What does "the topless towers of ilium" mean?

Question

This is supposed to be an allusion...I have no idea what it means. Please give me an educated answer

Answer 1

Topless towers I took to mean that the towers are so tall, one cannot see the tops and Ilium is another name for Troy

Answer 2

Topless Towers Of Ilium

Answer 3

Ah, was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burned the topless towers of Ilium? ... Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss



Ilium is another word for Troy, the city at the center of the Trojan war. Troy was a walled city, and city walls have defensive towers.



The poetic image was that the towers in the city walls of Troy were so tall, they didn't even have tops; so strong, that they couldn't be toppled over. The city walls could not be defeated -- not even by all the attacking soldiers that a thousand ships had brought.



And, they weren't. To get past the city walls, the attackers used the Trojan Horse. Soldiers hid inside the the statue of the horse. When the Trojans brought the statue into the city, the attacking soldiers burst out and burned the city down.



All this, because of the beautiful woman who we now call Helen of Troy.



Does that help?