In the traditional story of the Trojan War, the Greeks besieged Troy for ten years.
The ten-year duration is one of the best-known features of the mythic war. A large Greek coalition sailed to Troy after Helen went there with Paris, and the armies fought through a prolonged siege before the wooden-horse stratagem brought about the city’s fall.
The Iliad itself does not narrate all ten years. Homer’s epic concentrates on events during a brief period in the final year, especially Achilles’ quarrel with Agamemnon and the death of Hector. Other works and later summaries supply episodes from the wider cycle, including the arrival of allies such as Penthesilea and Memnon.
The traditional chronology should not be confused with archaeological certainty. Excavations at Hisarlık show that a real city existed at the site associated with Troy, but they cannot prove the complete legendary ten-year siege or identify every mythic event.