The Story of Troy Part 5

Then fresh trees sprang up from their roots, and withered in like manner when they reached the same height, and so this marvelous growth and decay continued for ages.

Upon the side Of h.e.l.lespont (such faith was entertained) A knot of spiry trees for ages grew From out the tomb of him for whom she died; And ever, when such stature they had gained That Ilium's walls were subject to their view, The trees' tall summits withered at the sight; A constant interchange of growth and blight!

WORDSWORTH, _Laodamia_.

The heroic act of Protesilaus was the beginning of the great war. Before he fell himself he slew many of the enemy, and hosts of his countrymen, encouraged by his example, poured from their ships and encountered the Trojans in fierce conflict. In this first battle the Greeks were victorious. Though Hector and his brave troops fought valiantly they were driven back from the sh.o.r.e, and compelled to take refuge within the strong walls of the city.

The Trojans were well prepared for the war. King Priam had not been idle while the Greek leaders were mustering their forces. From all parts of his kingdom he had gathered immense supplies of provisions, and the princes and chiefs of Troas came with large armies to defend their king and country. The most celebrated of these chiefs was the hero ae-ne'as, son of An-chi'ses and the G.o.ddess Venus. He commanded the Dardanian forces, and had as his lieutenants the two brave warriors, Ac'a-mas and Ar-chil'o-chus.

Divine aeneas brings the Dardan race.

Archilochus and Acamas divide The warrior's toils, and combat by his side.

POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.

The Trojans had numerous and powerful allies. Troops were sent to them from the neighboring countries of Phrygia, Mysia, Lyc'i-a and Ca'ri-a.

The Lycian forces were led by Sar-pe'don, a son of Jupiter, and a renowned warrior.

A chief, who led to Troy's beleaguer'd wall A host of heroes, and outshined them all.

POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVI.

But the greatest of the heroes who defended Troy, and, with the exception of Achilles, the greatest and bravest of all who took part in the Trojan War, was the famous Hector.

The boast of nations, the defense of Troy!

To whom her safety and her fame she owed; Her chief, her hero, and almost her G.o.d!

POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.

So long as Hector lived Troy was safe. When he died, his great rival, Achilles, by whose hand he was slain, rejoiced with the Greeks as if Troy had already fallen.

"Ye sons of Greece, in triumph bring The corpse of Hector, and your paeans sing.

Be this the song, slow-moving toward the sh.o.r.e, 'Hector is dead, and Ilion is no more.'"

POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.

But though led by the great Hector, the Trojans, after their first defeat, were unable to keep up the fight in the open field against the vast numbers of the Greeks. Seeing, therefore, that they must depend for safety on the strong walls which Neptune had built, they drew all their forces into the city, leaving the enemy in possession of the surrounding country.

Then the famous siege of ten years began. The Greeks hauled their ships out of the water, and fixed them on the beach in an upright position supported by props. Close to the vessels, on the land side, they erected their tents, which extended in a long line, one wing, or end, of which was guarded by Achilles, and the other by Ajax Telamon. Between this encampment and the walls of Troy--a distance of three or four miles--many a fierce conflict took place, and many a brave warrior fell during the great contest. For the Trojans, headed by Hector or some other of their chiefs, often came out from the city through the princ.i.p.al gate, called the Scae'an Gate, which faced the Grecian camp, and fought the enemy in the open plain, on the bank of the celebrated river Simois.

And from the walls of strong-besieged Troy, When their brave hope, bold Hector, march'd to field, Stood many Trojan mothers, sharing joy To see their youthful son's bright weapons wield; And to their hope they such odd action yield, That through their light joy seemed to appear, Like bright things stain'd, a kind of heavy fear.

And from the strond of Dardan, where they fought, To Simois' reedy banks the red blood ran, Whose waves to imitate the battle sought With swelling ridges; and their ranks began To break upon the galled sh.o.r.e, and then Retire again, till, meeting greater ranks, They join and shoot their foam at Simois' banks.

SHAKESPEARE, _Lucrece_.

V. THE WRATH OF ACHILLES.

For over nine years the siege was carried on without one side or the other gaining any important victory. The Trojans were protected by their walls, which the Greeks were unable to break down, for the ancients had no such powerful engines of war as those used in armies of the present day. The strongest buildings may now be easily destroyed by cannon; but in those days they had no cannon or gunpowder or dynamite. Success in war in ancient times depended almost entirely on the bravery of the soldiers or on strategy and artifice, in which, as we shall see, the king of Ithaca was much skilled.

The Greek and Trojan warriors fought with swords, axes, bows and arrows, and javelins, or long spears tipped with sharp iron points. Sometimes they used huge stones which the heroes hurled at the foe with the full strength of their powerful arms. They had shields of circular or oval shape, which they wore on the arm to ward off blows, and which could be moved at pleasure so as to cover almost any part of the body. Their chests were protected by corselets or breastplates made of metal, and metal greaves, or boots, incased their legs from the knees to the feet.

On their heads they wore helmets, usually of bra.s.s.

The chiefs fought in chariots, from which they darted their spears at the enemy with such force and so true an aim as to wound or kill at a considerable distance. The chariots were two-wheeled, open at the back, and often drawn by three horses. They usually carried two warriors, both standing, and the charioteer, or driver, was generally the companion or friend, and not the servant, of the fighters who stood behind him.

Sometimes the warriors came down from their chariots and fought hand to hand at close quarters with the enemy. The common soldiers always fought on foot. There were no horse soldiers.

But in the Trojan War success or defeat did not always depend on the bravery of the soldiers or on the skill or strategy of the generals.

Very much depended on the G.o.ds. We have seen how those divine beings had to do with the events that led to the war. We shall also see them taking part in the battles, sometimes giving victory to one side and sometimes to the other. The Trojan War was in fact as much a war of the G.o.ds as of men, and in Homer's story we find Jupiter and Juno and Apollo and Neptune and Venus and Minerva mentioned almost as frequently as the Greek and Trojan heroes. In the beginning of the Iliad we find Apollo sending a plague among the Greeks because of an insult offered to his priest, Chry'ses; for the daughter of Chryses, a beautiful maiden named Chry-se'is, was carried off by Achilles after the taking of The'be, a town of Mysia.

During the long siege the Grecian chiefs extended the war into the surrounding districts. While part of their forces was left at the camp to protect the ships and keep the Trojans cooped up within their walls, expeditions were sent out against many of the towns of Troas, or of the neighboring countries which were allies and supporters of Troy. When the Greeks captured a town they carried off not only the provisions and riches it contained, but also many of its inhabitants, whom they sold as slaves, according to the custom of the time, or kept as slaves in their own service. In one of these expeditions Priam's youngest son, Tro'i-lus, the hero of Shakespeare's play of "Troilus and Cres'si-da,"

was slain by Achilles.

It was in the tenth year of the war that Thebe was taken, and the maiden Chryseis was captured. About the same time the town of Lyr-nes'sus was seized by an expedition, also led by Achilles, and among the prisoners was a beautiful woman named Bri-se'is. In the division of the spoils among the chiefs, Chryseis fell to the share of Agamemnon, and the maiden Briseis was given to Achilles, who took her to his tent with the intention of making her his wife. But the priest Chryses was deeply grieved at the taking away of his daughter, and he came to the Grecian camp to beg the chiefs to restore her to him. In his hand he bore a golden scepter bound with fillets, or green branches, the emblems of his priestly office, and he also carried with him valuable gifts for King Agamemnon. Being admitted to the presence of the warrior chiefs a.s.sembled in council, he begged them to release his child.

He sued to all, but chief implored for grace The brother-kings, of Atreus' royal race.

"Ye kings and warriors! may your vows be crown'd, And Troy's proud walls lie level with the ground.

May Jove restore you when your toils are o'er Safe to the pleasures of your native sh.o.r.e.

But, oh! relieve a wretched parent's pain, And give Chryseis to these arms again."

POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.

Hearing the prayer of the venerable priest, many of the chiefs were moved to pity, and they advised that his request should be granted, but Agamemnon angrily refused.

[Ill.u.s.tration: APOLLO.

_Berlin Museum._]

He dismissed The priest with scorn, and added threatening words:-- "Old man, let me not find thee loitering here, Beside the roomy ships, or coming back Hereafter, lest the fillet thou dost bear And scepter of thy G.o.d protect thee not.

This maiden I release not till old age Shall overtake her in my Argive home, Far from her native country."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.

Chryses then departed from the Grecian camp, and as he returned home in sorrow, walking along the sh.o.r.es of the sea, he prayed to Apollo to punish the insult thus offered to his priest.

"O Smintheus! if I ever helped to deck Thy glorious temple, if I ever burned Upon thy altar the fat thighs of goats And bullocks, grant my prayer, and let thy shafts Avenge upon the Greeks the tears I shed."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.

Apollo heard the prayer of Chryses, and he sent a deadly plague upon the Grecian army. With his silver bow, every clang of which was heard throughout the camp, the archer G.o.d darted his terrible arrows among the Greeks, smiting them down in great numbers.

He came as comes the night, And, seated from the ships aloof, sent forth An arrow; terrible was heard the clang Of that resplendent bow. At first he smote The mules and the swift dogs, and then on man He turned the deadly arrow. All around Glared evermore the frequent funeral piles.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.

For nine days the arrows of death were sent upon the Greek army, and the funeral piles of the victims were continually burning, for it was the custom in those times to burn the bodies of the dead. On the tenth day of the plague Achilles called a council of the chiefs to consider how the anger of the G.o.d might be appeased, and he spoke before them, saying: