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Chapter 19 the Trojan Saga and the Iliad

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Chapter 19 the Trojan Saga and the Iliad Chapter 19 The Trojan Saga and the Iliad THE CHILDREN OF LEDA LEDA [lee'da], wife of TYNDAREUS [tin-dar'e-us], king of Sparta, bore four children to Zeus, who appeared to her in the form of a swan. Polydeuces and Helen (who were immortal) were born from one egg, Castor and Clytemnestra (who were mortal) from the other. Castor and Polydeuces. CASTOR [kas'tor], or KASTOR, and POLYDEUCES [pol-i-dou'seez], or POLYDEUKES, whose Roman name is POLLUX [pol'luks], were not part of the Trojan saga. They are known as the DIOSCURI [deye-os'kou-ree], or DIOSKOUROI (“sons of Zeus”) and Tyndaridae (“sons of Tyndareus”). Castor died in a quarrel with the sons of Aphareus, IDAS [eye'das] and LYNCEUS [lin'se-us], but Zeus allowed Polydeuces to share his immortality so that each brother was on Olympus or in Hades on alternate days. Castor was a horseman, Polydeuces a boxer. As gods they helped sailors, and they were especially honored at Sparta and at Rome. Helen and Paris. The most beautiful of women, HELEN had many suitors. She chose MENELAÜS [men-e-lay'us], or MENELAOS, as husband and bore HERMIONE [her-meye'o-nee] to him. The other suitors swore to help Menelaüs in time of need. PARIS (also called ALEXANDER or ALEXANDROS), son of Priam and Hecabe (Hecuba), rulers of Troy, seduced Helen and took her to Troy. To recover her and vindicate Menelaüs, the Achaeans (Mycenaean Greeks) raised an expedition to be led by Agamemnon. Another version says that Helen went to Egypt and spent the ten years of the Trojan War there, while her phantom went to Troy. The Judgment of Paris. Paris took Helen as a reward for judging Aphrodite to be more beautiful than Hera and Athena. All the Olympian gods, except ERIS [er'is], “discord,” were invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (see MLS, Chapter 19). Eris appeared and threw on the table an apple inscribed with “For the most beautiful,” which was claimed by all three goddesses. They were brought by Hermes to Paris on Mt. Ida, where each promised him a reward if he judged her to be the most beautiful. TROY AND ITS LEADERS AND ALLIES Apollo and Poseidon built the walls of Troy for King LAOMEDON [lay-om'e-don], who cheated them of their reward. To punish him, Apollo sent a plague, and Poseidon a sea monster. Laomedon, obeying an oracle, exposed his daughter, HESIONE [hee-seye'on-ee], to the monster, but she was saved by Heracles (see MLS, Chapter 22), whom Laomedon also cheated of his reward. Heracles attacked Troy with an army: he killed Laomedon and gave Hesione as wife to Telamon. Priam and Hecuba. Laomedon’s son, Podarces, became king of Troy, changing his name to PRIAM [preye'am]. He had fifty sons and twelve daughters, nineteen of the children by his wife and queen, HECABE [he'ka-bee], whose Romans name is HECUBA [he'kyou-ba]. Of these, Paris and Hector were the most important. Paris and Oenone. Before the birth of Paris, Hecabe dreamed that she had given birth to a firebrand that consumed Troy. She exposed Paris on Mt. Ida, where he survived and became a shepherd. There he was loved by the nymph OENONE [ee-noh'nee], who had the gift of healing. Paris returned to Troy and was recognized by Priam as his son. In the Trojan War he was saved by Aphrodite from death in single combat with Menelaüs, and he killed Achilles by shooting him in the heel with an arrow. Years later, when Paris was mortally wounded, Oenone refused to heal him, and after his death she killed herself in remorse. Hector, Andromache, and Astyanax. HECTOR [hek'tor] was the leading Trojan warrior, inferior only to Achilles, who killed him in single combat. His wife was ANDROMACHE [an-drom'a-kee], who bore him a son, ASTYANAX [as-teye'a-naks]. Helenus and Deïphobus. Two other sons of Priam were HELENUS [hel'e-nus], or HELENOS, and DEÏPHOBUS [dee-if'oh-bus], or DEÏPHOBOS. Helenus was a seer, who was captured by the Greeks and spared by them. He married Andromache after Hector’s death and went with her to Epirus. Deïphobus married Helen after the death of Paris and was killed in the sack of Troy. Cassandra and Polyxena. Two of Priam’s daughters were CASSANDRA [kas-sand'ra], or KASSANDRA, and POLYXENA [po-lik'se-na]. Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo (see MLS, Chapter 11), who punished her for her refusal of his love with the fate that her prophecies would never be believed. She warned the Trojans in vain of the city’s fall and of the deception of the Trojan horse. She went to Mycenae as part of Agamemnon’s spoils and there was killed by Clytemnestra (see MLS, Chapter 18). Polyxena was sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles after the fall of Troy. Aeneas and Antenor. Other Trojan leaders who were not sons of Priam were AENEAS [ee- nee'as], or AINEIAS, and ANTENOR [an-teen'or]. Aeneas was son of Aphrodite and Anchises (see MLS, Chapter 9) and was saved by Poseidon from death in single combat with Achilles. He survived the war and led a band of survivors to Italy (for his saga, see MLS, Chapter 26). Antenor, brother of Hecabe (Hecuba), advised the Trojans to give Helen back to the Greeks. He and his wife, Theano, were spared at the sack and eventually came to Italy. Leading Allies of the Trojans. These were the Lycian princes, GLAUCUS [glaw'kus], or GLAUKOS, and SARPEDON [sar-pee'don]. Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, exchanged his golden armor for the bronze armor of Diomedes and was eventually killed by Ajax. Sarpedon was son of Zeus, who could not save him from death at the hands of Patroclus. Zeus honored Sarpedon by raining drops of blood and ordering Sleep and Death to transport his corpse back to Lycia. Late in the war the Ethiopians, led by MEMNON [mem'non], came to assist the Trojans, as did the Thracians, led by RHESUS [ree'sus], or RHESOS, and the Amazons, led by PENTHESILEA [pen- thes-i-lee'a], or PENTHESILEIA. THE ACHAEAN LEADERS Agamemnon and Menelaüs. AGAMEMNON [ag-a-mem'non], “lord of men,” was the leader of the expedition. He was a lesser warrior than Achilles and less good in council than Odysseus, but he was greater than both in prestige. His brother, MENELAÜS [men-e-lay'us], or MENELAOS, had less prestige and prowess, although he would have killed Paris in single combat if Aphrodite had not saved Paris. Diomedes. Greater than Agamemnon and Menelaüs as a warrior was DIOMEDES [deye-o- mee'deez], son of Tydeus and king of Argos. Diomedes was favored by Athena, who enabled him to wound even Ares and Aphrodite in battle. With Odysseus he fetched Achilles from Scyros, before the expedition, and Philoctetes from Lemnos towards the end of the war. He accompanied Odysseus in the night raid that led to the deaths of Dolon and Rhesus and the theft from Troy of the Palladium (a statue of Athena that Zeus had cast down from Olympus: it was the guarantee of the city’s survival). Ajax the Great, or Greater. AJAX [ay'jaks], or AIAS, son of TELAMON [tel'a-mon], was prince of Salamis and the most stalwart warrior after Achilles. He was the bravest defender of the ships against Hector’s onslaught, and he defended the corpse of Patroclus. He accompanied Odysseus and Phoenix on the embassy to Achilles and competed with Odysseus in the funeral games for Patroclus and in the claim to the armor of Achilles. Ajax the Less, or Lesser. AJAX [ay'jaks] or AIAS, son of OILEUS [o-il'e-us], was prince of Locris and a leading warrior whose chief role in the saga occurred in the sack of Troy, when he violated Cassandra, who had taken refuge at the altar of Athena. He died during the return home, having offended both Athena and Poseidon. Idomeneus, King of Crete. IDOMENEUS [eye-dom'en-e-us] was a friend of Menelaüs and was a leading warrior and counselor. His principal legend occurs after the fall of Troy. Nestor, King of Pylos. Two leaders were especially prominent in the councils of war, Odysseus and NESTOR [nes'tor], son of Neleus and king of Pylos, who had become king after Heracles had sacked Pylos (see MLS, Chapter 22). Nestor appears in the Iliad as an old and very experienced warrior whose advice, usually given at some length, was greatly valued by the younger leaders. His son, Antilochus, was killed by Memnon, but Nestor himself survived the war. Odysseus, King of Ithaca. The second great councilor and orator was ODYSSEUS [oh-dis'se-us] (ULYSSES), son of LAËRTES [lay-er'teez]. When the expedition was being gathered, he tried to avoid service by pretending to be mad, a ruse that was uncovered by PALAMEDES [pal-a- mee'deez]. He rallied the Achaeans in Book 2 of the Iliad to stay and finish the war, and he asserted the status of the Achaean leaders by beating the sardonic THERSITES [ther-seye'teez], who had spoken bluntly but inappropriately in the council of war. He led the embassy to Achilles, and he undertook the night expedition with Diomedes to take the Palladium from the Trojans. Important as he is in council and in fighting, his major legends concern the fall of Troy and his return home.
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