The Trojan prince committed a serious crime - he violated the law of hospitality and thereby brought a terrible disaster to his native city. Offended, Menelaus, with the help of his brother, the powerful king of Mycenae Agamemnon, gathered a large army to return his unfaithful wife and stolen treasures. All the suitors who once wooed Elena and swore an oath to protect her honor came to the call of the brothers. The most famous Achaean heroes and kings: Odysseus, Diomedes, Protesilaus, Ajax Telamonides and Ajax Oilid, Philoctetes, the wise old man Nestor and many others brought their squads. Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis, the most courageous and powerful of the heroes, also took part in the campaign. According to the prediction of the gods, the Greeks could not conquer Troy without his help. Odysseus, as the most intelligent and cunning, managed to persuade Achilles to take part in the campaign, although it was predicted that he would die under the walls of Troy. Agamemnon was chosen as the leader of the entire army, as the ruler of the most powerful of the Achaean states.
The Greek fleet, numbering a thousand ships, assembled at Aulis, a harbor in Boeotia. To ensure the fleet's safe sailing to the shores of Asia Minor, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis. Having reached the Troad, the Greeks tried to return Helen and the treasures by peaceful means. The tried diplomat Odysseus and the offended husband Menelaus went as messengers to Troy. The Trojans refused them, and a long and tragic war began for both sides. The gods also took part in it. Hera and Athena helped the Achaeans, Aphrodite and Apollo helped the Trojans.
The Trojans broke into the Achaean camp and almost burned their ships. The closest friend of Achilles, Patroclus, begged the hero to give him his armor and chariot and rushed to the aid of the Greek army. Patroclus stopped the onslaught of the Trojans, but he himself died at the hands of Hector. The death of a friend makes Achilles forget about the offense. The thirst for revenge inspires him. Trojan hero Hector dies in a duel with Achilles. The Amazons come to the aid of the Trojans. Achilles kills their leader Penthesilea, but soon dies himself, as predicted, from the arrow of Paris, directed by the god Apollo. Achilles' mother Thetis, trying to make her son invulnerable, dipped him into the waters of the underground river Styx. She held Achilles by the heel, which remained the only vulnerable spot on his body. The god Apollo knew where to direct the arrow of Paris. It is to this episode of the poem that mankind owes the expression "Achilles' heel".
The Greeks could not immediately take Troy, surrounded by powerful fortifications. They built a fortified camp on the seashore near their ships, began to devastate the outskirts of the city and attack the allies of the Trojans. In the tenth year of the siege, a dramatic event occurred that resulted in serious setbacks for the Achaeans in battles with the defenders of Troy. Agamemnon insulted Achilles by taking away the captive Briseis from him, and he, angry, refused to enter the battlefield. No amount of persuasion could convince Achilles to leave his anger and take up arms. The Trojans took advantage of the inaction of the most courageous and strong of their enemies and went on the offensive, led by the eldest son of King Priam Hector. The king himself was old and could not take part in the war. The Trojans were also helped by the general fatigue of the Achaean army, which had been unsuccessfully besieging Troy for ten years. When Agamemnon, testing the morale of the warriors, pretended to offer to stop the war and return home, the Achaeans greeted the offer with enthusiasm and rushed to their ships. And only the decisive actions of Odysseus stopped the soldiers and saved the situation.
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