Our Trojan War in Afghanistan rages into a second decade

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/8070072-452/our-trojan-war-in-afghanistan-rages-into-a-second-decade.html

BY NEIL STEINBERG [e-mail] October 6, 2011 5:56PM

In the thoughtful introduction to his sharp new translation of Homer’s The Iliad, Stephen Mitchell lists some of the Greek words applied to war in the ancient epic poem: “ainos (dreadful), argaleos (gruesome, cruel, bitter), deios (deadly), duseleges (bringing much grief), kakos (evil), leugaleos (wretched), lugros (miserable), oloos (ruinous) . . . ”

The list goes on, but you get the idea. In that light, war has not changed much in 3,200 years. Troops go into battle to kill or be killed, wound or be wounded. Yes, they held bronze swords and spears back then, while now they brandish M4 carbines and rocket-propelled grenades. But the results are the same.

A dull story doesn’t remain popular for thousands of years, and The Iliad thrillingly recounts a big war, filled with big armies, masses of men and horses, tall black ships, a walled city scraping the heavens, jealous, deathless gods, the clash of divinely inspired heroes and women unequaled in beauty.

Another outsized aspect of the story is the length of the Trojan War — the action begins in the 10th year of the Greek siege of the city of Troy, and since the poem was written 500 years after the supposed facts that are being celebrated, it’s safe to assume that, along with Troy’s topless towers, this particular span of time was chosen by the poet to amaze by outlining a very long time to fight a war, to convey just what a legendary undertaking this struggle was. Ten long bloody years.

The savvy reader will get where I’m heading by now...