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Ancient Greece: Legends and Myths of the Trojan Cycle. The Trojan cycle of myths: a summary, plots and heroes

In the ancient Greek mythology, the myths of the Trojan cycle take a special place. The modern world knows about these subjects mainly thanks to Homer's epic "Iliad". However, even before him in the folklore of this ancient culture there were stories telling about the Trojan War. As well as myth, this story received a large number of characters associated with religion and gods.

Sources

Events of the Trojan War archaeologists and historians refer to the XII century BC. Before the ancient city was discovered by the German expedition of Henry Schliemann, he was also considered a legend. Researchers in their search relied not only on the Iliad, but also on the Cypries. This collection was not only about Troy, but also about the immediate cause for war.

Apple of discord

At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis gathered the inhabitants of Olympus. They called everyone, except Eris. It was the goddess of chaos and strife. She could not bear such an insult and threw a golden apple on the festive table , which grew in the forest of the nymph Hesperides.

On the fruit was a distinct inscription "The most beautiful". Myths of the Trojan cycle claim that because of him began a dispute between the three goddesses - Aphrodite, Hero and Athena. It is because of this plot in many languages of the world fixed phraseological "apple of discord."

The goddesses asked Zeus so that he resolved their dispute and called the most beautiful. However, he did not dare to name the name, because he wanted to say that it was Aphrodite, while Athena was his daughter, and Hera was his wife. Therefore, Zeus suggested making a choice to Paris. It was the son of the ruler of Troy Priam. He chose Aphrodite because she promised him the love of the woman he wanted.

The perfidy of Paris

Endowed with enchantments Paris arrived in Sparta, where he stayed in the royal palace. He conquered Elena - the wife of King Menelaus, who at that moment left for Crete. Paris fled with the girl to his home, while taking the gold from the local treasury. Myths of the Trojan cycle tell us that such treachery united the Greeks, who decided to declare the Three War.

In the army of the Hellenes there were many legendary warriors. The head of the army recognized Agamemnon. In the same place was Menelaus, Achilles, Odysseus, Filoktet, Nestor, Palamedes, etc. Many of them were heroes - that is, children of the gods and mortals. For example, such was Achilles. He was an ideal warrior without flaws. His only weak point was the heel. The reason for this was that his mother, Thetis, was holding the infant by the foot, when she dropped it into the furnace of the god Hephaestus, to give the child a superhuman strength. Hence the expression "Achilles' heel", meaning the only vulnerable point.

The long siege

In all, there were about a hundred thousand soldiers and thousands of ships in the Greeks' army. They went by sea from Boeotia. After a successful landing, the Greeks offered peace talks to the Trojans. Their condition was the issuance of Elena the Beautiful. However, residents of Troy refused such an offer.

Their commander-in-chief was Hector - the son of Priam and the brother of Paris. He led the army two times less than the Achaeans. But on his side there were powerful fortress walls, which no one else could take or destroy. Therefore, the Greeks had nothing left but to start a long siege. At the same time, Achilles with a part of the army robbed neighboring Asian cities. However, Troy did not give up, and exactly nine years passed in an inconclusive siege and blockade. Daughters Ania Enotrophs helped the Greeks to get food in a foreign land. They turned the earth into grains, oil and wine, if you believe what the myths of ancient Greece tell. The Trojan cycle has little to say about the long siege. For example, Homer dedicates his Iliad to the last, the 41st day of the war.

Curse of Apollo

The Greek army often took captives who were outside of Troy. Thus, the daughter of Chris, one of the priests of Apollo, fell into prison. He arrived at the enemy camp, begging to return the girl to him. In response, he received gross ridicule and refusal. Then the priest, in a fit of hatred, asked Apollo for just revenge against the fanatics. God sent a pestilence to the army, which began to mow one soldier after another.

The Trojans, having learned about this enemy's misfortune, left the city and prepared to give battle to a weakened army. At the last moment, diplomats on both sides agree that the conflict should be resolved by a confrontation between Menelaus and Paris, whose act became the cause of the war. The Troyan prince was defeated, after which the treaty was finally to be executed.

However, at the most crucial moment, one of the besieged soldiers launched an arrow into the camp of the Greeks. The first open battle began under the walls of the city. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece tell about this event in detail. The Trojan cycle includes the death of many heroes. For example, Agenor (the son of the elder of Troy) killed Elefenor (king of Eubia).

The first day of the battle led to the fact that the Greeks were pushed back to their camp. At night they surrounded him with a moat and prepared for defense. Both sides betrayed the land of their dead. The battle continued on the following days, as the Trojan cycle of myths tells us. The summary is as follows: besieged under the leadership of Hector, it is possible to destroy the gates of the Greek camp, while part of the Greeks, together with Odysseus, go off on reconnaissance. Soon the attackers were knocked out of the camp, but the losses of the Achaeans were great.

Death of Patroclus

All this time, Achilles did not participate in the battles because he fought with Agamemnon. He remained on the ship with his pet Patroclus. When the Trojans began to burn the ships, the young man persuaded Achilles to let him go to fight the enemy. Patroclus even received the weapons and armor of the legendary warrior. The Trojans, having mistaken him for Achilles, start fleeing back into the city in horror. Many of them fell from the sword in the hands of the companion of the Greek hero. But Hector did not lose heart. Calling on the aid of the god Apollo, he struck Patroclus and took away his Achilles sword. The heroes of the Trojan cycle of myths often turned the development of the plot in the opposite direction.

Return of Achilles

Death Patroclus was a shock to Achilles. He repented that he had been away from the battle all this time, and reconciled with Agamemnon. The hero decided to take revenge on the Trojans for the death of his best friend. In the next battle, he found Hector and killed him. The corpse of the enemy Achilles was tied to his chariot and three times carried around Troy. Grief-stricken Priam begged the remains of his son for a huge ransom. Achilles gave the body in exchange for gold equal to its weight. The Trojan cycle of myths tells about this price. The main subjects are always narrated in ancient works with the help of metaphors.

The news of the death of Hector quickly spread throughout the ancient world. To help the Trojans came the warriors of the Amazon and the army of the Ethiopians. Paris, avenging his brother, shot Achilles on the heel, which caused him to die soon. The Trojan heir himself also died after being fatally wounded by Filoctet. Elena became the wife of his brother Deifoba. Myths of the Trojan cycle tell us about these dramatic events in detail.

Trojan horse

Both sides suffered heavy losses. Then the Greeks, seeing the futility of their attempts to seize the city, decided to use cunning. They built a huge wooden horse. This figure was hollow inside. The most brave warriors of Greece, now led by Odysseus, took refuge there. At the same time, the bulk of the Greek troops left the camp and sailed from the coast on ships.

Surprised Trojans went outside the city. They were met by Sinon, who announced that in order to propitiate the gods, it is necessary to establish the figure of the horse in the central square. And it was done. At night, Sinon released the hiding Greeks, who killed the guards and opened the gates. The city was destroyed to the very bottom, after which it was not able to recover. The Greeks returned home. The return journey of Odysseus became the basis for the plot of Homer's poem Odyssey.

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