Week 2 Storytelling: A Trojan Victory

The story is set in the middle of the Trojan War. The Trojans have held off the Greeks for long enough but the walls were starting to get weak. Achilles and Patroclus had already taken their troops and had headed back home on the roaring sea. Agamemnon and the Greeks now faced a choice on what to do about the Fair Helen. No one knew what was about to happen, except Agamemnon…

The sword dripped with blood as Menelaus fell to the ground. Agamemnon stood over his motionless body with an evil grin on his face. He wanted the beautiful Fair Helen all to himself. Her beauty was not like anything he has ever scene and Agamemnon’s desire for her grew. Agamemnon put the sword back into his sheath and yelled at his shocked army, “I am your king and you do as I say. Tomorrow, we march on Troy one last time. I am the most powerful man in the world and I want what I deserve!”  

The news of what happened spread like wildfire to the gates of Troy. The news of Menelaus’ death broke in the hall where Hector, Paris, and the Fair Helen were feasting. All three of them sat in silence and in utter shock for the betrayal of the leading Greek king.

Paris broke the silence, “I do not care what Agamemnon desires. Helen is the love of my life and I will not go down easily”.

Hector stared in the distance. He took a large sip of his sweet red wine and spoke. “Quiet my brother. This could bring a great opportunity for the City of Troy.”  

“How so! He is marching on Troy with everything they have. We surely cannot stop their forces from breaking into the wall. We are all doomed!”  Paris replied with his shaky voice. For he is was scared of what Agamemnon would do to him.

Without another word to his brother, Hector pushed out and his chair and walked directly to a private room. He closed his eyes and prayed to Zeus directly. “Oh almighty Zeus, if it is your divine choice to let the Trojans win this war against this greedy mortal, let it be.”

His words rang all the way up to Mount Olympus. Zeus, sitting on his throne, heard Hector’s prayers and contemplated whether he should allow for the Trojans to win or not. He knew it would disturb the other God’s to interfere with mortal fights, but he could not sit back and let a man like Agamemnon defeat the Trojans. He thought of what he could do, and finally thought of a brilliant plan that involve Hermes. It was a plan that involved using Agamemnon’s infallible behavior.  

Zeus and Hermes

The sun rose early that morning, and the Greek army was already marching onto the City of Troy. The battle was fierce with Agamemnon sitting in his chariot. All of a sudden Agamemnon yelled to his men. “Stop! There she is. My Fair Helen is riding away from the City of Troy!” As he and his men pursued, Helen and her horse sped around the side wall of Troy. The army was gaining on her when the mirage of Helen quickly disappeared, for it was Hermes portraying himself as the Fair Helen. Zeus and Hermes had tricked Agamemnon into believing he almost had captured what he desired. As the image of the Fair Helen disappeared, Agamemnon’s face dropped with fear. A thousand Trojan archers, led by the mighty Hector, were aiming right at him. As he yelled in fear, all of the archers released the strings on their bows, unleashing the arrows directly at Agamemnon and his men.

The next month in the City of Troy was filled with wine, food, and celebration for their victory over the greedy king.

Author’s Note: This story was written because this week I read Homer’s Illiad. I felt that I did not really like how the story ended since the Trojans lost the war. Therefore, I wanted to change the ending where the Trojans were victorious. I wanted to respect the original story in that if Achilles fought, he would have defeated Hector. Therefore, I had Achilles leave the battle and return home since he had thought about it throughout the Illiad. This allowed for me to let Hector and the Trojans win without defeating Achilles. In the original Illiad, Zeus is faced with the decision to help Hector and the Trojan’s defeat the Greeks. Furthermore, I utilized the way Athene tricked Hector into fighting by making Zeus use Hermes in order to trick the greedy King Agamemnon. The Illiad really focused on the interaction between the Gods and mortals and just how interactive the Gods were in dealing with mortal fights. I felt Zeus should have helped Hector more, therefore, I included that in my story. I also wanted to make Agamemnon have a personal reason for wanting to fight the war. I felt that the person who desired the Fair Helen should be at the center of the story. That is why I chose to have Agamemnon fall in love with Helen and want to win the war to win her over. The final character I wanted to include was Paris. I felt that he was cowardly throughout the Illiad. I chose to keep his characteristics by making his dialogue display how afraid he was of Agamemnon and of fighting. 

Bibliography: Homer's Illiad. Translated by Alfred J. Church (1907).