Troy, a city known for many hardships, was the setting of a legendary battle. The city itself holds the key to many unforgettable memories, both positive and negative. The Odyssey, a graphic novel by Gareth Hinds, based on Homer’s epic poem of the same name delves into the trauma that Troy has left on the story’s main protagonist, Odysseus.

Troy is located in northwest Anatolia, now Turkey, south of the southwest end of the Dardenelles and northwest of Mount Ida. It was the setting of a legendary battle fought between the Acheans, or the Greeks as they would be better known as in modern times, and the Trojans. Known as the Trojan war, the conflict was a result of the prince of Troy, Paris, falling in love with Helen of Troy. The two ran way together although at the time she was married to a Greek man, Menelaus who was the King of Sparta. His jealousy and the need for his wife back was what began the legendary battle.

The war and the city of Troy are both described in the Greek epic cycle. This cycle being a collection of poems related to the Trojan War including the great works of Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, as well as many other historically significant poems.

In Homer’s first work, The Iliad, it describes the events of the Trojan War and Odysseus’ strategic ability and heroic capability. The plot acts as a guide for Homer’s next work, The Odyssey, a story which explores Odysseus’ journey home reinisces on the hardships he faced in Troy and the comrades he lost.

In the Odyssey, as a reader we are essentially given the impression that although Odysseus is a strong, courageous character he is reluctant to share about his past. This indicates to us as readers that the challenges Odyssesus faced in Troy were confronting and strenuous. Although this isn’t clearly stated in the book, as a reader we get this impression due to the way in which Odysseus shares his stories, not by choice but only because he must if he is going to make his way back to Ithaca, his home.

Throughout the Odyssey, the loss of lives in Troy is mentioned emphasising that what occurred in Troy was severe and not to be taken lightly. This is then supported by the fact that after many years of being missing Odysseus is assumed dead along with the many others that died. Odysseus along with other characters in the novel including Telemachus convey the impression that Troy has had negative effects on almost everything connected.

For the people who fought, those who were not killed we’re forced to carry traumatising memories from the battle and for those who were left behind they had to say goodbye to loved ones and live in the constant unknown about their friends or husbands or sons fate but also the unknown of their own stability. Through these concepts, as a reader we can assume that the events in Troy were unyielding and demanding.

Over many years, through the many writings about Troy in a fictional context, including the Odyssey, it was believed that the place itself was of purely fiction origin until Heinrich Schliemann followed the geographical clues in the Iliad and began excavating North West Turkey in 1870. He discovered a hill called Hisarlick in Anatolia where he discovered evidence of a city destroyed by fire. The Troy he found had many layers indicating that it was rebuilt several times and to this day, it is still unclear which city of Troy Homer described in his works.

In conclusion, the great city of Troy, based on both factual and legendary knowledge, plays an important role in the Odyssey through its distinct role in Odysseus’s past. Although the city is seen in a negative context in the novel I believe it made Odysseus a better, more courageous person. After all you know what they say, a person is their past.