My last post

My Last Post...

After we buried my brother the war raged on. We received some help from other groups. I heard from some of the other soldiers that Nestor ended up getting killed because he no longer had the strength of a man of younger age. Nestor asked Achilles to avenge his death, and he agreed. Not listening to his mother's words saying that he will die shortly after the death of Memnon, Achilles killed him. The Trojan fighters couldn't go on any farther, so they fled back behind the gate. Without anyone in his way, Achilles drove up to the gate, where I was waiting with a bow and arrow. With help from my dear friend Apollo, I shot an arrow right at Achilles weak spot, his heel, killing him. (I felt a little bit of Deja Vu). There was a lot of fighting over the body of the fallen hero, but Ajax carried him back. After the funeral, Achilles's armor was awarded to the best warrior, Odysseus. Ajax was furious that he decided that he was going to kill Odysseus. He was driven mad by Athena, and ended up killing himself with the sword my brother gave him.

We realized that our city would not fall until Achilles son, Neoptolemus, joined the war. The Greeks needed Heracles bow, which belonged to Philoctetes, who was abandoned by the Greeks. Philoctetes wanted to kill Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Odysseus because they were the ones responsible for the abandonment. Heracles promised Philoctetes would get healed, so he did not kill any of the Greek men. After he was healed, it was bad news for me. The first person he wounded was yours truly, the beautiful. I remembered though that my first love, Oenone, promised to heal me if I ever got wounded. I went to her, but she refused because of the length of time I was gone. Because she still loved me, she decided she would heal me so she came back. She was too late though. My beautiful spirit lives on, although Troy falls.

 

Goodbye, and stay beautiful!

 Works Cited

Archaeological Site of Troy. 1998. Troy. 1998. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy>.

Balantrapu, Satya V. Hector in Troy. N.d. Fine Art America. 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://fineartamerica.com/featured/hector-in-troy-satya-venkatesh-balantrapu.html>.

Body of the Great Hero Hector, Brought Back to Troy. N.d. A Love of Mythology of the Greeks. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://xaharts.org/arts/greek_mythology.html>.

David, Jacques-Louis. The Loves of Paris and Helen. 1788. Friends of Art. 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.friendsofart.net/en/art/jacques-louis-david/the-loves-of-paris-and-helen>.

De Wit, James. Paris and Oenone. 1695-1754. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Greek Mythology Link. 1997. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.maicar.com/GML/Paris.html>.

Hamilton, Gavin. Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus. 1760-1763. Scotish National Gallery, Edinburgh,Scotland. National Galleries Scotland. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/H/3522/artist_name/Gavin%20Hamilton/record_id/2514>.

Homer, and Richmond Lattimore. The Iliad;. [Chicago]: University of Chicago, 1951. Print.

Judgement of Paris. 500-450 BC. British Museum, London. Classical Art Research Centre. 2003. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/dictionary/Dict/ASP/dictionarybody.asp?name=Judgement+of+Paris>.

"Paris." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://greekmythology.wikia.com/wiki/Paris>.

"Trojan War." Classical Mythology. N.p., 19 Apr. 1999. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/trojanwar.html#Judgement>.

Walls of Troy. N.d. Photograph. Bucket List Traveller. 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://bucketlisttraveller.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/troy-the-city-of-myths-legends-and-love-part-2/>.

 

 

Blog: 9

Hello All!

My brother was the only one outside of Troy. Father had asked, more like begged, Hector to come inside, but he refused. As Achilles approached Hector, Hector tried to negotiate with him. When that failed he did what I would have done, he ran. After the third time around the city (and into the fourth), with Achilles at his heels, Deiphobus (Athena in disguise) tells him that he will be an ally in the fight against the enemy. Hector and Achilles threw spears at each other, resulting in both heroes unscathed. Hector turned and asked his ally for a weapon, but the ally disappeared. My brother, in the enemy's old armor, charged Achilles! Knowing his former armor's weak points, Achilles spear pierced through my darling brother's throat. I know my brother, and his dying wish would be to be brought back to our side to have a proper burial. But from what it looked like, Achilles was going to let Hectors dead body get devoured by vultures and dogs. Other Achaeans stabbed my brothers corpse, after that was over, his lifeless body was tied to the back of Achilles chariot and dragged on top of the dirt. Father and mother, myself, and Helen started to weep. When my brother's widow heard us, she realized what had just happened and she began to weep as well.

Back at the Greek camp, Apollo promised that he would protect my brothers body from harm. The Achaeans are still heartbroken over Patroclus's death, but they finally hold a funeral for him. The funeral consisted of competitions and games in the honor of the dead.
Father left for the Greek camp to acquire Hectors body. Father begged with Achilles and asked him to think of his own father. Father said that Achilles began to weep and agreed to give Hector's body back. It took us nine days to prepare Hector's funeral, which included a large fire. On the tenth day we lit it, and now we sing of his Kleos.

Although I have only seen the wrath side of Achilles, he does show some sympathy for my Priam. After he talked with Achilles, Achilles realized how important Hectors body is to my father. He helped Achilles see that the situation isn't much different than Achilles's father. The talk between them didn't form an alliance, nor did it change the fact that the city of Troy is doomed, but it did change the respect element between the two. We got the one thing that we needed, closure. We could now have a funeral for our best fighter, my best friend, Hector.

Until Next Time....
Pairs
  

Blog: 8

Hello Everyone!


As you all probably guessed in the last post, the wrath Achilles had for Agamemnon has shifted to my brother. Achilles has his new shield, and all the gifts that were promised to him from Agamemnon (if/when he returns from battle), including Breseis. Achilles was so upset that he could not eat until he has hurt my dear brother! Achilles's horse began to speak in words of foreshadowing  saying that the same fate will come of him that has come on Patroclus.

Up above the Gods decided to not intervene with the battle, they pulled up some chairs and couches to watch the "big game." I decided to dress nice for this battle wearing less tattered garb, so if I do so parish, I will look fabulous. Before the battle began though, I heard rumbling up above, the Gods must have had their own little battle up there. Poseidon, ignoring the deal to not intervene with the battle, saved Aeneas from death. Apollo, who also got involved, persuaded my brother not to charge Achilles, rather have Achilles come to my brother. Hector agreed, but when he saw fellow Trojans getting slaughtered he intervened and Apollo had to save him.

Achilles was slaughtering Trojans left and right and throwing their dead corpses in the river. The amount of dead bodies in the river had clogged the channel. The river god protested, and Achilles agreed to not throw anymore Trojans into the water, but that didn't stop him from killing them and avenging his dear friends death. The river called for help from Apollo, but when Achilles heard this he began to attack the river. He nearly died, but got saved when the Gods, who should no longer be interfering, get involved.  Apollo got involved yet again when he disguises himself as Agenor to take on Achilles to win us some more time to get back home.


Achilles has finally accepted his fate to die in battle. He has decided that avenging his friends death is more important that living a longer life. I have a feeling that the Achilles will gain his Kleos, by dying a hero, and will be known throughout history. This leaves a bitter taste in my mouth though because my brother is the one that has to fight Achilles, and I do not believe he has a very good chance of success. Hector will not show weakness by backing down, he will fight for our people, and by doing this hopefully he wears Achilles down enough so myself or my fellow Trojans can severely wound or kill him.

Until Next Time...
Paris

Blog 7

Hello Everyone!

So I heard in the Greek camp, Achilles' armor was worn by another, his friend Patroclus, who, by Achilles' understanding, was only fighting enough to save the burning ships. I also heard that Achilles prayed to Zeus hoping that Patroclus will return with himself and the Greek ships unharmed. Zeus, who is a neutral third party, decided to only grant one of the two wishes. When Patroclus stepped out on the battle field, he began taking out our people left and right. The rest of the soldiers retreated as fast as they could, I being one of the fastest retreaters. Zeus' son Sarpedon is one of the casualties of pseudo Achilles, so I think I know which wish Zeus will not be granting. Hector was one of the last soldiers to retreat, acting not like himself at all. Apollo saved the Trojans from a fallen city by pushing Patroclus back. Apollo persuades Hector to go after Patroclus, but the driver of Hectors chariot ended up getting killed. Apollo wounded Patroclus and Hector finished him off. Patroclus' last words were foretelling my brothers own death, and saying that my brother didn't actually get the kill, all he got was the boasting. After that Hector takes Achilles' armor back to camp. A fight broke out over Patroclus' body. Hector promised half of the war's spoils to whomever could bring the corpse back to our camp, but in the end the Greeks got Patroclus. This was around the time Achilles found out about the death of his friend. From what I heard, with the terrible cry he let out that made the Trojans retreat, he was quite grief stricken. He decided to take revenge on the person who killed his dear friend, which happens to be my brother. Hector, knowing that Achilles has returned to battle, but unknowing of the soon to come revenge, does not listen when he was urged to back down and retreat.


Our power is ending. With Achilles back, we have no chance to win. If one person from the Greek side can kill many of us, we are doomed. Oh, did I mention he is not nearly as good as a fighter as we will be facing in the morning? Also, the fact that Hector has Achilles' old armor might make him feel good, but if he is going to fight the man who had the armor before, I would think that wearing the old armor might be a bad choice. The previous owner would know the strengths and weaknesses of the armor, so he would know exactly where to aim to severely injure or kill my dear brother. I hope Hector is thinking about this, and I hope this nightfall will help refresh his mind and thoughts and decide that maybe he should retreat, but I don't think he will because he worries what everyone will think if he, our best fighter, decides to back down.

I don't think I can sleep tonight...

Until next time...
Paris
 

Blog: 6

Hello Again!

 

We were about to storm the gates between the Greek side and our side, but then an eagle drops a serpent on our side. This could have been taken as a sign we should retreat, but Hector told us to keep fighting. Glaucus and Sarpedon now charge the gates. Sarpedon scares the Achaeans away by shattering one of the gates with a boulder. Zeus left the battlefield after this moment, which probably means that we are not going to keep winning. Poseidon, visiting the Achaeans side, gives them a lot of confidence that they can resist us, and with Zeus gone it will happen. Hector got driven back by both little and great Ajax. Hector then throws his spear at Teucer. Teucer dives out of the way and it ends up hitting and killing Amphimachus, the grandson of Poseidon. This causes a huge fight to break out, and many Trojans were either injured or killed. Hector still had some fight left in him, but most of the other soldiers lost their strength. Some moved back to our side, while others were scattered around still fighting, but with not a lot of help. Hector came to find me and tried to gather other soldiers, only to find that they are injured or dead. We confront Ajax, who insults us, and then an eagle appears on Ajax's right, which is probably a good omen for them.

I heard that Agamemnon is thinking of giving up, which seems to be a reoccurring theme for him. Odysseus called him a coward and a disgrace of a leader, which probably killed the little spirit he had left in him, but then the Gods got involved and Poseidon gave him the strength he needed. More Gods have gotten involved where they shouldn't have, especially Hera. I heard from Apollo that she, accompanied by Aphrodite's love potion, and by Sleep, go to Mount Ida. Sleep disguises as a bird while Hera seduces Zeus. After they are through with coatis, Zeus falls asleep. This was the moment where we had no chance, we didn't have Zeus to help us now. The battle rolls on and our soldiers start dying by the dozens. When Zeus wakes up, Hera tries to place the blame on Poseidon, but Zeus doesn't care, he tells her that he is not taking the side of the Trojans. He tells her that he will still come to their aid, but that Troy has no hope in winning, and that Hector will eventually die! Apollo, filling my fellow soldiers and brother with much needed strength, charges against the Achaeans. They run when they see that Apollo has entered the battle. We end up beating down the gates again, and fight all the way to the ships near the Greek camp, until we are close enough to touch one of the Greek ships.

Analysis:
It is a reoccurring theme that the flights on Mount Olympus trigger what happens down on mortal ground. Although they are Gods, they have the same emotions as humans. Poseidon's rage, Hera's thirst for Trojan blood, Aphrodite's gullibility, and Zeus's sex drive. They are not always rational, which is why I think that they are pretty much like mortals, just with extra powers. They shouldn't take sides, although they do, and they help the mortals like a pawn in their game of chess on the clouds.

Until next time...
Paris

Blog 5

Hello!

 The Achaeans have been begging Achilles to get back in battle, but he keeps refusing. I heard one of the offers that Agamemnon offered was his own daughter. Which is like Agamemnon saying, "you can be my son-in-law, meaning you agree that you are lesser of me". I understand why he wouldn't take the offer, because I wouldn't either. Hector is curious whether or not the Greeks are going to give up and leave, so he finds Dolon to serve as his spy. Dolon was soon killed by Diomedes who turned out to be a spy for the Achaeans. The Achaeans start killing off more of our soldiers, moving us back to our city wall. Hector said that Iris told him not to fight back until Agamemnon gets wounded. When Agamemnon does get wounded Hector starts fighting off the Achaeans, moving them back. Diomedes launches his spear at Hector's helmet, and in turn I wound him with my arrow! At one point Odysseus was fighting off several of us, and finally got wounded by Socus. Before we could enforce more damage to Odysseus, he was carried away by Aias. Hector, even after almost getting killed, is still kicking butt! I decide I should go help him, since there is multiple of them and only one of him, so I go over there and wound Machaeon, the Achaeans healer. Apparently we are doing well because they are begging Achilles' friend, Patroclus, to persuade Achilles to rejoin the battle.

In book 9 Achilles got offered gifts in return for his presence in the battle. One gift, as I explained above, was his brother's daughter. The reason Agamemnon offered Achilles that, is so he would have more timé than Achilles, and when he dies, have people singing about his Kleos. At this point Achilles only wants to leave and go back and have a different destiny than what was chosen for him, so no form of gifts would make him stay, especially because he would never see the gifts until he died.


Until Next Time...
Paris

Blog 4

Hello Everyone!

I have been hiding in my room lately, with my heart full of sorrow and grief for all the soldiers we have lost in this battle because of my wrongdoing. My love, Helen, and my brother, Hector, talked me into fighting, insisting I was acting like a little baby. As we were returning to battle, the Gods decided to end the battle for the day. Hector decided to challenge an Achaean to a duel, and Ajax was the chosen one. The duel began to no ones conquest, but then Hector got wounded! Hector, with a ready sword and face full of ferocity, went straight at a ready Ajax. All of a sudden, the Gods decided to call of the duel. After all of that, my brother and Ajax became friends! Later on I was asked to give up Helen, I refused, but agreed to give back everything else I took from Sparta. The Greeks, not thinking that was a good enough compromise, refused our offer. The next day both sides decided that we would take the day to bury our lost soldiers. I heard that the "all mighty" Zeus decided to help us out, knowing full well that Hera would not appreciate it. My brother, in full battle mode, went looking for some Achaean to fight and found Nestor. Hector was eyeing him up ready to strike, when Nestor was saved by Diomedes. Hector achieved his moment when Teucer, an Achaean soldier who killed many of our people, was in his line of vision. Hector wounded him, and saved many Trojan's lives. At the end of the day, all of our soldiers camped outside our city walls. We lit many campfires, so that the Greeks, if they were to come close, would be seen by all of us.


Hector, having lit the last campfire, is ready to dominate the Greek army. That attitude seems to be spread throughout all of camp, leaving us hungry for blood and victory. Even though I am not the strongest or most heroic of my people, I still have hope that we can win this, and that maybe I will have something to show for it once the battle has finished. Hector wants to set fire to the ships, which could symbolize the death of the future for the Greeks. Most of the Greeks have come to fight, and if we scorch their transportation, they will get stuck here, and die in battle. With the confidence from Hector, and the help from the Gods, we feel like the battle is all but won.

Until next time...
Paris

Aphrodite to the Rescue!

Hello All!

 

A lot has happened since I made my last post!


I decided to step up and take part in the battle. The way I did this was challenging an Achaean, Menelaus, to a duel, and whoever resides victor keeps Helen as their wife. After I made this offer, I thought of Helen and how she would feel if either of us died in a war that she believes was started because she left the Greeks to come with me. I wasn't acting like a coward as a certain brother might have pegged me for, I was just looking out for what was best for my beautiful girl. After thinking that over though, I thought maybe since I started the war I shouldn't have backed out of a duel, so after talking it over with Helen, I agreed to duel Menelaus. Menelaus broke his sword over my helmet and grabbed me by my helmet and dragged me until my helmet "broke". All of a sudden I saw Menelaus standing over me with a spear, and the next thing I knew I woke up in bed with Helen and we engaged in coitus. I didn't just magically get to my bed on my own, I had a little help from Aphrodite, so if you see her around, thank her for me!

The Greeks are searching for me, Shh! don't tell them where I am.

I heard around the palace that the men and women "upstairs" are having their own little feuds, and they decided to intervene in the war below as well. Zeus, on one hand, is stating that the Greeks have won, and that the war should cease. Hera, his wife, wants nothing less than the destruction of Troy...I wonder what side she's on! Zeus  gives way to Hera, and makes Athena dress as a Trojan and shoot an arrow at the Greeks!  That's when the bloodshed began! Someone from the Greek side, Diomedes, definitely had his Wheaties for breakfast, he was killing off our soldiers by the second. My brother, Hector, with help from Ares started killing off the Greeks, but then Hera and Athena were granted permission to help on the Greek side. Just when we started to look good, we got destroyed. Where are the Gods when we need them? 


Analysis:

I heard Helen crying the other day, because she felt she was the cause of this horrific war. My father went on to tell her that it was the will of the God's to have this battle play out. I thought talking to my father would help solve her problems, but she did not seem assured. Even when she came into bed with me after Aphrodite willed me away, she was acting strange. I wonder if she thought her brothers were not fighting because they didn't approve of her leaving. I hope she knows that in reality, they fought to their death to get her to come back home. My father and myself love her dearly, I hope she soon realizes that she is not the reason for all the death and destruction of this war.


I'll keep you as updated as everything progresses.
Until next time...
-Paris

"Never before as now has passion enmeshed my senses, not when I took you the first time from Lakedaimon the lovely and caught you up and carried you away in seafaring vessels, and lay with you in the bed of love on the island Kranae, not even then, as now, did I love you and sweet desire seize me."- Paris Book 3 lines 442-446

Blog 2

 

Blog: Day 2

Hello Again!

I heard it through the grapevine that two women, Chryseis and Briseis,  were taken, by the Greeks, from our side. I wonder if it's to get back at me for "stealing" Helen... Anyways Helen and myself were walking around town when I heard Chryses, Chryesis's father, praying to Apollo for help in the return of his daughter. The answer to his prayer was death to many Greek soldiers due to Apollo's arrow of plague. The devastation worked, and Chryseis was rightfully returned to her father, who then asked Apollo to remove the plague.
Some time later when Helen and I were roaming around, we saw the Greeks run back to their ships, I thought "maybe they gave up trying", but apparently I was wrong. It was all a fake and now their army is stronger than ever because they are organized by city so they have support, emotional and physical, from their fellow comrades.

I was thinking of why Apollo got involved in our problem, and not get involved when I stole Helen. What could have happened if a plague came upon our group? I am a lover not a fighter, but for Helen I would fight for what is rightfully mine. Are the gods gunning for us to win, or are they just giving us false hope that some are on our side? This is what I came up with....The gods must be split, some on our side and some on the other. When I saw them run back to their ships, Aphrodite could have been behind that, being the goddess of love, but when they came back Athena must have convinced them to continue the fight until the end. I hope the God's don't intrude too much, that could lead to devastation to one side, hopefully not ours.

Until Next Time,
Paris

The Beginning

Blog: Day 1

Hello Everyone!
My name is Paris, or sometimes known as Alexander, but we will get to that later. The day I was born was supposed to be the last day of my life. Ironic, wouldn't you say? During my mother's  pregnancy, she had a dream that she gave birth to a flaming torch, which was interpreted as the impending downfall of Troy. To top that off, it was predicted that I would destroy our homeland. On the day of my birth, it was announced that I needed to be killed to spare the kingdom. My parents (Priam and Hecuba) were unable to kill me, so my father gave me to his chief herdsman to remove me from the kingdom and kill me. The herdsman took me to Mount Ida and left me for dead. He came back nine days later to find me still alive (I fed off a she-bear). He took me home in a backpack, which is what my name means, and he raised me as his son. He took a dogs tongue to my father as evidence of my "death". When I was still a child I drove off some cattle thieves and restored the stolen animals to the herd, and was given the name Alexander, which means protector of men. Around this time is when I met the lovely Oenone, who is skilled in the arts of prophesy and medicine.

Apparently, there was a marriage on Mount Olympus and everyone was invited, except Eris. During the party, for revenge, Eris threw the "Apple of Discord" engraved with the word "Kallisti"(for the fairest) into the party. This caused a fight over whom the apple was for. The goddesses thought to be the most beautiful were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite and each one claimed the apple. Because they couldn't come to a conclusion, they asked Zeus to choose one of them. Knowing that choosing any of them would bring unneeded issues, he did not want to take part in the decision. He apparently appointed me to select the most beautiful, because I am the most beautiful mortal. The three goddesses approached me as I herded some cattle. They were all equally beautiful, so I could not possibly decide, so they started bribing me. Hera offered me ownership of all of Europe and Asia; Athena offered me skill in battle, wisdom and the abilities of the greatest warriors; and Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth, Helen of Sparta. I chose Aphrodite's offer, because I feel as if beautiful people are meant to be together. Helen was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta (a fact Aphrodite neglected to mention), so I had to raid Menelaus and Helen's home. Helen came with me willingly, although some think I stole her against her will. This triggered the war because Helen was famous for her beauty throughout Greece. So I guess I am the one responsible for the war....

Until next time...
-Paris

 More views on the judgment of Paris: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3556480?seq=3