Question

You learned in this lesson that the mythical Trojan War was instrumental in forming Greek culture. It has been said that there were no real "Greeks" before this, just relatively unconnected kingdoms in the land that would later be called Greece. How did the story of the war help "make" Greek culture?

A) It provided something for all Greeks to talk about.

B) It gave Greeks a common history.

C) It represented a moment when the different kingdoms came together for a common cause, unifying the different kingdoms into one Greece.

D) It showed how Agamemnon conquered the lesser kingdoms and unified them under his rule.

Answer 1

As it is well known, the cause of the Trojan War was the kidnap of Helen from Sparta (historically known as 'Helen of Troy'), wife of Menelaus, brother of the great spartan general Agamemnon, by the Trojan prince Paris, whom Helen had fallen in love for. However this was actually a great excuse for Agamemnon to lead the greatest greek army ever gathered to siege Troy (a nation of great power and riches at the time). A siege that would last for 10 years. Under the excuse of revenge for the Trojan insults in 'stealing' Helen from his brother, he convinced the greatest generals of all state-countries in Greece to joing his cause, among them Achilles, Ajax, Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) and indeed conquered the lesser kingdoms to submit them under his rule.

However, I do not believe that Agamemnon subjugation of the lesser kingdoms was what helped to build the greek culture, but the fact that for the first time, all nations in Greece had a common cause to fight for. So I would chose for letter C, instead of D.

ps.: I would recommend discussing with your teacher between letters B and D.

I hope it was of some help!