Did Troy, Achilles, Helen, et. al Actually Exist?

Does it matter?

The ancient Greek stories of the warrior Achilles, the king Odysseus, the stunningly beautiful Helen of Troy, go back to two of the oldest pieces of literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey by the poet Homer, in 800 B.C. Contemporary audiences haven’t likely read the epic poem. They know the story of Troy mostly as an epic movie starring Brad Pitt, which c…