In this terrible calamity the king asked an oracle in what way the anger
of the two gods might be appeased. The answer of the oracle was that a
Trojan maiden must each year be given to the monster to be devoured.
Every year, therefore, a young girl, chosen by lot, was taken down to
the seashore and chained to a rock to become the prey of the serpent.
And every year the monster came and swallowed up a Trojan maiden, and
then went away and troubled the city no more until the following year,
when he returned for another victim. At last the lot fell on He-siʹo-ne,
the daughter of the king. Deep was Laomedon's grief at the thought of
the awful fate to which his child was thus doomed.
But help came at an unexpected moment. While, amid the lamentations of
her family and friends, preparations were being made to chain Hesione to
the rock, the great hero, Herʹcu-les, happened to visit Troy. He was on
his way home to Greece, after performing in a distant eastern country
one of those great exploits which made him famous in ancient story. The
hero undertook to destroy the serpent, and thus save the princess, on
condition that he should receive as a reward certain wonderful horses
which Laomedon just then had in his possession. These horses were given
to Laomedon's grandfather, Tros, on a very interesting occasion. Tros
had a son named Ganʹy-mede, a youth of wonderful beauty, and Jupiter
admired Ganymede so much that he had him carried up to heaven to be
cupbearer to the gods--to serve the divine nectar at the banquets on
Mount Olympus.
Godlike Ganymede, most beautiful
Of men; the gods beheld and caught him up
To heaven, so beautiful was he, to pour
The wine to Jove, and ever dwell with them.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.
To compensate Tros for the loss of his son, Jupiter gave him four
magnificent horses of immortal breed and marvelous fleetness. These were
the horses which Hercules asked as his reward for destroying the
serpent. As there was no other way of saving the life of his daughter,
Laomedon consented. Hercules then went down to the seashore, bearing in
his hand the huge club which he usually carried, and wearing his
lion-skin over his shoulders. This was the skin of a fierce lion he had
strangled to death in a forest in Greece, and he always wore it when
going to perform any of his heroic feats.
When Hesione had been bound to the rock, the hero stood beside her and
awaited the coming of the serpent. In a short time its hideous form
emerged from beneath the waves, and darting forward it was about to
seize the princess, when Hercules rushed upon it, and with mighty
strokes of his club beat the monster to death. Thus was the king's
daughter saved and all Troy delivered from a terrible scourge. But when
the hero claimed the reward that had been agreed upon, and which he had
so well earned, Laomedon again proved himself to be a man who was
neither honest nor grateful. Disregarding his promise, and forgetful,
too, of what he and his people had already suffered as a result of his
breach of faith with the two gods, he refused to give Hercules the
horses.
The hero at once went away from Troy, but not without resolving to
return at a convenient time and punish Laomedon. This he did, not long
afterwards, when he had completed the celebrated "twelve labors" at
which he had been set by a Grecian king, whom Jupiter commanded him to
serve for a period of years because of an offense he had committed. One
of these labors was the killing of the lion. Another was the destroying
of the Lerʹnæ-an hydra, a frightful serpent with many heads, which for a
long time had been devouring man and beast in the district of Lerʹna in
Greece.
Having accomplished his twelve great labors and ended his term of
service, Hercules collected an army and a fleet, and sailed to the
shores of Troas. He then marched against the city, took it by surprise,
and slew Laomedon and all his sons, with the exception of Po-darʹces,
afterwards called Priam. This prince had tried to persuade his father to
fulfill the engagement with Hercules, for which reason his life was
spared. He was made a slave, however, as was done in ancient times with
prisoners taken in war. But Hesione ransomed her brother, giving her
gold-embroidered veil as the price of his freedom. From this time he was
called Priam, a word which in the Greek language means "purchased."
Hesione also prevailed upon Hercules to restore Priam to his right as
heir to his father's throne, and so he became king of Troy. Hesione
herself was carried off to Greece, where she was given in marriage to
Telʹa-mon, king of Salʹa-mis, a friend of Hercules.
Priam reigned over his kingdom of Troas many years in peace and
prosperity. His wife and queen, the virtuous Hecʹu-ba, was a daughter of
a Thracian king. They had nineteen children, many of whom became famous
during the great siege. Their eldest son, Hecʹtor, was the bravest of
the Trojan heroes. Their son Parʹis it was, as we shall see, who brought
upon his country the disastrous war. Another son, Helʹe-nus, and his
sister Cas-sanʹdra, were celebrated soothsayers.
Cassandra was a maiden of remarkable beauty. The god Apollo loved her so
much that he offered to grant her any request if she would accept him as
her husband. Cassandra consented and asked for the power of foretelling
events, but when she received it, she slighted the god and refused to
perform her promise. Apollo was enraged at her conduct, yet he could not
take back the gift he had bestowed. He decreed, however, that no one
should believe or pay any attention to her predictions, true though they
should be. And so when Cassandra foretold the evils that were to come
upon Troy, even her own people would not credit her words. They spoke of
her as the "mad prophetess."
Cassandra cried, and cursed the unhappy hour;
Foretold our fate; but by the god's decree,
All heard, and none believed the prophecy.