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In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Greeks after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homer's Iliad. In the present painting van Valckenborch has depicted the carnage of the attack as the Greeks slaughter the fleeing Trojans and torch the city.
The events surrounding the Trojan War and its protagonists clearly fascinated van Valckenborch. He painted a number of different scenes featuring the sack of Troy and the ensuing fate of Aeneas.
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