21/09/2022
Many factors all compiled together led to the results of the Trojan War. However, let us focus now on one in particular—Briseis. Quite ironically, we arrive at another instance of someone “taking” something that doesn’t “belong” to them. When Achilles sacked Briseis’ home city, Lyrnessus, he took her as a slave. Apollo compelled Agamemnon to give up a slave of his own at the time, Chryseis, and then demanded Briseis as his own. This began a long conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles. So, there we have it; the Trojan War of Homer’s Iliad was full of love affairs, slaves, and an absurd amount of testosterone.
When Agamemnon later saw that the Trojans were gaining the advantage in the war, he pleaded to Achilles to join them. Achilles refused because of his loss of Briseis, and thus did Patroklos, a very close friend of Achilles, decide to fight on Achilles’ behalf, leading his armies against Troy. The Iliad tells how Apollo rendered Patroklos defenseless, which in turn left him vulnerable for Hektor to take his life. Achilles, driven mad by the desire for revenge, joined the fighting and sealed the fate of the Trojan War. He killed Hektor, the prized warrior of Troy, and thus left them weakened. So, what we have here is yet another showcase of both sides of the war taking something from the other and fulfilling their revenge.
Later in the final days of the war, Greek commander Odysseus concocted the plan to sneak into the city with walls rising to 9 meters by way of Trojan Horse. However, this is not made known until the Odyssey. There is actually no mention of a Trojan Horse in the Iliad. The Greeks may very well have lost the war had this plan not come into being. The Greek soldiers gathered inside the massive horse construction with the hopes that the Trojans would take it as a peace offering and gift. When night befell soon thereafter, and the Greeks had successfully infiltrated, they snuck out of the horse and sacked the city.
