Trojan War: The Preparation I

Ok recap:
Judgment of Paris- Paris awarded the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite as the Fairest of All. Paris won Helen and the wrath of two powerful goddesses.
Helen: Helen’s background, the suitor’s military alliance deal, her decision to left with Paris.

To war:

Oracle of Delphi
With Helen gone, Menelaus (most likely his brother Agamemnon) called upon Helen's former suitors to fulfill their duties and aid him in bringing her back. All of the former suitors answered Menelaus' call to arms, bringing large number of men and ships with them. Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, had brought 100 ships with him. Agamemnon became commander-in-chief of the Greek forces. Agamemnon always wanted to conquer Troy and its surrounding neighbors for his kingdom. Helen provided the spark that started the war.
Agamemnon and Menelaus learned from the Greek seer Calchas that Troy could not fall without two great warriors, Achilles and Odysseus.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca
King Odysseus was the son of Laertes, late King of Ithaca and descendant of Hermes, Messenger of Zeus. Odysseus was renowned for his wisdom, persuasive, cunning and resourcefulness.
Odysseus wanted to avoid being recruited into the Greek army, because he had had only recently married Penelope, the daughter of Icarius and cousin to Helen of Sparta. They had a baby boy named Telemachus.
When Menelaus, Nestor and Palemedes arrived to draft Odysseus, the hero pretended to be nuts. Odysseus would plough the field with a horse and an ox, wearing a madman cap. Odysseus sowed the field with salts.
Palemedes, the son of Nauplius, was the just as shrewd and cunning and Agamemnon have his head should he fail. Palemedes snatched the infant from Penelope's breast, and place the baby in front of the approaching plough. Odysseus had to steer the plough-team aside, to avoid trampling his son. Palemedes had exposed Odysseus' feigned madness.
Odysseus had no choice but to join the army. Odysseus gathered his warriors, taking only twelve ships from the islands of Ithaca.
However, Odysseus never forgave Palemedes for exposing and drafting him into the army. When they reached Troy, Odysseus was to exact revenge upon Palemedes.

Achilles
Achilles was the son of King Peleus and of Thetis. The wise Centaur Chiron brought up Achilles, where he learned to hunt and fight in the forest around Mount Pelion. This is also where he meet Patroclus, his best friend and boyfriend.
Thetis was not only a sea goddess; she was also gifted with oracular power, like many sea deities. Thetis saw that her son would win great glory in the war, but she knew the price, was a short life. But Achilles had choice on what his fate will be. Achilles could choose not to go to the war, where he will live a long but obscure life of tending his father's herd. Thetis was determined that her son will have a long life. To hide Achilles, she dressed the youth in a girl dress and made his hair grew long, before spirited him away to the women quarters at the court of Lycomedes in Isle of Scyrus.
During his stay in Lycomedes' court, Deidameia, the king's daughter, fell in love with him. Deidameia bore a son, named Neoptolemus, to Achilles. Neoptolemus would later participate in the final year of the war.
Menelaus, Ajax and Odysseus then went to recruit Achilles into the army, so they sailed to the island of Scyrus. However, the disguise Thetis used on her son was perfect. Odysseus used his cunning and resourcefulness to uncover Achilles' disguise.
Odysseus brought many gifts for the women in Lycomedes' court, such as beautiful dresses and robes, jewelry and perfumes. Also among the gifts were spears, swords and shields.
Odysseus knew Achilles would not fall for the weapons. He and Ajax tried appeal to Achilles’ inner slut and it worked. Why? Achilles was immune to pain: and no doubt his skin could ward off any weapon; he could never be defeated in battle. Achilles’ mother had blessed him with divine protection; and had cursed him as well; for not only could his skin feel no pain; it could feel no pleasure either. Achilles would never know the joys of a tender kiss; of a lover’s arms and a goodnight a lover’s arms and a goodnight hug; the pleasure of sex except for being fuck in the ass. His outer body was immune to both pleasure and pain: what mother could inflict such horror on her son? But his inner body knew no such protection hence he could enjoy a good fuck.
Once discovered, Achilles eagerly joined the army, because he preferred a short but glorious life than a long but oblivious life of a farmer. Achilles returned to his father's kingdom, Phthia, where he received warriors and fifty ships, from his father. The warriors were the legendary Myrmidons, originally from the island of Aegina.
Achilles received the magical armor of Peleus, which was a wedding gift to his father, made by the smith god, Hephaestus. Peleus also gave his magic sword to his son, as well as his chariot drawn by two immortal horses, Xanthus and Balius. Chiron gave Achilles a long javelin, made from ash tree of Mount Pelion.
Before Achilles left for Troy, Thetis appeared before her son warned him to avoid killing Tenes, son of Apollo and king of the island of Tendos, or else he would later die at the sun god's hand. Her other prophecy warned Achilles not to be the first Greek to jump on Trojan soil, or else he would be the first to die.
Guess which Achilles pays attention to.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of Homosexual: Ancient Greece

Image
How we from being happily accept in society to being hate and have to fight for equality? Let start begin in the ancient world work our way to the source of the problem. The Ancient Greece "The noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail." - Plutarch The ancient Greeks are widely known for their gay exploits. Many people are aware of Greek homosexual love poetry, the same-sex relations of Greek gods and heroes, and the gay relationship between Alexander the Great and Hephaestion. It is important in the beginning to define our vocabulary. The term ’homosexuality’ as it is used and understood today is not mainly applicable to Greek of ancient times for three reasons: First of all, most Greeks were bisexual. Second, homosexuality and 'gay' as sexual identities are recent developments. They were emerged only in the 2Oth Century (our idea of what i...
Please read more »

Seven Wonders of the World: Colossus of Rhodes

Image
Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight. Standing on a small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus, which stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In the late 4th century BC, Rhodes, allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt, prevented a massive invasion staged by their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius. In 304 BC a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Antigonus's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equi...
Please read more »

Daily life of Roman life: Slavery

Image
Slavery had a long history in the ancient world and was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as Rome. Most slaves during the Roman Empire were foreigners and, unlike in modern times, Roman slavery was not based on race. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution. The testimony of a slave could not be accepted in a court of law unless the slave was tortured—a practice based on the belief that slaves in a position to be privy to their masters' affairs would be too virtuously loyal to reveal damaging evidence unless coerced (yeah right). Over time, however, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. How did people become Roman Slaves? People became slaves among the Romans by the following ways: Prisoners of war Sailors ...
Please read more »