Catalogue of Ships facts for kids

The Catalogue of Ships is a super long list found in Book 2 of Homer's famous poem, the Iliad. It names all the different groups of Greek soldiers who sailed to Troy for the Trojan War.

This list tells us who led each group, where they came from, and how many ships they brought. It's like a detailed army roster from ancient times! There's also a shorter list of the Trojan army and their friends.

What is the Catalogue of Ships?

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem that tells the story of the last part of the Trojan War. The Catalogue of Ships is a special section within this poem. It acts like a roll call for the Greek forces.

It lists 29 different groups of soldiers. They were led by 46 captains and sailed on a total of 1,186 ships. Imagine how many people that is! If each ship carried 120 men, that's over 142,000 soldiers heading to Troy.

The list names the leaders and their hometowns. These places are often described with special words. This helps us understand where everyone came from.

Is the Catalogue Real History?

Map of Homeric Greece

For a long time, people have wondered if the Catalogue of Ships is truly historical. Did Homer make it up? Or did he use an older, real list?

Some experts think the list might be very old. It could even come from the Mycenaean period. This was a time long before Homer, around when the Trojan War might have happened.

Others believe the list was made up later, perhaps by Homer himself. They think it shows what Greece was like in Homer's time, not during the actual Trojan War. This is part of a bigger question called "the Homeric Question." It asks who Homer was and if he wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

One interesting thing is the map of Greece in the Catalogue. It doesn't quite match Greece during Homer's time, the Iron Age. Instead, it looks more like Greece during the Late Bronze Age. This was a time when many small city-states were ruled by kings.

For example, the Catalogue doesn't mention the Dorians. These were a group of people who moved into western Greece later on. This makes some people think the list is indeed very old.

The Catalogue was even used in ancient times to settle arguments. For instance, when the Athenians wanted to claim Salamis, they pointed to the Catalogue. It listed Salamis as part of the Athenian troops, showing its connection to Athens.

Who Sailed to Troy? The Greek Army List

Here is a simplified look at some of the groups and their leaders who sailed to Troy, as listed in the Catalogue of Ships:

The Greek Army in the Iliad

Is the Catalogue an Original Part of the Iliad?

Some scholars wonder if the Catalogue of Ships was added to the Iliad later on. They point out that some parts of the list don't quite match the rest of the poem. Also, the way it's placed in the story seems a bit unusual. This makes them think it might have been put in after the main poem was written.

See also

• Trojan Battle Order
• Catalogue of Women by Hesiod