THE ILIAD: Harmonic tale of War and Destiny - By Homer

SUMMARY

Zeus, the chief of gods and the immortal king of Mount Olympus held a celebration in honor of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis without inviting Eris, the goddess of chaos. It was in the middle of this feast that Eris arrived, uninvited and resentful. Therefore, to sow discord among the gods, she threw a golden apple into the banquet, on which was written "for the most beautiful. Three goddesses demanded the apple. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Zeus, knowing that choosing one over the other two would result in more conflict, then assigned the task to Paris, prince of Troy, who had a reputation for being a fair judge among the gods. As each of the goddesses really wanted the apple, they showed themselves to Paris in all their beauty and appeared naked before him. Each of them offered the prince a gift as an incentive in return for the apple. Hera promised him all the kingdoms of Europe and Asia Minor. Athena offered him wisdom in battle, and Aphrodite promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen, Queen of Sparta, was already married to King Menelaus. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite and asked for Helen's love in return.

When Menelaus found out that, in his absence, young Paris had taken his wife to Troy, he raised a massive army from every corner of the Greek world and gave its command to his ambitious brother. Agamemnon. That is how the siege of Troy started. After ten years of bloodshed and constant skirmishes, the siege of Troy resulted in nothing but carnage for the Greeks. The impenetrable walls of Troy stood tall, and behind them, Priam, king of Troy, reliant on the bravery of his eldest son Hector, remained unbeatable in the face of the foe. During this brutal year, Achilles, the immortal hero of the Greeks who was himself the son of goddess Thetis, conquered a small island near Troy called Chryse and enslaved its population. Among the newly captured people was a beautiful girl named Astynome. Astynome's father was a priest of the temple of Apollo. Agamemnon demanded the girl for himself and refused every ransom that her father offered for her release. When the god Apollo witnessed this, he sent a deadly plague that ravaged the Greek army and forced Agamemnon to give Astynome back. Displeased by the turn of events and vengeful toward Achilles, who brought the girl to Agamemnon in the first place, he compensated himself for this loss by taking another girl named Briseis, who was a subject of Achilles. It was a treacherous act that upset Achilles so much that he refused to take any further part in the Trojan War. Achilles mother, Thetis, complained to Zeus about Agamemnon's betrayal and asked the great god to punish him. Zeus, in return, sent a false dream to Agamemnon and convinced him that he would be victorious if he attacked the city's walls with all his forces in the morning. On the day of battle, Menelaus first challenged the Trojan prince to a duel. Paris answered the call but failed to defeat Menelaus. When he was about to lose his life, Aphrodite helped him escape and took him back to his room in his father's palace, where he was joined by Helen. Meanwhile, among the gods, Zeus argued that Menelaus must be declared the winner and the war should end as the mortals had agreed before the duel. Hera, who was still furious at Paris for choosing Aphrodite over her, wanted nothing but the total annihilation of

 

Troy persuaded Zeus to raise the flame of war. Therefore, Athena disguised herself as a Trojan soldier and convinced a Trojan archer named Pandarus to take aim at Menelaus and kill him. However, as Pandarus shot the arrow, Athena deflected it so that it would only wound Menelaus and give the Greeks a reason for war. Following this, the Greek army launched an all-out assault against the Trojans, and a bloody battle started. The Trojans, under the leadership of Hector, pushed the Greeks back to their ships and almost destroyed the Greek camp. Right at this moment, when the Greek army was losing heart, Achilles' best friend and long-time battle. companion, Patroclus, begged him to join and save the day. Achilles, who was still angry at Menelaus over kidnapping the girl, refused to fight but agreed to exchange armor with his friend Patroclus so that Greek soldiers would think Achilles had returned to battle and rally around him. With the arrival of Patroclus in Achilles' disguise, the turn of events quickly changed in favor of the Greeks. The Trojans retreated to the city, and Patroclus pushed forward against the enemy and killed everyone in his way, including the mortal son of Zeus, Sarpedon. Vengeful Zues decided to kill Patroclus and tasked Apollo with taking revenge for him. Apollo first convinced Hector to charge the enemy, then he appeared behind Patroclus and wounded him. When Hector arrived, Patroclus was on his knees, defeated, and ready to accept his destiny. Hector humiliated the fallen man and finished him off, only to hear Patroclus foretelling Hector's bitter end with his last breath. Achilles wept so loudly for his friend that his mother, Thetis, heard his lamentations. She appeared before him and promised him that if he delayed his revenge for one day, she would go to the temple of the Vulcans and return with a new powerful weapon for him to defeat Hector. Zeus, fearful of Achilles' rage, summoned the gods to Mount Olympus and asked them to interfere in the battle. Achilles tries to destroy Troy before its time. However, upon arriving on earth, the gods decided to stand on an opposing hill and only witness the battle between the mortals. Achilles ruthlessly attacked the Trojans and destroyed their formation. After a short battle, the entire Trojan army that was camped outside the walls of Troy routed before him. Finally, the fateful hour when Hector and Achilles met face-to-face arrived. Hector at first tried negotiating with Achilles, but the Greek hero did not show any interest in conciliation. Hector knew that he was no match for his opponent, so he ran away, and Achilles chased after him. At this moment, Zeus was determined to save Hector, but Athena convinced the great god that the mortal's life must end. Zeus placed the destiny of both heroes on a golden scale, and when the fate of Hector sank lower, he agreed with Athena. Achilles chased Hector around the city walls three times. During Hector's fourth circle around Troy, Athena, disguised as Hector's friend Deiphobus, appeared before him and convinced the Trojan prince that they could defeat Achilles together. At that moment, Hector stopped running and decided to face his enemy. The two heroes finally engaged in battle. For a while, they fought with spears, and neither one managed to overcome the other. In his last attempt for glory, Hector charged Achilles, but he was still wearing Achilles armor that he took from Patroclus, and Achilles knew the weakness of the armor and killed Hector. King Priam and the other Trojans witness the final battle of Hector. Their mourning rose to the heavens. Achilles buried his friend's body. He holds a series of competitions in his honor. Hector's body was dragged behind his chariots and stabbed by every Greek soldier. Finally, Apollo asked Zeus to intervene and forced Achilles to return Hector's body to his father. Following Zues' instructions, King Priam went to Achilles with a chariot full of treasure. Then he begged the Greek hero and asked him to think of the bond between him and his father. Achilles accepted the treasure and gave the body back. The Trojans prepared nine days for Hector's funeral. On the tenth day, they lit the pyre and mourned for the loss of their legendary hero.

REFLECTION 

One of the epic poems written by Homer, Iliad, is an ancient Greek poem. It revolves around the Trojan War and primarily centers on the anger of the Greek hero Achilles, the wrath of the gods, and the battles between the Greeks and Trojans. All throughout, a timeless tale of valor and the human condition is weaved together with themes of honor, pride, destiny, and divine intervention.