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Home , Ajax the Great, Antilochus, Assaracus, Creusa, Dardanus (son of Zeus), Deiphobus

THE

PART ONE: THE ORIGINS OF THE TROJAN WAR have actually revealed weaker stonework on the western walls of , suggesting that a genuine difference in construction led to the that The city of Troy had several mythical founders and kings, the two gods built the other walls. including , , , and . 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, . In an episode similar to the founding During '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 , 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 . Some say 's Troy himself

Ilus was succeeded by his son Laomedon, who built great caused the Trojan walls around his city with the help of a mortal, , and War to thin out the two gods and . 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 rescued Laomedon's daughter, the princess earth. Others think he caused it to make the whole world who had, like , been chained to a rock aware of the beauty of his daughter , 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 (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 and He killed Laomedon and all his sons except the infant begin the long process of creating the great empire of , whom he renamed Priam. Modern excavations . The children of Priam and Hecabe called . 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 his concubines, and some accounts say he had fifty sons ablaze. Priam asked his son 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 • 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 , 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 gave birth that morning and the king at once put and their infant son was named .

• and argued about who should be given Helen as his wife after her abductor had died. Priam awarded her to Deiphobus as the greater warrior, and this was to have serious consequences both for Deiphobus and for Troy.

• and 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 • 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

• married , son of and arrow, which, on its own, was regarded as a coward's and bore him a son, Ilus (also known as ). weapon in an age extolling hand-to-hand combat. He became the lover of the , 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, 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 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 '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 , but changed his mind when he heard from his beauty and athletic skills, and when some of Priam's sons 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 . 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 , 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 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. His brother , as lord persuade him not to go, and then kissed him and said 'If you of , had the greatest prestige in Greece, so with him are ever wounded return to me, because my skill alone will as commanderchief, a great force of heroes and their heal you.' When he reached he was warmly followers gathered at Aulis, and, after the sacrifice of welcomed by the unsuspecting . However, his host Agamemnon's daughter had secured the required had a prior engagement, and, apologising to Paris, sailed off west wind, sailed off to Troy. to Crete. Paris made no apologies at all - Aphrodite had done In another version of the myth, the goddess saved her work well, and as soon as Menelaus was gone he and Iphigenia from being sacrificed and took her to 'the land of Helen took off. When the enraged husband returned he sent the Tauri'to be her priestess. ambassadors demanding that Helen be handed back, but they came back without her. Despite Greek threats the On the way there, they landed on an obscure island where Trojans were delighted with Helen, and Priam vowed that one of their number, , was bitten by a snake. He they would never let her go. did not die but his wound did not heal either and caused him constant pain. When it also began to smell foul the Greeks The Greeks sail to Troy abandoned him on the island. Philoctetes had inherited Heracles' bow and arrows and survived on his own by killing and eating small animals, until, after several years, his former companions were to find that they needed him.

When the Greeks landed at Troy they once more formally requested that Helen be returned. The Trojans refused and the Greeks established themselves in their camp and prepared to lay siege to the city.

The opposing forces at Troy

The armies which faced each other at Troy for ten years were organised in quite different ways. Troy was under the command of its , and although he was now an old man he still had the wisdom of the great warrior he had once been. His second-in-command was his son Hector, Troy's greatest fighter and a son totally loyal to his father. Beside the forces of Troy fought independent allies from lands both near and far.

The Greeks were led by Agamemnon, their most powerful king, but neither the wisest leader nor the greatest warrior. Menelaus, the aggrieved husband was also far from being Menelaus then invoked the vow taken by all her former the best leader. The other contingents were there to fight a war not of their own making, to fulfil their leaders' vow, and was the strongest, most ruthless and most successful warrior with the hope of looting the city when they had captured it. of all those who fought at Troy. He was the son of Peleus and During the long siege many disagreements broke out among Thetis, whose marriage, attended by all the gods, had seen the Greeks, and there was a constant threat that chiefs might Eris sowing the seeds of disharmony with her . In withdraw their troops from the fight at any time. keeping with the tone of the wedding festivities, Achilles was the product of a family that today might be described as highly dysfunctional. Thetis had not wanted to marry a mortal because he was her inferior, and she resented the fact that The Greek chiefs her children would be mortal. She attempted to render several sons - some say up to six - immortal by burning away The oldest and wisest Greek was , king of in the their mortal parts in a fire. In one version she succeeded and west of the Peloponnese. He was respected in the Greek they left Earth for Olympus, while in another version she only councils of war and managed to survive the war, though his succeeded in killing them. Peleus' intervention saved Achilles best-loved son Archilochus was killed. from a similar fate, whatever it was, and Thetis had had to be

Achilles content with making him invulnerable to weapons by dipping him in the river . But her fingers had prevented the waters reaching two tiny places on his ankle, and these (his Achilles heel) were ultimately to be responsible for his death.

Soon after this, Thetis left Peleus to return to the sea, but kept spasmodic contact with her son. Peleus for his part went off to hunt the Calydonian boar and bring back the , but first entrusted Achilles to the wise to be educated on Mount Pelion.

Achilles had been one of Helen's suitors, and so was obliged to go to Troy to reclaim her from Paris. Thetis knew that her son would die if he went to Troy, so she disguised him as a girl and hid him among the females in the palace on the island of Scyros. But , who had himself been unwilling to go to Troy, discovered Achilles by placing a variety of rich gifts on a table and inviting the women and girls to take their pick. Then he ordered a war trumpet to sound outside the hall. Achilles dropped his jewellery and embroidered robes, and seized the shield and spear To lure Iphigenia to Aulis, Agamemnon had pretended she Odysseus had cunningly placed among the gifts. He was thus was to marry Achilles, and Clytemnestra hastened there with obliged to go to fight. Another story claims that Achilles was her daughter because of the greatness of the match. Achilles told by a prophet on Scyros that he might have a short and glorious life or a long life in total obscurity. He himself chose more reckless than Odysseus, even taking on gods when the first, and gladly seized the occasion of the Trojan War to they appeared before him on the battlefield, so confident win himself everlasting fame. was he that Athene would protect him.

Ajax The war at Troy - fact or fiction? The second most powerful warrior was of Aegina, called the Great to distinguish him from another warrior of the The ancient Greeks and Romans had no doubts that a Greek same name, commonly called Little Ajax. was force had, in the remote past, sacked the city of Troy, and a cousin of Achilles, an enormous man possessed of great that these events had been described by and other strength, courage and fighting skill. Unfortunately he was not poets. Later European societies enjoyed the tales of Troy but very bright, and lacked both guile and a persuasive tongue, slowly came to believe they were only fantasy, and that rich which put him at a disadvantage when dealing with his chief Troy and the equally wealthy Mycenaean cities in Greece rival, Odysseus. were pure myth. Then, in 1870, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began digging on a low hill that was one Odysseus of several places where Troy might have been situated, and

Odysseus was not lacking in courage and strength, but he uncovered the ruins of a manylayered city dating back to was best-known for his cunning. After suggesting to around 2000 BC (the era when the were invading Tyndareos how to avoid future strife when Helen's husband Greece), and possibly earlier. Today this is generally accepted was chosen, he had married and become king of as the site of ancient Troy. Though it may never be proven, it the island of , his father abdicating in his now seems quite possible that around 1250 BC warriors from favour. When messengers arrived summoning him to go to Greece combined to raid and destroy a trade rival, or to loot Troy he was not pleased, as he had heard a prophecy that if a rich city, and, incidentally! to create a legend that has never he went he would not return for twenty years, and then died. alone and as a destitute beggar. So he pretended he had lost When Paris carried off Helen to Troy it had not occurred to his wits, and ploughed the seashore, scattering handfuls of him that he might be pursued by an army. In years past, salt as if sowing seed. One of the heralds, , put several women had been abducted from the east without down Odysseus' infant son in front of the retaliation, including Europa, and Ariadne. More plough, making the father stop to avoid injuring the child. recently Hesione, sister of Priam, had been taken by Telemon This of Aegina after he had helped Heracles capture Troy. The indicated that Odysseus was not insane because if he had Trojans, completely captivated by Helen's beauty and been, he would not have realised that he would injure his impressed by her status as daughter of Zeus, were proud of son if he continued. So Odysseus went to Troy, but he never their prince who had carried off such a prize, and, ignoring forgave Palamedes for making him leave home. the threat of war, refused on several occasions to return her.

Diomedes PART TWO: THE TROJAN WAR

Another warrior who is usually associated with Odysseus was of . They were both clever and skilled The beginning of the war warriors, and favourites of Athene, but Diomedes was much It had been prophesied that the first Greek ashore would be this time, snatched Paris out of the fight and dropped him the first to be killed, so all the great men prudently waited to back in his own bedroom - with Helen. Helen had been disembark until a minor hero, , had been killed by watching the combat and abused Paris for being an inferior Hector. The Greeks then forced their way ashore, established warrior compared to her former husband. Paris laughed, a permanent camp and settled in for a lengthy siege. They saying he'd win next time, and meantime they should make could not hope to breach the walls, which had been built the most of life. He then proceeded to demonstrate how in largely by Poseidon and Apollo, so they attempted to wear one area at least (that of making love), he was much better down both the spirits and the resources of the Trojans by than Menelaus. slowly killing off their warriors and by attacking their allies to force them to withdraw support. Artemis, Apollo and Ares also favoured the Trojans, but Ares was an untrustworthy ally as he was capable of switching The gods at Troy sides to keep a battle going, and once he was actually chased

There were many short battles outside the walls of Troy as from the field by a mere mortal, the impetuous Diomedes. the Trojans attempted to push the Greeks off the land they Achilles at Troy had occupied. The gods intervened freely in these skirmishes to help their various favourites. Zeus was largely Like heroes who go on a quest, the Greeks had to meet neutral, but he could be provoked or seduced into taking many conditions before they could capture Troy. When it sides. Hera and Athene were implacable enemies of the was foretold that Troy would not fall to the Greeks if Trojans, because, in addition to resenting Paris for having Priam's son Troilus reached the age of twenty, Achilles awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite, they each had undertook to slay him. However, when the Greek hero saw favourites among the Greek heroes. Poseidon was also Troilus and his sister Polyxena getting water from a sacred hostile to Troy, never having forgiven Laomedon for spring, he fell in love with them and chased them. Polyxena cheating him out of his promised wages. escaped Achilles for the moment, but Troilus was slain. Accounts vary as to whether Troilus met his end during On the Trojan side were Aphrodite, who continued to excessively violent love making, or while he was claiming support Paris, and also looked after the interests of her son sanctuary in a temple of Apollo, or simply during combat on Aeneas. Unlike the other offspring of Zeus, Aphrodite made the battlefield. Achilles then asked Priam what he must do no pretence of being a warrior. On one occasion when to obtain his daughter Polyxena as his wife, and was told he Aeneas was wounded and his mother simply seized him and had to first betray the Greek camp to the Trojans. Achilles ran from the battlefield, she was pursued by Diomedes and was seriously considering this proposition when another wounded in the hand. Diomedes was openly contemptuous incident prompted him to withdraw his troops from the of the love goddess, but when he returned home after the Greek forces. This incident, commonly called 'The Wrath of war he would find that she had taken her revenge. Achilles', is the best known story of the Trojan War, as it

On another occasion it was agreed that the war should be settled in solo combat between Paris and Menelaus, but when Paris was clearly getting the worst of it, Aphrodite again intervened. She prudently wrapped herself in a cloud forms the plot of Homer's epic the , the earliest Trojans and fear into their enemies until the Trojans reached surviving work in Western literature and still one of the the Greek ships and began to set fire to them. Agamemnon greatest. now offered to return , and also offered many gifts to prove that the Greeks did really value the great hero, but The Wrath of Achilles Achilles refused them contemptuously and declared that he During the raids made by the Greeks on the territories of was going home the very next day. Meantime his close friend the allies of Troy, two young women were captured and was touched by the plight of his comrades and, allocated as slaves: Briseis to Achilles and to borrowing Achilles' armour, dashed into the battle and Agamemnon. Chryseis was the daughter of a of chased the Trojans back inside their walls. But by the city Apollo, who offered a large for the return of his gates he was met by Hector, who slew him and took Achilles' daughter. Agamemnon refused to return her, so the priest armour as proof of his success. When Achilles heard the news asked his god for help. Instead of destroying Agamemnon, he at last shared a little of the grief he had inflicted on Apollo sent a plague to kill the Greek troops countless others during his raids on cities and in his ruthless indiscriminately, and Agamemnon was finally forced to give efforts to establish himself as number-one hero of the day. up his concubine. But his pride was hurt, so he used his Totally unable to cope, he went almost insane with grief, power as commander-in-chief to demand Briseis from while those around him feared he would attempt suicide. Achilles instead. Now it was Achilles' turn to suffer hurt Thetis was very upset that her scheme to have Zeus avenge pride, so he announced that he and his men would take no her son's wrongs had ended by causing him even more grief, further part in the war and retired to his tent to sulk. and, after comforting him, she rushed to ask to make him a new set of armour. Hephaestus was also aware Thetis was upset at her son's unhappiness and went up to of what he owed Thetis, who had rescued and sheltered him Olympus to ask Zeus to avenge the slight to her son's honour. when Hera threw him from Olympus, and the very next day Zeus had a soft spot for Thetis she had, after all, sent the Achilles put on his magnificent armour and weapons and hundred-handed monster Briareus to free him during the strode out looking for Hector. At first he was unable to find Great Conspiracy and agreed to help. He put heart into the his foe and in his wrath filled the river with Trojan corpses. When he did find Hector, the Trojan was tricked by Athene into thinking she was his brother Deiphobus coming to his support. When she vanished he tried to run, but was no match for the fleet-footed Achilles. After killing him, Achilles tied the body to the back of his chariot and drove it back to his camp in triumph. He buried Patroclus with magnificent ceremony, funeral games and the sacrifice of twelve noble Trojan captives. He then continued to take out his fury on the body of Hector, refusing all offers of ransom and dragging it every day around the walls of Troy. After eleven days King Priam came in person to humbly beg for his son's body and at Zeus' command Achilles accepted the ransom. The description of the funeral of Hector concludes the Iliad. This brief summary of its plot cannot convey the vitality, tragedy devotion to Achilles. Athene, however, decided the armour and irony of the full story, and students should try to read at should be given to her favourite, Odysseus; she disliked least a small part of it in a good translation. Ajax for boasting that he did not need the gods' help to prevent the enemy from breaking the Greek line or to win Achilles' further deeds and death glory for his deeds.

Many other stories were told of the deeds of Achilles. He fought the who had come to help the Trojans and Ajax was both hurt and angry and planned revenge, but killed their queen, Penthesileia, but even as his spear pierced Athene temporarily sent him insane, and he slaughtered a her breast he fell in love with her. Some accounts allege he number of sheep and cows in the belief he was killing raped her as she died. The other Greeks wished to mutilate those who had agreed to dishonour him. When he and dishonour her body to show their contempt for a woman recovered his senses, in shame he fastened his sword in who had dared to practise skills of warfare, which they the ground and fell on it. Agamemnon and Menelaus, who considered proper only for males. Achilles defended her, and had been included in those Ajax had thought he was gave her an honourable burial. killing, decided he deserved no honour as a traitor and should lie unburied, but Odysseus felt pity for his rival and

Another of Achilles' victims was from Ethiopia, son insisted that he receive the funeral rites which were his of , goddess of the dawn and her husband , who due. In due course Odysseus presented the armour to was Priam's half-brother. Memnon killed , Nestor's Achilles' son . son, and Achilles avenged the death of his young friend by Odysseus and Palamedes slaying Memnon in his turn. But finally it was Achilles turn to die. He had slain enough men to guarantee that his fame Odysseus was not so honourable in his treatment of would last forever, and had aroused the anger of Poseidon Palamedes, who had compelled him to honour his promise and Apollo with his arrogance and insolent boasting. During and join the expedition against Troy. Odysseus was jealous battle Apollo directed an arrow from the bow of Paris into that Palamedes was called 'the wise' as he was himself Achilles' vulnerable ankle and he swiftly died from its renowned for his cunning and was not prepared to accept poisoned tip. The joy of the Trojans at the death of their any rivals except the elderly Nestor. Finally he was moved to greatest enemy and the dismay of the Greeks were equally action when Palamedes insulted his sense of honour. unbounded. Fierce fighting raged around the corpse until Achilles' cousin Ajax the Great risked his life to carry the body Agamemnon had sent Odysseus on an expedition to gather from the battlefield. food, and, when he returned emptyhanded, Palamedes accused him of being both lazy and a coward. Odysseus The tragedy of Ajax the Great challenged Palamedes to do better, whereupon Palamedes

Achilles was buried with due honour, but a dispute now set out at once and returned with a whole shipload of corn. arose over who should inherit his armour. Ajax believed Not for nothing was Odysseus famous for his cunning, and he that he deserved it as he was generally esteemed as a thought up an ingenious scheme to get his revenge. He warrior second only to his cousin; he had risked his life to invented an that said the Greek camp had to be moved carry the body from the battlefield, and had always shown temporarily, and he then buried a sack of gold under Palamedes' tent. Next he claimed to have found a letter on a prisoner he had slain. The letter, which he had written and placed on the body himself, was apparently from Priam to Priam's sons Helenus and Deiphobus now put their cases to Palamedes telling him he had sent 'the gold' as payment for their father to be allowed to marry Helen. Priam awarded her agreeing to betray the Greek camp. Naturally Palamedes to Deiphobus as the better warrior, and in anger Helenus denied receiving any gold so Odysseus suggested that his tent turned traitor. He went to the Greeks, and, after requesting be searched. The sack was unearthed and the Greeks stoned safe conduct to another land, told them three additional Palamedes to death as a traitor. conditions they must meet to capture the city. Firstly they

Philoctetes and the death of Paris

Achilles had withdrawn his troops and had genuinely contemplated turning traitor, but by comparison to Palamedes he was mourned, as the chances of the Greeks taking Troy seemed very small once he had died. Now the Greek prophet announced that Troy could not be taken without aid from the bow and arrows of Heracles, which had helped in its capture years earlier. The two greatest surviving Greek heroes, Odysseus and Diomedes, must bring from Pisa to Troy the ivory shoulder blade which pledged themselves to find the arrows and bring them to had given . Next they must bring to Troy Troy. They sailed off to where they had abandoned Neoptolemus, the son whom Achilles had begotten while Philoctetes and found him still suffering from the pain of his hiding on the island of Scyros. Finally, they had to steal from foul-smelling wound. Odysseus tricked him into handing over Troy the wooden image called the Palladium, because while the bow but Diomedes refused to take away Philoctetes' only it remained inside the city, Troy would never fall to the means of survival and insisted he be taken back with them to Greeks. Troy. There he was finally cured, and took the field with Heracles' weapons. His very first victim was Paris, who, when The first two condition were met relatively easily, but the injured, had himself carried to Mount Ida to beg his former theft of the Palladium was more difficult. It was undertaken lover Oenone to heal him. But she refused, still bitter by Odysseus and Diomedes, the two favourites of Athene, because he had left her for Helen, and Paris, who had who entered and left Troy through a sewer pipe. In the brought so much destruction to his people, finally died. enthusiasm of success Odysseus decided he would claim all Oenone was then overcome with grief and remorse and the credit and drew his sword to kill his friend, but killed herself. Diomedes, who was walking in front of him, saw the shadow of the sword in the moonlight and, turning swiftly, disarmed Helenus and the Palladium Odysseus. theft of her Palladium. It had been made too large to be The wooden horse taken inside the city because if it was pulled inside it would bring great blessings on the Trojans. The Greeks, however, One major problem still remained: how to breach the walls hoped the Trojans would attempt to destroy it, because built by the gods? Athene now gave Odysseus the idea of then Athene would be angry, and would destroy Troy. building the famous wooden horse. It was to be hollow, with a cunningly concealed trapdoor and an inscription dedicating The tale Sin on told was a very clever mixture of truth and it to Athene. Once it was built, some thirty Greek heroes hid lies. The Trojans knew that Odysseus had hated Palamedes, inside. The remainder burnt their camp and sailed some five that Iphigenia had been sacrificed to allow the Greek fleet to kilometres out to sea to hide on the island of . sail, and that the Palladium had been stolen. They did not know that Sin on was the cousin of Odysseus, not Next day, the Trojans woke to find the Greek camp burnt Palamedes, or that he to ashes, the ships gone and the plains before their city had been carefully coached in his tale by the master of empty, except for a great wooden horse. They could cunning, and that no sacrifice had been demanded for the scarcely believe that their ten-year ordeal was over, but Greeks' return. Above all, they did not know that Athene was soon they began arguing about what they should do with not unhappy about the theft of the Palladium and was, in the horse. Some argued that a gift to Athene should be fact, masterminding the whole scheme. treated with respect. Others argued that the goddess had always favoured the Greeks and it was most likely the The death of Laocoon horse was a trick and should be destroyed. The priest of While the Trojans were wondering whether was to be Poseidon, Laocoon, was particularly forceful in this view, trusted, Laocoon was making a sacrifice to Poseidon on the hurling a spear at the horse and declaring that the Greeks seashore, accompanied by his two sons. Suddenly he was should never be trusted, even when they offered gifts. attacked by two terrible sea serpents who killed all three of

The story of Sinon them and then entered the city and hid themselves in Athene's temple. The Trojans recognised divine intervention The Trojans were finally swayed by a brave and cunning when they saw it and thought Laocoon had been punished Greek, Sinon, who had stayed behind and allowed himself to for damaging Athene's horse. They failed to realise that be caught. He pretended that he was hated by Odysseus Athene was really punishing him for his efforts to save his because he was a cousin of Palamedes. The Greeks had city and thus thwart her plans to destroy Troy. realised they could never take Troy, he said, and had long since wished to go home, but the winds had been against them. Calchas said they must make another sacrifice, just as they had made one to sail from Aulis ten years earlier. Odysseus had persuaded the Greeks to choose Sin on, and he was at the very altar awaiting the knife when the wind had changed. In the rush to leave his captors had forgotten him, allowing him to escape. The horse, he explained, was an offering to placate Athene, who had been angry at the The capture of Troy

The Trojans hesitated no longer but pulled down part of their walls to bring the horse inside the city, ignoring both Cassandra's warnings and the clash of armour and weapons from inside the horse as it bumped over the uneven ground. Then they began to celebrate victory with feasting and general revelling, decorating the gods' shrines to thank them for the victory. By nightfall, all the inhabitants of Troy were completely exhausted with the excitement and activity of the day, and many were also drunk with wine. As they collapsed in sleep, a deep silence fell over the city. Now Sinon moved. With a torch he signalled to the Greeks waiting on Tenedos to return, and released his compatriots from the horse. They slew the guards at the gates and flung open all entrances to admit the returning army. Soon there arose the noise of destruction and battle. The Trojans, who had gone spear at his son's attacker. The weapon bounced to sleep believing the war was over awoke abruptly to find uselessly off the armour of Neoptolemus, who then that indeed it was, but it was they who had been defeated. seized the old man, dragged him from the altar, stabbed The city was full of armed and exultant Greek warriors and him and left his headless body unburied on the shore. resistance was disorganised and largely futile. By morning, it • Hecabe was allocated to Odysseus but she abused him was all over. and his men so much for their deeds that in exasperation they killed her. Her ultimate fate was to be turned into PART THREE: AFTER THE TROJAN WAR one of the black bitches that accompany the goddess in the underworld. The victory of the Greeks at Troy could not have been more • Cassandra took refuge at the altar of Athene and was complete. All the Trojan men were slaughtered and the dragged away from the shrine by Little Ajax. Agamemnon women and children were taken as slaves, as was the custom then claimed her but, unlike Apollo, did not respect her in the ancient world at the end of a siege. The victors looted virginity. When he took her back to Mycenae she and her the city and burnt it, destroying it completely. An ancient infant twins were slain by Clytemnestra. proverb, 'Now there is a cornfield where once there was Troy', emphasised the transitory nature of all human wealth • Polyxena was sacrificed at Achilles' tomb when his ghost and accomplishments. complained he was not getting his share of the victory spoils.

The fate of individual Trojans • Because of his services in revealing how Troy might be captured, Helenus was not slain, but he was not freed • King Priam took refuge at an altar in his palace, but when either. He and Andromache were both allocated to he saw his son Po lites being pursued and stabbed by Neoptolemus as slaves. Neoptolemus he could not restrain himself and threw a • Andromache's son was not allowed to live. It was argued and consideration than the gods expected. They committed that a hero's son might attempt to avenge the death of many atrocities and were duly punished for them in a his father, so Odysseus seized Astyanax from his mother's variety of ways. Many were caught in storms and did not arms and threw him off the battlements of Troy. reach home, and many of those who did found that during the ten years they had been away, rivals had taken over. • Deiphobus paid a high price for his brief possession of the world's greatest beauty. Helen had loved Paris but had no such feelings for Deiphobus and he took her by force. • Agamemnon took around a year to reach Mycenae and After Troy fell, to avert the anger of her former husband his wife Clytemnestra at last took revenge for the Menelaus, Helen led Menelaus into the bedroom of her death of her daughter when she and her lover current husband, from which she had removed all Aegisthus slew him in his bath. weapons. Menelaus seized Deiphobus as he was sleeping • Menelaus and Helen were caught in a storm and carried and mutilated him by cutting off his nose, ears and other first to Crete and then to Egypt. After eight years in exile parts of his body before killing him. The king of Sparta was they at last made their way back to Sparta and lived out also intending to murder Helen, but was so overcome by their lives peacefully together. her beauty that he changed his mind and took her once • Diomedes returned to Argos and found that Aphrodite more as his wife. It may also have struck him that as the had taken her revenge for his wounding her by making war had been fought on her account it would have been a his wife unfaithful. Eventually he was driven into exile waste not to retrieve his property. and established another kingdom for himself in Italy. • Philoctetes and a number of other warriors were also • Creusa did not leave Troy alive, though accounts vary driven into exile and founded cities elsewhere, and it is about exactly how she died. Aeneas first joined the futile suggested that this may be a legendary memory of the Trojan resistance, until he was told by Aphrodite to leave Greek migrations in the eleventh century BC. the city. She then protected him, his son Ilus and his • Little Ajax was shipwrecked on the way home father Anchises while they escaped, Aeneas carrying his and managed to swim to a rock near the shore. He then crippled father on his shoulders and leading his son by the called out that he had saved himself, despite the ill-will of hand. But Anchises panicked when he saw some soldiers, the gods. Either Poseidon or Athene took offence and and Aeneas took off, forgetting all about Creusa. He smashed the rock he was clinging to, and Ajax was returned to look for her and was told by her ghost that he drowned. had a great destiny in another land. Aeneas' story then passes into Roman mythology.

The fate of individual Greeks

The Greeks had waited ten years to take Troy, living in uncomfortable conditions far from their homes and families, and had seen many of their companions die. It is not surprising therefore that when they had the city and its inhabitants at their mercy they displayed less politeness • Neoptolemus was advised by Thetis not to go home by sea and took the long land route back to Phthia in Greece. He then established a new kingdom in Epirus, married , daughter of Helen and Menelaus, and was eventually killed at , leaving Hermione free to marry her cousin . • The wise Nestor appeared to be the only Greek who avoided cruelty or arrogance, and as his reward he was allowed to return without undue delay to his home at Pylos, where he reached a ripe old age in peace and prosperity. • Odysseus spent ten years returning to his home of Ithaca, because he loat favour with Posiedon. This famous story is told in Homer’s the