Mythology of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Karen Bornemann Spies Read Free Book Online Page B

sacrificed, I escaped,” Sinon answered. “I hid in a swamp, watching until all the ships had sailed away.”
    “What, then, is the purpose of this massive horse?” asked another warrior.
    “The Greeks believed that Athena turned against them,” Sinon said. “They created the horse as a sacrifice to win her favor.”
    “But why is it so large?” asked another Trojan.
    “The wily Greeks do not wish you to take it within your walls,” Sinon explained. “If you do, the city will never be captured. But if it is left outside, the Greeks will one day return and totally destroy Troy.”
    Crafty Odysseus had truly created a good tale, for few of the Trojans doubted Sinon’s story. Still, the prophetess Cassandra, Priam’s daughter, warned against bringing the horse within the walls. “Beware, Trojans, for this mighty horse will bring disaster to our city. Your wives will become slaves to the Greeks. Your children will perish. Your riches will be taken by the Greeks, who will show you no mercy at all.”
    Unfortunately, no one ever believed Cassandra. She had once agreed to make love with Apollo, but then changed her mind. Apollo punished her by making it so that Cassandra’s predictions would never be believed.
    Laocoön, a Trojan priest, threw his spear against the horse’s flanks. Laocoön insisted, “Do not bring the horse inside the city walls. Danger lurks inside its belly. The horse should be destroyed.” Soon after Laocoön said this, two huge serpents came up from the sea and strangled the priest and his two young sons, who screamed in terror.
    “Surely this is a sign sent by the gods,” said the Trojans, who watched in horror. “Anyone who opposes bringing the horse inside the city walls will be punished.”
    With ropes made of flax, the Trojans dragged the horse through the city gates to the temple of Athena and offered it to the goddess with thanks. That night, the Trojans celebrated what they thought was their victory over the Greeks. Young women danced to the music of flutes. But in reality, they had brought death into their city.
    The hiding place of the Greeks might even then have been uncovered. Helen walked around the horse, calling various Greek warriors by name. She imitated the voice of each man’s wife. But Odysseus kept any of the Greeks from answering.
    Meanwhile, that night as the Trojans slept, Sinon signaled to the fleet of Greek ships, which sailed silently back to Troy. He also opened the horse to release the warriors hidden inside. Soon the reunited Greek forces had set the city of Troy ablaze.
    The Trojans awoke in confusion to blood-curdling war cries. Chariots thundered down the dusty streets. When the Trojans rushed out into the streets, they were struck down by waiting bands of Greek warriors, clad in fearsome armor and spiked helmets. The Achaeans slashed at the Trojans with sharp spears. They slaughtered their women and children or took them prisoner. Rivers of blood flowed in the streets.
    Even Priam, the king, was not safe. After Greek warriors broke down the doors of the palace, Neoptolemus stabbed Priam at the altar of Zeus, just as Neoptolemus’ father, Achilles, had killed Hector, Priam’s son.
    Menelaus found Helen in the home of her new husband, Deiphobus, a son of Priam whom Helen had married soon after the death of Paris. Menelaus slaughtered Deiphobus and was about to kill Helen when she pleaded with him to save her life. When the Greek fleet sailed, Menelaus took Helen with him, and they lived together happily for many years.
    But the lives of the other Trojan women were fated to be unhappy. The Greeks grouped them together outside the ruins of the city. Each warrior received at least one of the women as a slave. Hector’s wife, Andromache, became the slave of Neoptolemus. Astyanax, the son of Hector, was torn from his mother’s arms and thrown from the city walls. Hector’s mother, Hecuba, became a slave to Odysseus. Polyxena, Priam’s youngest daughter, was