Troy - THE TROJAN WAR

Two prophecies about Achilles matter as the son of Thetis and Peleus sails for Troy with other Greeks. Calchas (Kalchas), a seer, has said that Troy cannot be defeated without the help of Achilles.  However ... another prophecy, given to Achilles' mother, foretells that if Achilles fights against Troy, and Troy falls, Achilles will die. For that reason, Thetis has tried to keep her son hidden as war with Troy looks likely.  This image, online via "The Worlds of David Darling," depicts an artist's conception of Greek ships sailing to Troy.

Menelaus, who could not wage war alone, sought the assistance of his brother, Agamemnon, to help him avenge the loss of his wife. King of Mycenae (where Heinrich Schliemann much later discovered magnificent ruins), Agamemnon was a powerful ruler.

Achilles, whose mother had tried to prevent her son from fighting because of a prophecy which predicted his death if he fought against Troy, was hidden away. He was ultimately found by Odysseus (Ulysses) who persuaded the young man to fight.

Together with his cousin and close friend Patroclus (Patroklos), Achilles sailed with Odysseus and the Greek fleet (of a thousand ships) to fight against Troy. With such powerful forces on their side, the Greeks must have thought the war would soon be over.  It was not.

A fearless warrior, Achilles captured Briseis (a beautiful woman and wife of one of Achilles’ victims) as a war prize during one of his exploits.

Although Troy itself was holding firm against the Greeks, Achilles had captured twenty-three towns in Trojan territory. (Briseis, parenthetically, was NOT King Priam’s niece, as depicted in the movie Troy.)

Soon, however, Briseis was the cause of a serious rift between Achilles and Agammenon. It is with this story, in the tenth year of the Trojan War, that the Iliad begins.