The Fall of TroyClass 9 English Chapter 2 Notes – Maharashtra Board

Summary: The Fall of Troy

Epics are long poems about great heroes or great wars, often sung for years before being written down. India has the Ramayana and the Mahabharata; Europe has the Iliad and the Odyssey, believed to be the work of a blind wandering poet, Homer (about 900 BCE), honoured as the Father of European Poetry.

Troy (Ilium) was a rich trading city in Asia Minor, with the sea in front, Mount Ida behind and fertile valleys around. A wall so broad that people could walk on it protected the city.

Paris, a prince of Troy, persuaded Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus, to run away with him. All the Greek kings and heroes sailed to Troy to take revenge and besieged it for ten years. Hector, Achilles and Paris were among the heroes killed, but neither side could win.

At last the cunning Odysseus planned a trick. The Greeks built a huge wooden horse, hid their best fighters inside, burnt their tents and pretended to sail home, leaving behind one man with a false story. Ignoring their priest's warning, the overjoyed Trojans broke down part of their wall and dragged the horse inside.

That night, while the Trojans slept after feasting, the Greek ships returned. The hidden heroes climbed out, opened the gates, and the Greek army burnt Troy. King Priam and his sons were killed, the royal women were made slaves, and Menelaus forgave Helen and took her home. By morning nothing remained of Troy.

Key points to remember

• Epic: a long poem about a great national hero or war, passed on by singers before being written
• Homer, a blind wandering poet (about 900 BCE), is believed to have composed the Iliad and the Odyssey; he is called the Father of European Poetry
• 'Iliad' comes from Ilium, another name for Troy, a rich city in Asia Minor
• Cause of the war: Paris of Troy took away Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus
• The Greeks besieged Troy for ten years
• Hector led Troy's defence for nine years and was killed by Achilles; Achilles died of a poisoned arrow in his heel; Paris too died of a poisoned arrow
• Odysseus thought of the wooden horse trick — Troy was taken by a trick, not by force
• A Greek left behind told the Trojans the horse was an offering to the sea-god, made too big to fit through the gates
• The Trojans ignored their priest and broke their own wall to bring the horse in
• Agamemnon's ship carried a red light as the signal; Troy was burnt in one night

The Fall of Troy – Notes

1. Part I: epics, Troy and the long war

• Epics grew with a nation and were handed down from singer to singer until a great poet gave them a final form; so nobody knows their author for certain.
• Just as Indian children know Ram, Sita, Arjuna and Draupadi, Western children know Hector, Odysseus, Achilles and Helen of Troy.
• Troy's position made it rich: the sea in front for trade by ship, and Mount Ida's rivers watering fertile fields, meadows for cattle and hill slopes for sheep.
• In peace the great gates stayed open; in war they were shut and the city became a strong fortress, guarded by its walls and the hills behind.
• Every day the armies fought — sometimes big battles, sometimes duels between two heroes — and luck kept changing sides. By the end, both sides were tired: the Trojans of being shut in, the Greeks of being away from home.

2. Part II: the wooden horse

• The plan: build a horse large enough to hold soldiers, hide the best fighters in it, burn the tents, pretend to leave, and return at night to attack.
• A skilful engineer built it. Menelaus, Odysseus and other heroes went in; the last to enter was the builder, who knew how to open and close the door.
• Next morning the Trojans found the shore empty and cried that peace had come. They gathered round the wonderful horse.
• A Greek with tied hands, pretending to be terrified, told a false tale: the horse was an offering to the sea-god for a safe voyage, and he himself had escaped being sacrificed. It was made huge so the Trojans could not take it in and win the gods' luck.
• Delighted, the Trojans decided the walls were no longer needed. Their wise priest warned that it might be a trick, but they broke the wall and dragged the horse in, then feasted and slept soundly.
• The Greek fleet had hidden behind an island. At night it sailed back; the left-behind Greek saw the red light on Agamemnon's ship and gave the signal. The heroes came out, opened the gates and the army poured in.

3. The end of Troy and the lessons

• The city was full of flames, shouts, clashing weapons and weeping women. Many Trojans died before they could even put on their armour.
• Old King Priam and all his sons were killed. Hector's wife, mother and sister were carried off as slaves.
• Helen, ashamed and silent, faced Menelaus. He forgave her, because the goddess Aphrodite had turned her heart away from home, and she went back with him.
• Lessons: overconfidence and carelessness can destroy even the strongest; listen to wise warnings; do not trust an enemy's gift blindly ('Beware of Greeks bearing gifts').
• The fall could have been avoided if the Trojans had checked the horse, heeded the priest, kept the wall intact or kept guards at night.

4. Characters

• Greeks: Menelaus (king, Helen's husband), Odysseus (cunning planner), Achilles (greatest warrior), Agamemnon (leader whose ship gave the signal), Helen (wife of Menelaus).
• Trojans: Priam (old king), Hector (brave defender, Priam's son), Paris (prince who took Helen away).
• Others: Homer (the poet), Aphrodite (the goddess who turned Helen's heart).

5. Language: patterns, clauses and the dramatic present

• enough to — big enough to hold men; too … to — too big to go inside (shows that something cannot happen).
• tired of / afraid of — followed by a noun or -ing form: tired of waiting, afraid of the dark.
• so … that — so excited that they ignored him (shows a result).
• A main clause makes complete sense alone; a dependent clause begins with a linking word (who, which, when, before, that, because).
• Dramatic present tense: telling a past event in the present tense to make it vivid — 'The door opens. A shadow moves.'

Words and phrases to know

Key terms

The Fall of Troy – Flashcards

Read the question, answer it in your head, then tap the card to check. 20 cards.

The Fall of Troy – MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option — you will see at once if it is right and why.

How to study The Fall of Troy

⏱ About 35 minutes

1. Read (15 min)
   Read Part I for the background (epics, Homer, Troy, the cause of the war) and Part II for the trick and the fall of Troy.
2. Learn (10 min)
   Learn the characters and who belongs to which side, the order of events, the word meanings and the sentence patterns (enough to, too…to, so…that).
3. Practise (10 min)
   Answer the 'Try it yourself' questions, take the quiz and play 🎮 Play.