Author and illustrations

FERNANDO G. RODRIGUEZ

EDITORIAL WEEBLE
 2014 Editorial Weeble
Author: Fernando G. Rodrguez info@editorialweeble.com
Illustrations: Fernando G. Rodrguez
Translation: Amanda DSingh

http://eng.editorialweeble.com
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-
Madrid, Spain, July 2014 NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0
1
 Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so
we ask ourselves: will our actions echo across the
centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we
are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we
fought, how fiercely we loved?

Taken from the film Troy

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This story took place over 3000 years ago, at a time when gods were
confused with heroes and heroes with men. In an era where reality was
mixed with myth.

Envy, vengeance, love and war come together in this story.

A fascinating story. Are you ready to

discover it?

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Our story begins more than
3000 years ago in Troy, a
wealthy city located in what is
now Turkey. Lemnos
Troy
The location and wealth of Troy
are envied by all of the Greek Lesbos
kings. Delphi
Corinth Athens
Meanwhile, Greece is divided
into numerous cities with their
Mycenae
own kings and princes. They
Sparta
have fought between themselves
Aegean Sea
for many years in order to gain
control of the Peloponnese. Crete

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Priam, the King of Troy has just had another son, Paris. The
priests of the god Apollo, the god of the sun, warn the king:
- This child will be the downfall of Troy. Kill him!-.

Priam does not believe the priests warnings. He cannot kill his own son
and secretly orders that he be left
beside a bush on Mount Ida.

Nine days later, Agelaus, the

herdsman, watches in amazement
as a bear suckles the child. He
takes him home as if he were his
own son and secretly brings him
up.

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Paris is raised as part of Agelaus family. After a few years, Paris
turns into a handsome young man. The people who know him,
appreciate the fairness with which he resolves various matters.

As a result, Zeus, the king of the gods, orders him to intervene in a

dispute between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, and
choose the most beautiful of them.

All three are equally beautiful. In

the end, Paris chooses Aphrodite,
and by way of reward she promises
him that the most beautiful woman
on Earth will fall in love with him.

Hera and Athena leave, both

vowing revenge against Paris for
his choice.

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During some local celebrations in Troy, Paris participates in various
tests of skill. He wins all of them, beating several noblemen, including
King Priams sons.

This really infuriates them and they start to chase after him. When
they have caught him, Agelaus forces his way through the crowd and
shouts to Priam:

- Your Majesty, its your long-lost son! Dont

hurt him!-

Priam, surprised but delighted after so

many years, invites Paris to remain at the
palace as his son, despite renewed
warnings from Apollos priests.

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Meanwhile, in Sparta, a city in Greece, Helen, the most
beautiful woman of the Peloponnese is ready to marry.
Her suitors include almost all of the Greek princes and kings:
Diomedes, Patroclus, Palamedes, Ajax, Odysseus, Menelaus
Odysseus asks them to swear an oath to
defend the chosen one against anyone who
bears a grudge, so as to prevent quarrels
between them after Helen makes her
choice. They all do as they are asked.

In the end, Helen chooses

Menelaus, the King of Sparta and
brother of Agamemnon, the King of
Mycenae and the most powerful
Greek king.
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Several months later, Menelaus comes to Troy on a commercial visit
and meets the young Paris. They get on well with each other and
Menelaus invites him to go to Sparta with him. Paris accepts.

In Sparta he meets Helen, who falls hopelessly

in love with him.
They plan to run off and, taking
advantage of the fact that
Menelaus has an urgent trip to
Crete, they flee to Troy, taking
important Spartan treasures with
them.
The promise that the goddess
Aphrodite had made to Paris
was becoming a reality.
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By way of revenge against Paris, the goddess Hera sends a big
storm which does not sink the lovers ship but does alter its
course. They eventually arrive off the coast of Cyprus.

Paris subsequently conquers the city of Sidon and with it

numerous treasures that he takes with him.

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When Menelaus finds out about Helens elopement, he calls a meeting
of the Greek kings and princes who swore to defend him and asks
them to honour their oath:

- My dear kings and princes, in Sparta you swore to defend me against

those who tried to steal Helen from me. Now is the time to keep your
promise.-

Troy was a virtually unassailable city due to its high and well-defended
walls, but they have no option but to honour their oath. One by one they all
end up agreeing, even the hero Achilles. According to the prophecy, without
him Troy could not be taken.

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Meanwhile, Paris and Helen arrive in Troy. They are both well
received in the city because Helens beauty is such that all of the Trojans
immediately fall in love with her.

As a sign of respect, Paris gives Apollos priests many of the treasures

that he acquired in Sparta and Sidon, thereby gaining their acceptance.

King Priam receives them in

the palace and grants them the
protection of Troy.

Hector, Paris brother also does

the same.

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In the meantime, in Greece, the Greek fleet, made up of over 1000
ships, comes together under the control of King Agamemnon to embark on
the journey to Troy.

It was the first time in History that such a fleet had been seen. It covered the
sea from East to West, and the ships went far beyond the horizon.

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After a long and very difficult voyage,
the Greeks reached the beach close to
Troy. When they disembarked, the
Trojans were waiting for them and the
first battle took place.

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The Greeks managed to disembark and set up camp on the beach,
next to their ships.
In the distance, they could make out the high walls of the wealthy
city of Troy. The Greeks had wanted to invade this city for many
years and now they had their opportunity.
Following a few failed attempts, they realise that they cannot take the
city and opt to besiege it until its inhabitants run out of food.

15
 Whilst the siege continues, Achilles and his
Myrmidons take the nearby cities that are allies of
Troy. Some thirty cities fall to him.

In one of them he takes Cressida prisoner, she is the

daughter of one of Apollos priests, along with
Briseida, who is King Minos
widow.

Agamemnon chooses Cressida as

his slave and Achilles chooses
Briseida.

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The years of the Trojan war and siege passed in this way, with regular
battles.
One day, Chryseis, Cressidas father, visits Agamemnon and asks him to
return his daughter in exchange for numerous treasures. Agamemnon
refuses.
- Cressida is my slave and I will not exchange her for all the gold that you
can bring me - Agamemnon declared.

An annoyed Chryseis persuades the god Apollo to shoot arrows infected by

the plague at the camp.

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Seeing how the plague takes hold of the Greek camp and having found out
the reason behind the curse, Achilles forces Agamemnon to hand
over Cressida.
- Bad King, you are making the Greeks suffer for your own benefit.
Hand over Cressida and free us from Apollos spell - says Achilles
threateningly.

In the end, Agamemnon agrees in order to save the camp from the plague
and to appease the anger of his best warrior. Troy is at stake.

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However, Agamemnon does not want to completely give in to Achilles
and sets out his conditions:
- I will hand over Cressida, but not because you have asked me to. You
are just a soldier in my army. In return I will keep your slave,
that girl Briseida - declared the king.
- Soldiers, go to Achilles tent
and bring me his slave. -

- You bad king, you just think

about yourself. The gods will
curse you as I am doing now
- replied Achilles furiously.
From then onwards,
Achilles refuses to fight
for the Greeks.
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When they find out about the argument between Agamemnon and
Achilles, the Trojans take advantage of the situation to attack the
Greek camp and are just about to set fire to the ships. Achilles and his
Myrmidons just watch and do not take part in the battle.

After a couple of defeats for the Greeks, Agamemnon, in view of the

danger posed by the Trojans and the continued absence of Achilles,
tries to convince him to return to battle by offering him treasures and
titles.
Achilles does not
accept them and
continues to refuse to
participate in the war.

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Patroclus, one of Achilles companions, asks him if he can take charge of
the Myrmidons temporarily in order to hold off Hector who was close to the
ships again.

- You can take them into battle, but only to

stop Hector from advancing. Do not go after
the Trojans - Achilles replied.

After holding off the Trojan attack,

Patroclus, ignoring Achilles
advice, pursues Hector until
they reach Troy itself. At some
point, Hector challenges him and
kills him thinking that he is
Achilles, since Patroclus was
wearing his armour.
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 When Achilles finds out about the death of his
companion Patroclus, he decides to seek revenge and
leads the Greeks into battle once more.
Agamemnon sees Achilles putting his helmet
on in order to fight the Trojans again and
smiling he turns to his deputies and
says:

- Without realising, young

Patroclus has changed the
course of this war. -

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Achilles manages to hold off the Trojan army right up to the
walls of Troy. There he duels with Hector and kills him.

Such is his anger about

Patroclus death that he ties
Hectors corpse to his chariot
and, by way of revenge, he
drags it to the Greek camp.

Priam, unable to do
anything, watches in horror
as his sons body is taken
away.

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Having observed several days of funeral rites following the death of
Patroclus, one night King Priam discreetly enters Achilles tent. Achilles
is surprised at his appearance.

- Great warrior, allow me to bury my son Hector as the prince and warrior
that he is. It was a fair fight. Its not about reproach - the Trojan king says.

- Great King of Troy - Achilles

replies, -I admire your courage in
coming to my tent. If only
our king was like you.
Take your sons
body. The Myrmidons
will escort you through
the camp. Do not be
afraid.
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 - By way of gratitude, I will
allow you to marry my
daughter, Polyxena - says
Priam.
Achilles had already met
Polyxena at Apollos temple and
he had fallen in love with her.

They arrange a secret ceremony

to celebrate the marriage.

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However, the ceremony does not go to plan. When they first met, Achilles
had told Polyxena his secret: when he was born, his mother, the goddess
Thetis, submerged him in the River Styx in order to make him invincible,
but she held him by the heel, which became his only vulnerable part.

Paris discovers Achilles secret through Polyxena and decides to ambush

him.

At some time during the celebration, Paris, hiding behind a column in

the temple, shoots an arrow which, guided by the hand of the goddess
Aphrodite, mortally wounds Achilles in the
heel.

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 The Greek camp becomes deeply dejected when it
learns of the unfortunate death of its hero.
During the cremation ceremony, the smoke from the
funeral pyre spreads throughout the camp like a
ghost and goes inside all of the Greek
tents.

The Greeks are left

without their hero and
leader.

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However, in the next battle, Philoctetes,
the great Greek archer who had Heracles
bow and arrows, challenges Paris and
mortally wounds him with three
shots.
Now the person responsible for causing
the war is dead and Helen is a widow.

Priam forces Helen to marry another of his

sons, Deiphobus. Following the death of his
two sons, Priam cannot tolerate the idea of
handing her back to Menelaus.

However, Helen no longer has anything

which ties her to Troy and she gradually
distances herself from it.
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After nine years at war and exhausted by the siege of Troy,
the ingenious Odysseus devises a strategy to enter the city.

- We will build an enormous wooden horse inside

which we will hide our best warriors - he suggests to
Agamemnon.

Agamemnon thinks that it is a good idea. The fact is that

there were no other ideas, and they set about
drawing up a plan.

By way of preparation, the Greeks break

camp and hide the fleet out of sight of the
Trojans, making them think that they
have gone.

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One morning the Trojan sentinels cannot see
either the camp or the Greeks. It looks like they
have finally returned to Greece.

All that remains on the beach is an enormous

wooden horse.
- Priam, the Greeks have gone! - the priests tell
the king. Priam arrives at the beach and
studies the wooden horse.

- Look, they have left a horse as an offering to

the god Poseidon so as to have a safe
journey. We will take it to
the city - says King Priam.
- No, burn it - say the priests.

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Likewise, his daughter Cassandra, who had the gift of prophecy, warns her
father:
- This horse is full of soldiers; it will be the destruction of Troy.-

But no one paid her any attention.

- We will take it to the city - said King Priam once more.

And that is what happens. The Greeks plan was working.

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That night, the city of Troy is holding
a big party, celebrating victory over the
Greeks. Afterwards, everyone goes to
bed.
That was the moment that the Greeks
were waiting for. In silence, they
came out of the horse, led by
Menelaus, Neoptolemus, the son of
Achilles, and Odysseus, and they head
for the city gates.

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The Greeks open the city gates to the
rest of the army which had come
ashore once again.

The Greek army surprises the

Trojans who cannot do anything to
defend their city.

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The Greeks plunder and set fire to Troy for three days and three
nights. Neoptolemus kills King Priam. Agamemnon takes his daughter
Cassandra prisoner, although she warns him of the tragic fate that awaits
him if he returns to Mycenae.

Polyxena is sacrificed on Achilles tomb.

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After almost ten years of war, the Greeks
set out on their journey home. However, during
those years they had provoked the anger of so
many gods that they had an awful journey

Menelaus and Helen took a further nine years

to reach Sparta. On their arrival in Mycenae,
Cassandra and Agamemnon were murdered
by the kings previous wife. Odysseus took ten
years to return.

As such, the destiny of the victorious and

the defeated was joined forever, leaving a
trail of death and desolation behind them.

Only the names and heroic deeds of the

protagonists will be remembered by history.

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 the end

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 Other books from the same publisher:

My first voyage through the Solar System Cooking with a little science
The discovery of America Adventures and misadventures of a
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The Trojan War My firt voyage to the Galaxies
Discovering Mozart Children Atlas of Europe
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Discovering van Gogh
Apollo XI

to download these books visit our website at

eng.editorialweeble.com
 2014 Editorial Weeble
Author: Fernando G. Rodrguez info@editorialweeble.com
Illustrations: Fernando G. Rodrguez
Translation: Amanda DSingh

http://eng.editorialweeble.com
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-
Madrid, Spain, July 2014 NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0