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Ryuzaki: Hello and good morning! Welcome to G. 11’s power point presentation.

Raito: For today’s report, we prepared the famous Greek myth named The Trojan War.

Ryuzaki: That’s right. After we discuss the story of this popular myth, we will evaluate its plot. So everyone is encouraged to listen well.

Ryuzaki: Are you ready? Alright then, let’s begin!

A prologue:the judgment of paris

and the abduction ofhelen

Ryuzaki: Just like any good story, the Trojan War began with a prologue. After all, every war starts with a reason.

Raito: That’s right. It all began at the marriage ceremony of Peleus and Thetis. All except the Goddess of Discord named Eris was allowed to enter by Hermes. Out of anger, she

threw her gift, a golden apple with the words “For the Fairest” inscribed on it. This apple became a source

of conflict between the three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite.

Ryuzaki: All the three felt that each of them deserved the apple. None of the gods wanted to judge because choosing one would ensure the wrath of the other two. Zeus then decreed that this

quarrel over the golden apple was to be settled by a mortal man named Paris, living the life of

a shepherd at that time, unaware that his true parents were the rulers of the mighty city of Troy.

Raito: Hermes told Paris about the conflict of the three goddesses, and declared about the instruction ofZeus about choosing. The three goddesses appeared naked to him, but he was still

unableto choose. Finally, they bribed him: Hera offered him control over Asia and political

power;Athena offered him wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of a great warrior, while Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful women in the world.

Ryuzaki: Paris awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite, and after several adventures, he returned to Troy,where he was recognized by his royal family. At that time, the most beautiful woman is named Helen of Sparta. Because of Aphrodite's power, Helen would do whatever

Paris wanted, thus when he arrived at Sparta, he soon persuaded her to leave her husband

and return with him to Troy, which she did.

Raito: Peleus and Thetis bore a son, who was named Achilles, and he was destined to play a major role in the Trojan War. But there are some noteworthy stories of his life before the war began: first is the scene by Rubens showing the popular legend that his mother Thetis dipped

him into the river Styx, which made him invulnerable to harm, except for the spot on his

heel where she held him, hence the term 'Achilles' heel'.

Ryuzaki: Achilles' life was spent on the island of Scyros, where he dressed and lived a girl among girls. This was because his mother had some knowledge of the future and knew he would die young if he joined the war, and had hidden him there to prevent that from happening.

Ryuzaki: But the Greeks were suspicious, for they had reason to believe he was there somewhere among the

girls of Scyros, and Odysseus devised a way to expose him: a chest of gifts was offered to

the young ladies, but included among the feminine things was a set of armor and weapons.

Then they noticed how one 'girl' was fascinated by only those items, and thus his disguise

was exposed. .

Raito: After she left with Paris, Helen's husband Menelaus turned to his brother Agamemnon, the powerful

ruler of Mycenae. Agamemnon had then called out to all the cities and regions of Greece

to supply men and ships for a mass attack against Troy unless they returned Helen. There

Achaean kings and princes were the past suitors of Helen, and upon Helen's marriage to

Menelaus had taken the oath to come to Menelaus' aid in case any harm befell Helen.

Ryuzaki: The place for the rendezvous was a small coastal city called Aulis, and it was there that Agamemnon

incurred the wrath of the goddess Artemis by killing one of her sacred deer. The angry goddess would not allow the proper winds to blow to sail to Troy unless Agamemnon

was punished by sacrificing his own daughter Iphigeneia. Reluctantly, Agamemnon sent to Mycenae for Iphigeneia to come to Aulis, but only after her arrival does she discover

the real reason she had been summoned there.

t h e i l l i a d

Before we continue, I shallIntroduce to you another hero of the Trojan War. Hector was the Prince of Troy, the son of King Priam and heir to the Trojan throne. He is known as one of the greatest warriors in all of antiquity, the first among Troy, and the leader of the city's defenses during one of the most epic wars ever fought. Throughout his life he was admired by friend and foe alike for his courage, his strength, his nobility and his devotion not only to his people, but to his family, his friends and his deities.

According to the Iliad, Hector did not approve of war between the Greeks and the Trojans.For ten years the Achaeans besieged Troy and their allies in the east. Hector commanded the Trojan army, with a number of subordinates including Polydamas, and his brothers Deiphobus, Helenus and Paris. However, by all accounts Hector was the best warrior the Trojans and all their allies could field, and his fighting prowess was admired by Greeks and his own people alike.

Ryuzaki: Calchas had prophesized that the first Achaean to land on Troy would be the first one to die. Therefore everyone hesitated to land on Troy when they reached the shores.

Eventually, Protesilaus of the Phylaceans landed first and Achilles was the second to set foot on the shores of Troy. Protesilaus and Achilles killed several Trojans upon landing, but then Protesilaus was killed by Hector, the son of Priam, the King of Troy and the brother of

Paris.

Raito: Achilles was amongst the most aggressive of the Achaeans and he raided, looted and conquered several of the outer territories of Troy. The war lingered on and on, without stopping.

Plots within plots and politics ruled the scene. The soldiers were tired at the end of the nine years and wanted to go back home and were on the verge of mutiny. It was only

because of the army of Achilles, were they forced to stay back.

Ryuzaki: However, towards the end of the almost mutiny, Agamemnon took Briseis, the concubine of Achilles. Achilles therefore refused to participate in the war. The Achaeans were relatively

successful even after Achilles withdrew from the war. There was a fight between Menalaus and Paris, which ended with Aphrodite snatching the almost defeated Paris from the

battlefield.

Raito: Diomedes, an Achaean hero, won repute amongst his people by killing Pandaros, a Trojan hero, nearly wounding Aeneas and also for wounding the gods Aphrodite and

Ares. But then the Trojans were enraged enough to drive the Achaeans back to their camp. The next day, the Trojans entered the Achaean camp and were about the burn down the Achaean ships.

Ryuzaki: The Achaeans then began to request Achilles to return into the fight. Finally, Patroclus, a relative of Achilles, went into the war wearing Achilles' clothes and armor. He was

killed by Hector who thought he was killing Achilles. Enraged by the death of Patroclus, Achilles joined the war again with one goal: to kill Hector.

Raito: Hector now wears Achilles' arms, so Thetis asks Hephaestus to make a new set for her son. Achilles receives his new armor and summons the Achaeans to assembly in preparation for combat. He announces the end of his anger, and urges the men to marshal for battle at

once.

Ryuzaki: Zeus assembles the gods on Olympus and gives them leave to rejoin the fighting, in part to keepAchilles from storming the city walls contrary to his destiny. Achilles' savage

slaughter of enemy warriors intensifies until he literally chokes the River Skamandros with their corpses. Up to now the gods have left Achilles on his own, but when he calls out for

help against this elemental force of nature, Hera sends Hephaestus to overcome the

flooding river with fire.

Raito: Gripped by fear, Hector takes flight and Achilles chases him in a grim life or death race around the circuit of the city. When Athena appears near Hector in the form of his

brother, he takes courage. As Priam and Hekabe look on in horror, Achilles rushes upon Hector and drives the spear though the soft part of his neck, the only spot left vulnerable by his own glorious armor. But after killing him, Achilles was still enraged, and abused the body of Hector by dragging it behind his chariot around the walls of Troy.

Ryuzaki: Hector's father Priam, the king of Troy, came to the tent of Achilles to beg for the return of his son's body. Achilles initially ignored his request, not even looking at Priam. But finally, out of pity he released his anger and allowed Priam to take the body back to Troy for burial, the concluding scene of the Iliad. The fall of Troy was inevitable now that Hector was dead.

This concludes the story of Iliad...

Ryuzaki: Well, that ends the Illiad. We hope you like it!

Raito: But of course, the Trojan War isn’t over. Hector may be dead, but the Greeks are not done yet.

Ryuzaki: And now, we shall present to you the story after the Iliad. Enjoy!

The fall of troy

Raito: Helenus left the city but was captured by Odysseus. Helenus was the son of Priam and Hecuba, but he was also a seer, like his sister, Cassandra. The Greeks somehow managed

to persuade the seer to reveal the weakness of Troy. The Greeks learnt from Helenus, that Troy would not fall, while the Palladium, image or statue of Athena, remained within Troy's walls. One night, Odysseus and Diomedes slipped into Troy and stole the Palladium.

Ryuzaki: Still seeking to gain entrance into Troy, clever Odysseus (some say with the aid of Athena) ordered a large wooden horse to be built. Its insides were to be hollow so that soldiers could hide within it.

Raito: Once the statue had been built by the artist Epeius, a number of the Greek warriors, along with Odysseus, climbed inside. The rest of the Greek fleet sailed away, so as to

deceive the Trojans. A Greek spy, Sinon, was deliberately left behind, who would try to convince the Trojans that the Greeks had sailed home, and that Trojans should bring the horse inside their walls. It is also stated that the horse was a gift for the goddess Athena.

Ryuzaki: The Trojan seers, Cassandra and Laocoön (Laocoon) tried to warn them not to listen to Sinon, but a sea-monster send by Poseidon, killed Laocoön and his two sons. The sea

god's intervention had convinced the Trojans that they had won the war, so they brought the wooden horse within Troy's walls.

Raito: The Trojans decided to keep the horse and turned to a night of mad revelry and celebration. They feasted, drank hard, and fell asleep.

Ryuzaki: During the night, the Achaeans stationed inside the horse opened the trap door, crept down, opened the gates, and let in their countrymen who had only pretended to slip away.

The Achaeans then torched Troy, killing the men and taking the women prisoner. Helen, now middle aged, but still a beauty, was reunited with her husband Menelaus.

Raito: And thus ended the tale of the Trojan War.

Raito: And...That’s it! We hope you enjoyed the report!

Ryuzaki: Yes. For comments and inquires, please tell G#11. After all, this is her report.

Ryuzaki: Thank you for listening! Ja ‘ne!