In ancient Greek mythology, the myths of the Trojan cycle occupy a special place. The modern world knows about these stories mainly thanks to Homer's epic "Iliad". However, even before him, in the folklore of this ancient culture, there were stories telling about the Trojan War. As befits a myth, this story has received a large number of characters associated with religion and gods.
Sources
Events of the Trojan War, archaeologists and historians refer to the XII century BC. Before the ancient city was discovered by the German expedition of Heinrich Schliemann, it was also considered a legend. Researchers in their search relied not only on the Iliad, but also on the Cyprian. This collection told not only about Troy, but also about the immediate cause for war.
Apple of Discord
The inhabitants of Olympus gathered at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. They called everyone except Eris. She was the goddess of chaos and discord. She couldn't take the hurtand threw a golden apple on the festive table, which grew in the forest of the nymphs of the Hesperides.
The fruit had a distinct inscription "To the most beautiful". The myths of the Trojan cycle claim that because of him a dispute began between the three goddesses - Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. It is because of this plot that the idiom “apple of discord” has become entrenched in many languages of the world.
The goddesses asked Zeus to resolve their dispute and name the most beautiful. However, he did not dare to name the name, because he wanted to say that this was Aphrodite, while Athena was his daughter, and Hera was his wife. Therefore, Zeus offered to make a choice to Paris. It was the son of the ruler of Troy, Priam. He chose Aphrodite because she promised him the love of the woman he desired.
The Perfidy of Paris
Enchanted Paris arrived in Sparta, where he stayed in the royal palace. He conquered Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, who at that moment left for Crete. Paris fled with the girl to his home, at the same time taking gold from the local treasury. The myths of the Trojan cycle tell that such treachery united the Greeks, who decided to declare war on the Troy.
There were many legendary warriors in the Hellenic army. Agamemnon was recognized as the head of the army. There was also Menelaus himself, Achilles, Odysseus, Philoctetes, Nestor, Palamedes, etc. Many of them were heroes - that is, children of gods and mortals. For example, this was Achilles. He was the perfect warrior without flaws. His only weak point was his heel. The reason for this was that his mother - Thetis - held the baby byleg when she lowered him into the furnace of the god Hephaestus in order to endow the child with superhuman strength. Hence the expression "Achilles' heel", meaning the only weak spot.
Multi-year siege
In total, the Greek army had about a hundred thousand soldiers and thousands of ships. They went by sea from Boeotia. After a successful landing, the Hellenes offered peace negotiations to the Trojans. Their condition was the extradition of Elena the Beautiful. However, the people of Troy refused such an offer.
Their commander-in-chief was Hector, the son of Priam and brother of Paris. He led an army two times smaller than that of the Achaeans. But on his side there were powerful fortress walls, which no one has yet been able to take or destroy. Therefore, the Greeks had no choice but to start a long siege. At the same time, Achilles, with part of the army, robbed the neighboring Asian cities. However, Troy did not give up, and exactly nine years passed in an unsuccessful siege and blockade. The daughters of Anius Enotropha helped the Greeks to get food in a foreign land. They turned the earth into cereals, oil and wine, according to what the myths of ancient Greece tell. The Trojan cycle tells little about the many years of siege. For example, Homer dedicates his Iliad to the last, 41st day of the war.
The Curse of Apollo
The Greek army often took captives who ended up outside of Troy. So, the daughter of Chris, one of the priests of Apollo, fell into captivity. He arrived at the enemy camp, begging to return the girl to him. In response, he received rude ridicule and a refusal. Then the priest, in a fit of hatred, asked Apollo for just revenge on the fanatics. God sent a pestilence on the army, which began to mow down one soldier after another.
The Trojans, having learned about this misfortune of the enemy, left the city and prepared to fight the weakened army. At the last moment, diplomats from both sides agree that the conflict should be resolved by a face-to-face duel between Menelaus and Paris, whose act caused the war. The Trojan prince was defeated, after which the contract was finally to be fulfilled.
However, at the most decisive moment, one of the besieged soldiers fired an arrow at the Greek camp. The first open battle began under the walls of the city. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece tell in detail about this event. The Trojan cycle includes the death of many heroes. For example, Agenor (the son of an elder of Troy) killed Elefenor (the king of Eubia).
The first day of the battle resulted in the Greeks being pushed back to their camp. At night they surrounded it with a moat and prepared for defense. Both sides interred their dead. The battle continued in the following days, as the Trojan cycle of myths tells. The summary is as follows: under the leadership of Hector, the besieged manage to destroy the gates of the Greek camp, while part of the Greeks, together with Odysseus, goes on reconnaissance. Soon the attackers were driven out of the camp, but the losses of the Achaeans were great.
The death of Patroclus
All this time, Achilles did not participate in the battles due to the fact that he had a fight with Agamemnon. Heremained on the ship with his favorite Patroclus. When the Trojans began to burn the ships, the young man persuaded Achilles to let him go to fight the enemy. Patroclus even received the weapons and armor of the legendary warrior. The Trojans, mistaking him for Achilles, began to flee back to the city in horror. Many of them fell from the sword in the hands of the companion of the Greek hero. But Hector did not lose heart. Calling on the help of the god Apollo, he defeated Patroclus and took away the sword of Achilles from him. The heroes of the Trojan cycle of myths often turned the development of the plot in the opposite direction.
Return of Achilles
The death of Patroclus was a shock to Achilles. He repented that he had been away from the battle all this time, and made peace with Agamemnon. The hero decided to take revenge on the Trojans for the death of his best friend. In the next battle, he found Hector and killed him. Achilles tied the corpse of the enemy to his chariot and drove around Troy three times. Heartbroken, Priam begged for the remains of his son for a huge ransom. Achilles gave the body in exchange for gold equal to its weight. The Trojan cycle of myths tells about such a price. The main plots are always narrated in ancient works with the help of metaphors.
The news of Hector's death quickly spread throughout the ancient world. The Amazon warriors and the Ethiopian army came to the aid of the Trojans. Paris, avenging his brother, shot Achilles in the heel, causing him to die soon after. The Trojan heir himself also died after being mortally wounded by Philoctetes. Helena became the wife of his brother Deiphobes. The myths of the Trojan cycle tell in detail about thesedramatic events.
Trojan horse
Both sides suffered heavy losses. Then the Greeks, seeing the futility of their attempts to capture the city, decided to use cunning. They built a huge wooden horse. This figure was hollow inside. The bravest warriors of Greece took refuge there, now led by Odysseus. At the same time, the bulk of the Greek army left the camp and sailed away from the coast on ships.
Surprised Trojans went outside the city. They were met by Sinon, who announced that in order to propitiate the gods, it is necessary to install a horse figure in the central square. And so it was done. At night, Sinon released the hidden Greeks, who killed the guards and opened the gates. The city was destroyed to its very foundations, after which it was never able to recover. The Greeks have returned home. The return journey of Odysseus became the basis for the plot of Homer's poem "The Odyssey".
