The Fall of Troy?

One of the most famous battles in all of greek mythology, The Trojan War, has an impactful history around it, being the plot of the Homeric poem The Iliad and talked about in another Homeric poem The Odyssey. Romare Bearden, a famous African-American artist, portrayed his own interpretation of this ancient war and included many personal features contrasting the ancient text and his piece, “The Fall of Troy”. One unique difference that is present includes how the Trojan Horse is shown in this collage which has some hidden meanings that Bearden puts up for interpretation. Other differences are shaped by Bearden’s background and his history of growing up in Harlem, New York as a black man. At the time Harlem was a dangerous city and many uproars occurred in the fight for civil rights. This background can be closely seen when looking at comparisons between Bearden’s illustration of the destruction of Troy versus how it is written in the text. These changes makes whoever read The Odyssey want to reread it again to see what changed for them after viewing these stories differently.

Differences and Effects

The Trojan Horse was the key for the Greeks in winning the Trojan War. The Greeks built a wooden horse as an offering of surrender to the Trojans while all of the Greek ships sailed away from the beaches of Troy. Secretly, Odysseus and many other Greek soldiers hid inside the horse so when the Trojans brought the horse into the city gates, Odysseus and his warriors could sneak out and open the gates from the inside to let the rest of the Greeks in which lead to a Greek victory. In Bearden’s collage, instead of portraying a wooden horse, like described in the ancient stories, Bearden’s horse does not look like it is made out of wood at all and instead is a white, angelic, almost godlike figure that is the most vibrant structure in the whole collage. Along with that, the horse seems to be looking out over the burning city instead of inside the city gates. This is an interesting change because if the Trojans did not bring the horse into the gates then the Greeks would never have won the war. However, this is how Bearden wanted to interpret it and the way I see it is that the legendary, godlike horse is looking out over the collapse of Troy because this, and everything that comes after, is all part of the god’s plan. Furthermore, Bearden splits the page into two halves, combining the moment the horse is seen as an offering on the beach and then the consequence of the Trojans falling for Odysseus’ trap, hinting at a foreshadow. Another difference Bearden shows is how he depicts the actual collapse of the city in this image. As seen in the piece, the entire city of Troy is engulfed in flames and it is complete carnage. Although the sack of the city was destructive, in the poems the Greek’s did not actually set it to fire as stated by Robert O’Meally, a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. O’Meally explains this difference due to Bearden’s life experiences growing up in the violent city of Harlem. Bearden uses his struggle of living in a city that was almost destroyed by riots and combines it with the destruction of Troy. If this had happened in the story of the Trojan War, the Greeks would be seen as less in the eyes of the gods and other nations because not only did they win by a faint-hearted, yet clever way of sneak attacking them, they would have burned down a historical city. Of all, there is one universal difference Bearden uses that is influenced by his African-American background and it can be seen in his other collages in this series.

A Black Odyssey

“A Black Odyssey” was so impactful during the time it was released in 1977 because it “created an artistic bridge between classical mythology and African-American culture” (Columbia.edu). Bearden’s representation of people clearly shows his connection with black culture as he depicts ancient Greeks and other human figures as black silhouettes with little facial features. At first glance one might think Bearden wants his viewers to assume that it is only an outline of a person, however looking deeper into every one of his pieces you appreciate his intellectual way of expression. Bearden created this entire series to make the reader of The Odyssey think twice about the traits of these characters because you are not specifically told if they are black or white. The symbolic meaning of Bearden’s choice is a civil movement as it relates to the suppression of black people at the time. This overarching cultural theme is one way we see Bearden’s experiences and impact of his African-American story shaping the way he illustrates historical moments in his collages. 

Hi, my name is Michael Minicus and I am a first year student here at Colgate University. I am from Darien, CT and I am an undeclared major. I am a student-athlete at Colgate and am a member of the Men’s Lacrosse team. I hope you enjoy what I have learned this year in Legacies of the Ancient World!