All about history book of myths and legends. ( PDFDrive )

Achilles, asked his comrade for permission to lead his troops

and disguise himself in the armour of Achilles. When the

Trojan soldiers saw the best of the Greek troops back on the

battlefield, apparently led by Achilles himself, they began

to lose heart. This gave the Greeks more success, but just

as they seemed to be winning, Hector killed Patroclus.

THE GREEKS GAIN GROUND

The death of Patroclus roused Achilles, who returned to

the fight, killing Hector and dragging his body around

Troy’s walls. Next, the gods encouraged the Greeks to bring

the great archer Philocretes into the battle, and the bowman

killed Paris, a huge psychological blow for the Trojans. The

Greeks then stole Athena’s statue, which was a sign of good

fortune for the Trojans, from her shrine in Troy.

Finally, the gods put into the mind of Odysseus the

trick of the hollow wooden horse, in which soldiers could

hide. The Greeks left the horse in front of the city and

feigned a withdrawal. The Trojans dragged the statue into

the city. During the night, Greek soldiers emerged from

its belly and opened the city gates. The rest of the Greek

army poured in and Troy was destroyed.

THE MYTH

The two sides were well matched. Each had the services of

good leaders, like the Trojan prince, Hector, and the Greek

general, Agamemnon. Each had other famous soldiers and

fighters on their side – Paris for the Trojans and men such

as Achilles and the cunning Odysseus for the Greeks. Each

side also had the backing of several gods and goddesses –

Aphrodite and Poseidon were on the side of Troy; Apollo,

Athena, and Hera favoured the Greeks. Therefore the

stalemate continued, with many minor battles but no

overall victory, for years.

ACHILLES AND PATROCLUS

The war reached a climax when two of the Greek leaders

quarrelled. Agamemnon, who had been forced to give up

one of his concubines, took as his mistress one of the many

women of Achilles. In disgust, Achilles withdrew his forces

from the fighting and the Trojans began to get the upper

hand. To win back the initiative, Patroclus, a close friend of

The Trojan horse

The Trojans were

known as skilled

tamers of horses,

so the booby-trapped

wooden horse was an

ironic gift from the

Greeks, which had

disastrous results.

Soldiers in combat

In this engraving created in the style of Greek vase painting,

Trojans attack the Greek ships with fire, while the Greeks

defend themselves with their spears.

CLASSICAL EUROPE

Homer’s great epic poem, the Iliad, describes

a war between the Greeks and the Trojans that

lasted for ten years. The conflict began after

Paris, a prince from Troy, eloped with Helen,

the wife of the Greek king, Menelaus, and the

Greeks mounted an expedition to get her

back. On Mount Olympus, the gods and

goddesses looked down on the battlefield,

taking sides and influencing events as heroes

of both sides fell. Finally, the Greeks were

victorious and took

Helen back home.

The Trojan War

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