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

The city of Troy had several mythical founders and kings, including Teucer, Dardanus, Tros, Ilus and Assaracus. The

genuine difference in construction led to the myth that the two gods built the other walls.

most widely accepted story makes Ilus the actual founder, and from him the city took the name it was best-known by

Mythical reasons behind the Trojan War

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 Priam had many children by his chief wife Hecabe and by his concubines, and some accounts say he had fifty sons and fifty daughters. Several of them were to play important roles in the Trojan War.

called Alexander. Shortly before he was born, Hecabe dreamed that she gave birth to a branch alive with fiery snakes, which set Troy and the forests on near by Mount Ida ablaze. Priam asked his son Aesacus the prophet what the dream meant, and was told that he should destroy Hecabe's 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 outside the walls of Troy and fell in love with both of them.

• Cassandra was loved by Apollo, who, with unusual

her and her son to death, and when Hecabe produced a son that evening he did not think it was necessary to slay her too.

To be on the safe side, though, he had the baby exposed on 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 and bore him a son, Ilus (also known as Ascanius).

arrow, which, on its own, was regarded as a coward's weapon in an age extolling hand-to-hand combat. He became the lover of the nymph Oenone, and his other

Paris

main source of recreation was provoking bulls into fighting one another, and pitting his own champion bull against

The son of Priam and Hecabe who was destined to make the greatest contribution to the fall of Troy was Paris, sometimes

those of other herds. For a joke, Ares turned himself into a

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 Soon the opportunity to make a more important judgement

divine intervention and a she-bear on Mount Ida. But what 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 the Fairest'. The goddesses began to argue over who

Paris abducts Helen

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 Agamemnon, as lord

persuade him not to go, and then kissed him and said 'If you

of Mycenae, 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 Sparta he was warmly

followers gathered at Aulis, and, after the sacrifice of

welcomed by the unsuspecting Menelaus. However, his host

Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia 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 her work well, and as soon as Menelaus was gone he and Helen took off. When the enraged husband returned he sent ambassadors demanding that Helen be handed back, but

In another version of the myth, the goddess Artemis saved Iphigenia from being sacrificed and took her to 'the land of the Tauri'to be her priestess.

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, Philoctetes, 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

The Greeks sail to Troy

constant pain. When it also began to smell foul the Greeks 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 king Priam, 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 golden apple. 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 The oldest and wisest Greek was Nestor, king of Pylos in the west of the Peloponnese. He was respected in the Greek councils of war and managed to survive the war, though his best-loved son Archilochus was killed.

Achilles

her children would be mortal. She attempted to render several sons - some say up to six - immortal by burning away their mortal parts in a fire. In one version she succeeded and they left Earth for Olympus, while in another version she only succeeded in killing them. Peleus' intervention saved Achilles from a similar fate, whatever it was, and Thetis had had to be content with making him invulnerable to weapons by dipping him in the river Styx. 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 Golden Fleece, but first entrusted Achilles to the wise centaur Chiron 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 Odysseus, 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

To lure Iphigenia to Aulis, Agamemnon had pretended she was to marry Achilles, and Clytemnestra hastened there with her daughter because of the greatness of the match. Achilles

embroidered robes, and seized the shield and spear Odysseus had cunningly placed among the gifts. He was thus obliged to go to fight. Another story claims that Achilles was 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 Ajax 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. Ajax the Great 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 Homer 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 Achaeans 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 Penelope and become king of

as the site of ancient Troy. Though it may never be proven, it

the island of Ithaca, his father Laertes 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 his wits, and ploughed the seashore, scattering handfuls of salt as if sowing seed. One of the heralds, Palamedes, put down Odysseus' infant son Telemachus in front of the plough, making the father stop to avoid injuring the child.

This indicated that Odysseus was not insane because if he had been, he would not have realised that he would injure his son if he continued. So Odysseus went to Troy, but he never forgave Palamedes for making him leave home.

Diomedes

When Paris carried off Helen to Troy it had not occurred to him that he might be pursued by an army. In years past, several women had been abducted from the east without retaliation, including Europa, Medea and Ariadne. More recently Hesione, sister of Priam, had been taken by Telemon of Aegina after he had helped Heracles capture Troy. The Trojans, completely captivated by Helen's beauty and impressed by her status as daughter of Zeus, were proud of their prince who had carried off such a prize, and, ignoring the threat of war, refused on several occasions to return her.

PART TWO: THE TROJAN WAR

Another warrior who is usually associated with Odysseus was Diomedes of Argos. They were both clever and skilled warriors, and favourites of Athene, but Diomedes was much

The beginning of the war

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, Protesilaus, 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 had occupied. The gods intervened freely in these

Achilles at Troy

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 Iliad, 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 Briseis, and also offered many gifts to

The Wrath of Achilles

prove that the Greeks did really value the great hero, but 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

Patroclus was touched by the plight of his comrades and,

allocated as slaves: Briseis to Achilles and Chryseis to

borrowing Achilles' armour, dashed into the battle and

Agamemnon. Chryseis was the daughter of a priest of

chased the Trojans back inside their walls. But by the city

Apollo, who offered a large ransom 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 Hephaestus 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 Scamander 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 Amazons 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 Memnon from Ethiopia, son

insisted that he receive the funeral rites which were his

of Eos, goddess of the dawn and her husband Tithonus, who

due. In due course Odysseus presented the armour to

was Priam's half-brother. Memnon killed Antilochus, Nestor's

Achilles' son Neoptolemus.

son, and Achilles avenged the death of his young friend by slaying Memnon in his turn. But finally it was Achilles turn to

Odysseus and Palamedes

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 oracle 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 Calchas 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, pledged themselves to find the arrows and bring them to Troy. They sailed off to where they had abandoned Philoctetes and found him still suffering from the pain of his foul-smelling wound. Odysseus tricked him into handing over the bow but Diomedes refused to take away Philoctetes' only means of survival and insisted he be taken back with them to Troy. There he was finally cured, and took the field with Heracles' weapons. His very first victim was Paris, who, when injured, had himself carried to Mount Ida to beg his former lover Oenone to heal him. But she refused, still bitter because he had left her for Helen, and Paris, who had brought so much destruction to his people, finally died.

Oenone was then overcome with grief and remorse and killed herself.

Helenus and the Palladium

must bring from Pisa to Troy the ivory shoulder blade which Demeter had given Pelops. Next they must bring to Troy Neoptolemus, the son whom Achilles had begotten while hiding on the island of Scyros. Finally, they had to steal from Troy the wooden image called the Palladium, because while it remained inside the city, Troy would never fall to the Greeks.

The first two condition were met relatively easily, but the theft of the Palladium was more difficult. It was undertaken

by Odysseus and Diomedes, the two favourites of Athene, who entered and left Troy through a sewer pipe. In the enthusiasm of success Odysseus decided he would claim all the credit and drew his sword to kill his friend, but Diomedes, who was walking in front of him, saw the shadow of the sword in the moonlight and, turning swiftly, disarmed 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 Tenedos.

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 horse was a trick and should be destroyed. The priest of Poseidon, Laocoon, was particularly forceful in this view, hurling a spear at the horse and declaring that the Greeks should never be trusted, even when they offered gifts.

The story of Sinon The Trojans were finally swayed by a brave and cunning Greek, Sinon, who had stayed behind and allowed himself to be caught. He pretended that he was hated by Odysseus because he was a cousin of Palamedes. The Greeks had 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 death of Laocoon While the Trojans were wondering whether Sinon was to be trusted, Laocoon was making a sacrifice to Poseidon on the seashore, accompanied by his two sons. Suddenly he was attacked by two terrible sea serpents who killed all three of them and then entered the city and hid themselves in Athene's temple. The Trojans recognised divine intervention when they saw it and thought Laocoon had been punished for damaging Athene's horse. They failed to realise that Athene was really punishing him for his efforts to save his city and thus thwart her plans to destroy Troy.

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 to sleep believing the war was over awoke abruptly to find that indeed it was, but it was they who had been defeated.

The city was full of armed and exultant Greek warriors and resistance was disorganised and largely futile. By morning, it was all over.

PART THREE: AFTER THE TROJAN WAR

spear at his son's attacker. The weapon bounced uselessly off the armour of Neoptolemus, who then seized the old man, dragged him from the altar, stabbed him and left his headless body unburied on the shore.

• Hecabe was allocated to Odysseus but she abused him and his men so much for their deeds that in exasperation they killed her. Her ultimate fate was to be turned into one of the black bitches that accompany the goddess Hecate in the underworld.

The victory of the Greeks at Troy could not have been more complete. All the Trojan men were slaughtered and the women and children were taken as slaves, as was the custom in the ancient world at the end of a siege. The victors looted the city and burnt it, destroying it completely. An ancient proverb, 'Now there is a cornfield where once there was Troy', emphasised the transitory nature of all human wealth and accomplishments.

• Cassandra took refuge at the altar of Athene and was dragged away from the shrine by Little Ajax. Agamemnon then claimed her but, unlike Apollo, did not respect her virginity. When he took her back to Mycenae she and her infant twins were slain by Clytemnestra.

• Polyxena was sacrificed at Achilles' tomb when his ghost complained he was not getting his share of the victory spoils.

The fate of individual Trojans • King Priam took refuge at an altar in his palace, but when he saw his son Po lites being pursued and stabbed by Neoptolemus he could not restrain himself and threw a

• Because of his services in revealing how Troy might be captured, Helenus was not slain, but he was not freed either. He and Andromache were both allocated to Neoptolemus as slaves.

• 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

• Deiphobus paid a high price for his brief possession of the

the ten years they had been away, rivals had taken over.

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.

• Creusa did not leave Troy alive, though accounts vary about exactly how she died. Aeneas first joined the futile Trojan resistance, until he was told by Aphrodite to leave the city. She then protected him, his son Ilus and his father Anchises while they escaped, Aeneas carrying his crippled father on his shoulders and leading his son by the hand. But Anchises panicked when he saw some soldiers, and Aeneas took off, forgetting all about Creusa. He returned to look for her and was told by her ghost that he 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

• Philoctetes and a number of other warriors were also driven into exile and founded cities elsewhere, and it is suggested that this may be a legendary memory of the Greek migrations in the eleventh century BC. • Little Ajax was shipwrecked on the way home and managed to swim to a rock near the shore. He then called out that he had saved himself, despite the ill-will of the gods. Either Poseidon or Athene took offence and smashed the rock he was clinging to, and Ajax was drowned.

• 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 Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaus, and was eventually killed at Delphi, leaving Hermione free to marry her cousin Orestes.

• 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 Odyssey