opinions of Strauss' Trojan War book

I just finished reading a very interesting book, Barry Strauss' "The Trojan War: A New History." (Copyright 2007, Arrow Books, ISBN 9780099474333).

 

While I thoroughly enjoyed it, and learned a great deal from it, my instinct is to be a bit skeptical. Strauss' basic approach is that the Trojan War is an historical event, largely as described in Homer.

 

I think  that his frequent descriptions and appraisals of the individuals in the story - Paris, Achilles, Menelaus, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Diomedes, Hector, Helen, etc. were meant to be more metaphorical or illustrative of ideas of Bronze Age kingship than real, but perhaps I am mistaken; perhaps he believes they were mostly real people who took part in a siege of Troy. The way he writes can certainly leave one thinking that. But I can't help but believe no responsible scholar would claim such a thing.

 

Strauss illustrates ideas, events, and concepts by referring to contemporary events and records from surrounding Bronze Age civilizations -  and this I found fascinating and useful. But the constant referrals to individuals and their actions as an historical 'given' left me wondering if he was serious.

 

My personal take on Homer's story is that it is a dim and wildly embroidered memory of a (or several) late Bronze Age Mycenaean expedition(s) against Troy - but any further specifics are almost certainly impossible to fathom. Obviously archaeology has shown that some aspects of the Illiad are in fact true - boar tusks helmets are a particularly striking example - but still, the rest is unknowable. Therefore my concerned and skeptical approach to Strauss' book.

 

I'd be fascinated to know what others think of his book, and/or the topic of the historicity of Troy in general. I was rather surprised to find very few references to Troy on this forum.

 

Best,

Nick