What exactly was the Trojan War?

[jw5]

The fleet sets sail -

Answering Agamemnon's call to arms, a fleet of more than a thousand ships from throughout the Hellenic world crossed the Aegean Sea to lay siege to Troy.

 

[jw5]

Priam, King of Troy -

Agamemnon's demand was simple: Helen's return by Priam, the Trojan king. Priam refused, and the siege of Troy began.

 

[jw5]

Hector -

Leading the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy was Hector, the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba. His fighting prowess was admired by Greeks and his own people alike.

 

[jw5]

Death of Patroclus -

During a clash of the two sides outside the walls of Troy, Patroclus, the young cousin of Achilles, was killed by Hector. Enraged, the Greek warrior swore revenge.

 

[jw5]

Death of Hector -

In one of the single most celebrated encounters of the Trojan War, Hector was called out by Achilles who challenged his foe to a single duel outside the gates of the besieged city. The Trojan, no match for the agile Achilles, was brutally slain.

 

[jw5]

Retribution -

Achilles, in a final act of merciless retribution, attached Hector's lifeless body to his chariot and drove his fallen enemy through the dust to the Achaeans' camp.

 

[jw5]

The Trojan Horse -

After 10 years of war, the Greeks came up with an audacious plan. They decided to withdraw en masse, but not before hollowing out a huge wooden horse and leaving it outside the city gates. Unbeknown to the Trojans, who eagerly pulled the giant equine form into their city as a victory trophy, within its belly was hidden around 30 of the Achaeans' best warriors, led by Odysseus.

 

[jw5]

Deceptive move -

During the night, the soldiers crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under the cover of darkness.

 

[k1976]

If Trojian has the Chinese good habit of burning their offering to God... Then our Greeks hero will become charsiew liao

That is why Chinese outlast Troy, perhaps?

 

[jw5]

Sacking of Troy -

With the way wide open, Troy was summarily sacked. The Greeks entered the city in their thousands. What ensued was a massacre, with most of the sleeping population killed in their beds.

 

[jw5]

Death of Priam -

The bloodbath continued into the next day. Priam, Troy's monarch, was killed by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.

 

[jw5]

Death of Achilles -

Despite Greek success, the seemingly invincible Achilles lost his life, killed by an arrow shot by Paris that found its mark on Achilles' heel—the one area of his body that had not been lapped by the mysterious protective waters of the Styx river in which he was dipped as an infant by his mother, Thetis.

 

[jw5]

Guided by Apollo -

Achilles was slain by Paris. The god Apollo is said to have guided the arrow into his vulnerable spot, his heel. Paris is seen here in sculpture on the western pediment of the temple of Aphaia on the island of Aegina. The stonework dates back to c. 500 BCE.

 

[jw5]

Fate of Helen? -

And what of Helen of Troy, arguably the cause of the bloody conflict? After the death of Paris (killed later by Philoctetes, an Achaean hero-king), Helen returned to Sparta with Menelaus. By all accounts both were completely reconciled and enjoyed a harmonious married life.

 

[jw5]

Homer -

The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's Iliad, with the poem ending before the war is concluded, and it is only briefly mentioned in the Odyssey.

 

[jw5]

What is a Trojan Horse? -

Whether it took place or not, the Trojan War still fascinates. The famous horse is depicted on this mid-16th-century Italian earthenware plate. And today, a Trojan Horse is understood as anything that looks innocent but, once accepted, has power to harm or destroy. It also describes a type of malware that downloads onto a computer disguised as a legitimate program.

 

[jw5]

Achilles heel -

Meanwhile, the term Achilles heel references a vulnerability or weakness.