The Wounded Achilles by Filippo Albacini, 1825, marble - Sculpture Gallery, Chatsworth House - Derbyshire, England

For more than three millennia the myth of Troy has enthralled audiences far beyond the place and time in which the Trojan War is set, with its universal themes of love and loss, violence and destruction, despair and hope. The British Museum's exhibition Troy: Myth and Reality introduces the storytellers and artists inspired by the original myths, and tells the stories themselves – from the Judgment of Paris to the trials of Odysseus. The nineteenth-century search for the location of Troy and Heinrich Schliemann’s excavations are explored, as well as the possible Bronze Age background for the myth of the Trojan War. Focusing on the major characters – Helen, Odysseus, Aeneas, Achilles and Hector – the exhibition shows how artists from Cranach and Rubens to Romare Bearden and Cy Twombly have been inspired by Troy.

Vicky Donnellan, co-curator of the exhibition, will give an overview and lead you through the exhibition.

Tickets cost £10. Doors open at 7:15, with the talk starting at 7:30, and a complimentary drink on arrival.

Bursary tickets are available, please email [email protected] for more information.

Pictured The Wounded Achilles by Filippo Albacini, 1825, marble - Sculpture Gallery, Chatsworth House - Derbyshire, England