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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