Continuity mistake: When Hector comes through the gate and confronts Achilles, the area around the two chariot wheels is clear. In subsequent shots large clumps of dirt and grass are in front and back of the two chariot wheels, which changes significantly throughout the rest of the scene, as well as the position of the wheel spokes. (01:57:10)
Continuity mistake: When Menelaus and Paris duel, in some shots there is a thick black chinstrap attached to Menelaus' helmet, which is perfectly visible at his ears, cheeks and under his chin, as the flaps of his helmet move about, yet in the rest of the shots the chinstrap is gone. (It is not a shadow.) (01:14:10)
Continuity mistake: When Paris shoots the arrow at Achilles, it passes through the other side of his heel but when he is dying, it is barely stuck on one side. (02:28:20)
Continuity mistake: After Agamemnon dies, Achilles helps Briseis up and his greave wrapped right leg (which is visible) is upright against her, as he says, "Come with me," and then is hit with the first arrow. In the close-up of Briseis, as she shouts, "No!" just as Paris prepares to fire the second arrow, Achilles' right leg with its greave and straps are once again perfectly visible beside Briseis, but the way the right greave and straps are wrapped are entirely different. (02:28:10)
Continuity mistake: When Achilles ties Hector's feet with the rope, the excess rope at the knot and the length of the rope between the chariot and Hector's feet changes while Hector's body is dragged by the chariot. In the first wide shot, as Achilles begins to drag him, its length is twice as long than in the following close-up. (02:02:00)
Continuity mistake: In the morning, while Achilles watches Briseis sleep, her arm extends way over the edge of the bed in the wide shots facing her, yet in the shots facing the doorway her position differs and even her hand doesn't reach the edge of the bed. (01:33:05)
Continuity mistake: When Menelaus travels to his brother, Agamemnon, their positions differ when they speak and embrace, e.g., in the shots facing Menelaus two of his brother's fingers are on the cloak at his shoulder, yet in the shots facing Agamemnon his entire left hand lies on Menelaus' cloak. (00:18:25 - 00:19:20)
Continuity mistake: When Hector tries to stop Helen from running away at night, her hair keeps changing; one can see in her "back" shots, sometimes her hair is completely down, and other times her hair has two twists in it. It keeps changing throughout the scene. Also, in the same scene, the front of her hair is sometimes a little frizzy and curly, and sometimes it is smooth and straight. (01:01:45)
Continuity mistake: When Briseis is about to kill Achilles he turns her over and his hand slids down to the edge of her dress and then up her leg to her shoulder. However in the next shot his hand is only at her waist and slids up to her shoulder again.
Continuity mistake: In Phtia, Achilles throws the spear into the tree beside Odysseus as he rides near. When Odysseus removes the spear from the tree, the area of tree around the spear tip is different. (00:22:00)
Continuity mistake: The quantity of blood on Patroclus' neck, when Hector removes his helmet, changes between the shots. (01:43:55)
Continuity mistake: From the time Achilles stands outside the temple of Apollo, after he sticks one of his swords into the man's head, just before he speaks with Eudorus, through the moment he allows Hector to leave the temple grounds, the blood on the front and shoulders of his armour changes. (00:43:40)
Continuity mistake: When the Trojans attack the Greeks on the beach with burning balls of twine (or some similar material) at dawn, Hector is seen watching the carnage. He then starts to beat on his shield with his spear and his two generals begin to walk up to him from the rear. The shot cuts to Odysseus for about two seconds and then back to Hector. The two generals then again begin to walk up to him also beating their shields. (01:36:30)
Continuity mistake: After Odysseus, Achilles and the other Greeks climb out of the 'Trojan' horse, Odysseus and others head for the front gate. In the first wide shot of the front gate there are Trojan guards asleep on both sides. In the following close-up of these guards, their positions and the positions of things around them differ most significantly, like for example the fire pit at the feet of the guards on the right moves at least five feet, and then when the Greeks kill them the fire pit moves again. (02:19:20)
Continuity mistake: When the Greeks begin their rampage within the walls of Troy, a Trojan is flipped over a roof and lands on a thatched roof under him. The top thatch differs between the first close-up and second wide shot. (02:21:10)
Continuity mistake: As Achilles and Patroclus sword play in Phtia, at the bottom of a particular area with stairs, in the first shot after the first close-up of the horses' hooves, there are large clumps of greenery at the corners of these individual stairs. However, when Odysseus speaks with them and says, "My wife will feel much better if she knows you're by my side..." now some of the clumps of greenery are gone from the stairs, and there is a water 'canteen' on the third step, which Achilles drinks from. There are a number of significant differences among surrounding shrubbery and small rocks, including from the opening aerial shot, and the sun's shadow changes drastically during this entire scene. (00:21:35 - 00:23:25)
Continuity mistake: The scars and scratches on Boagrius' face and body change significantly and some scratches disappear, between his first few close-ups and then when Achilles moves toward him. For instance, the scars on his chest are less severe in the close-ups when Achilles heads toward him. (00:06:45 - 00:07:45)
Continuity mistake: When the priestess, Briseis, is standing on the beach about to return to Troy with King Priam, some of her hair is strewn across her chest. But in the next shot, it's suddenly all in place. Then a few shots later it's back across her chest again. Again later, before Briseis stabs Agamemnon, her hair is messy in the shot facing her, but in the next shot it's neat again. (02:10:40 - 02:27:40)
Continuity mistake: When Hector walks outside and speaks with Achilles at Apollo's temple, the large seated statue is behind them and its shoulders are a particular height and distance from the roof behind it. Later, when Achilles walks past that statue to raise his sword in victory to the Greeks on the beach below, the proximity and height between Achilles (who walks along the roof) and the statue, plus some of its characteristics differ greatly, e.g., there are two top stones behind the shoulder in the close-up, yet three in the wideshot. The differences are more apparent on VHS or fullscreen DVD. (00:48:20)
Continuity mistake: When Hector says goodbye to Andromache, before his duel with Achilles, in the shots facing Hector as they embrace his face is pressed onto Andromache's shoulder, but in the shots facing Andromache his face is higher up, beside her head. (01:55:15)
Answer: They didn't know the Greeks weren't bringing cavalry. The Greeks did use them and sometimes brought them by sea. It was there to stop a cavalry charge and to break up fighting formations.
LorgSkyegon