The Trojan War

THE TROJAN WAR PART ONE: THE ORIGINS OF THE TROJAN WAR have actually revealed weaker stonework on the western walls of Troy, suggesting that a genuine difference in construction led to the myth that The city of Troy had several mythical founders and kings, the two gods built the other walls. including Teucer, Dardanus, Tros, Ilus and Assaracus. The most widely accepted story makes Ilus the actual founder, Mythical reasons behind the Trojan War and from him the city took the name it was best-known by in ancient times, Ilium. In an episode similar to the founding During Priam's of Thebes, Ilus was given a cow and told to found a city lifetime Troy where it first lay down. As instructed, he followed the reached its animal, and on the land where it rested drew up the greatest boundaries of his city. He then received an additional sign prosperity, but from the gods, a legless wooden statue called the Palladium, when he was a which dropped from the heavens with the message that it very old man it should be carefully guarded as it 'brought empire'. Some say was tota lly it was a statue of Athene's friend Pallas, but most believe it destroyed after a was of Athene herself and that this statue was to make Troy ten-year siege by a great city. warriors from Greece. Some say Laomedon's Troy Zeus himself Ilus was succeeded by his son Laomedon, who built great caused the Trojan walls around his city with the help of a mortal, Aeacus, and War to thin out the two gods Poseidon and Apollo. These two were forced the human race, by Zeus to do a year's hard labour for their part in the Great which was Conspiracy and were understandably angry when the king threatening to would not give them the wages he had promised. When overpopulate the Heracles rescued Laomedon's daughter, the princess earth. Others think he caused it to make the whole world Hesione who had, like Andromeda, been chained to a rock aware of the beauty of his daughter Helen, or to give her as a sacrifice to a sea monster, this time sent by Poseidon, immortal fame as the cause of a war between West and Laomedon again retreated behind his marvellous walls and East. Or was it to give the second generation of heroes a refused to honour his promise to reward the hero (see chance to achieve fame, since all the monsters on earth had Chapter 6, the account of the ninth labour of Heracles). been slain by the first generation? The Romans were to Heracles then led an expedition against the city, breaching ascribe the fall of Troy to Fate, which had decided the the western wall which had been built by the mortal Aeacus. survivors from Troy should make their way to Italy and He killed Laomedon and all his sons except the infant begin the long process of creating the great empire of Podarces, whom he renamed Priam. Modern excavations Rome. The children of Priam and Hecabe called Alexander. Shortly before he was born, Hecabe dreamed that she gave birth to a branch alive with fiery Priam had many children by his chief wife Hecabe and by snakes, which set Troy and the forests on near by Mount Ida his concubines, and some accounts say he had fifty sons ablaze. Priam asked his son Aesacus the prophet what the and fifty daughters. Several of them were to play dream meant, and was told that he should destroy Hecabe's important roles in the Trojan War. child or it would cause Troy's destruction. Some days later • Hector was the greatest warrior of Troy who slew many Aesacus said Priam should kill the woman from Troy's royal Greeks until he in turn was slain by Achilles, the only family who gave birth that day, along with her child. Priam's man on the field greater than he. He was married to sister Cilla gave birth that morning and the king at once put Andromache and their infant son was named Astyanax. • Deiphobus and Helenus argued about who should be given Helen as his wife after her abductor Paris had died. Priam awarded her to Deiphobus as the greater warrior, and this was to have serious consequences both for Deiphobus and for Troy. • Troilus and Polyxena were both very young and very beautiful, and were to become victims of Achilles after he saw them drawing water from a sacred spring her and her son to death, and when Hecabe produced a son outside the walls of Troy and fell in love with both of that evening he did not think it was necessary to slay her too. them. To be on the safe side, though, he had the baby exposed on • Cassandra was loved by Apollo, who, with unusual Mount Ida. The herdsman who had left the child in the consideration, invited her to become his mistress and woods returned some days later, and was amazed to find it gave her the gift of prophecy as an inducement. was still alive, as it had been suckled by a she-bear. Assuming Cassandra at first agreed, then changed her mind. Apollo that this was due to t,he intervention of the gods, he took was unable to withdraw his gift because the present of a the baby and brought him up as his own son. god, once given, cannot be taken away. But it can be altered, so Apollo added the curse that she would foresee Paris grew up as a cowherd. He was handsome, intelligent the future, including the slaughter of most of her family, and an exceptional athlete, but though a great deal has the fall of her city and her own death, but no one would been written about his charm, his courage has not received ever believe her. the same prominence. He was an adept with the bow and • Creusa married Aeneas, son of Aphrodite and Anchises arrow, which, on its own, was regarded as a coward's and bore him a son, Ilus (also known as Ascanius). weapon in an age extolling hand-to-hand combat. He became the lover of the nymph Oenone, and his other main source of recreation was provoking bulls into fighting Paris one another, and pitting his own champion bull against The son of Priam and Hecabe who was destined to make the those of other herds. For a joke, Ares turned himself into a greatest contribution to the fall of Troy was Paris, sometimes bull, and Paris without hesitation awarded him the prize, Aphrodite, was very experienced in arranging such matters. thereby impressing Zeus with his impartiality. Not surprisingly, the prize went to Aphrodite. Fate had decreed that Troy must fall, so Paris was saved by The judgement of Paris divine intervention and a she-bear on Mount Ida. But what Soon the opportunity to make a more important judgement would have happened if he had selected one of the other contestants? No doubt Zeus would have caused the Trojan War by some other means, as Paris used Hera's bribe of wealth and a kingdom, or Athene's of military glory. And regardless of his choice, Paris could not have avoided making enemies of the other two. Aphrodite now set about fulfilling her promise, while Hera and Athene planned their revenge. Paris returns to Troy Soon after this Paris decided to go to compete in some games came his way. Zeus had been about to seduce the Nereid at Troy. There he attracted the attention of all spectators by Thetis, but changed his mind when he heard from his beauty and athletic skills, and when some of Priam's sons Prometheus that she was destined to bear a son greater than attacked him out of jealousy, the herdsman who had saved his father. Zeus wisely decided it would be safer to marry the life of the infant Paris told Priam that this was the son he Thetis to a mortal, and gave his blessing to the Argonaut had believed dead. Priam was delighted to welcome such a Peleus. The wedding of Thetis and Peleus was attended by fine young man as his son, and when he was warned that most of the immortals but one who was not invited was Eris, Troy would fall if Paris were allowed to live he answered goddess of Discord. She turned up just the same and tossed 'Better Troy should fall than my marvellous son should die.' into the middle of the guests a golden apple inscribed 'For Paris abducts Helen the Fairest'. The goddesses began to argue over who deserved it and Zeus selected Paris to be the judge of the first recorded beauty contest. On this occasion, however, Paris was not quite so disinterested. The three leading competitors, Hera, Athene and Aphrodite each offered him a tempting bribe. Hera promised to make him a great and wealthy king, while Athene offered wisdom and military glory. Aphrodite, however, read the young man's character best. She suggested that if such a handsome young man had the discrimination to see that she was clearly lovelier than her competitors he might also appreciate a similar beauty for his wife, no less a woman than Aphrodite's half-sister. She, Paris now took advantage of his newly-acquired wealth and status and embarked on a voyage to Greece. He received a sad farewell from his former lover Oenone, who first tried to suitors to defend his rights.

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