the Iliad, the war took 10 long years while on
the film, it only took 17 days.

On the Characters
In the Iliad, Homer describes a deep and meaningful relationship between Achilles and
Patroclus, where Achilles is tender toward Patroclus but heartless and arrogant toward
others. Some researchers also stated that Patroclus is the lover of Achilles. In the film
Troy, Patroclus is the cousin of Achilles.

One of the most significant change in character happened to Briseis. From a Briseis that
came from Lyrnessus, and is captured by the Aecheans before the siege of Troy in the
poem, she became the Briseis that is a Trojan priestess and Hector’s cousin which is
captured during the attack on Apollo’s temple on the film. Another is Agamemnon, on
the film he was very fierce and arrogant and never initiated an agreement with Achilles
unlike in the book. in the book, he even cried and suggested to sail back home.
Another significant is the roles of the gods. In the film, the gods only give omens which
the High Priest would interpret, compared to the book where the gods almost control the
turnout of the war.

Lastly, the people of Troy. In the film, many of the people of Troy managed to survive
including Andromache and her son, Astyanax, compared to the book that the baby was
thrown and Andromache became slaves.

The Themes
The book showed the connection of the gods in the changes in the war. They even
appear in battlefields and engage in minor arguments with other gods. But the film
mythology has been limited to omens and temples only.

The book and the film celebrate war. The importances of the people were measured in
their valuability in the battlefield. It can also be seen how the heroes became mightier in
sacrificing long life with their love ones for the glory of dying in the battlefield.

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from http://www.ancient-

literature.com/greece_homer_iliad.html

Cummings, M. J. (2003). Mythology Background and Plot Summary [PDF]. Retrieved

March 21, 2018, from https://mschapmansclass.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/the-
iliad-summary.pdf