I’m enjoying Troy in a perverse sort of way; if the film does nothing else for you, it ought to inspire admiration for what Hollywood’s dialogue writers can do to epic prose.

From The Iliad: “But Achilles would not let the Myrmidons go, and

spoke to his brave comrades saying, “Myrmidons, famed horsemen

and my own trusted friends, not yet, forsooth, let us unyoke, but

with horse and chariot draw near to the body and mourn Patroclus,

in due honour to the dead.”

From Troy: (Achilles to the Myrmidons in battle scene) “Immortality — take it! It’s yours!”

From The Iliad: “As when fish fly scared before a huge dolphin,

and fill every nook and corner of some fair haven–for he is

sure to eat all he can catch–even so did the Trojans cower

under the banks of the mighty river, and when Achilles’ arms

grew weary with killing them, he drew twelve youths alive out

of the water, to sacrifice in revenge for Patroclus son of Menoetius.

He drew them out like dazed fawns, bound their hands behind

them with the girdles of their own shirts, and gave them over

to his men to take back to the ships.

Then he sprang into the river, thirsting for still further blood.”

From Troy: “It’s too early in the day for killing princes.”

From The Iliad: “There is a fullness of all things, even of sleep and love.”

From Troy:

(Helen) “You shouldn’t be here.”

(Paris) “That’s what you said last night.”

Troy hasn’t quite plumbed the depths in the manner of ‘Helen of Troy’, but it’s a close-run thing. It could have been worse. They could’ve featured the blank-faced Diane Kruger (Helen), sighing to some unnamed Trojan, “We’ll always have Paris.” I know, that’s pretty lame, but it beats lines like: “We’re sending the largest fleet that ever sailed. A thousand ships.”