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.
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).
