The Greek chiefs, nothing daunted by the words of Calchas, now set sail
with their immense fleet. Though the war was to be a long one, they were
encouraged by the prophecy that they were to be the conquerors.
Their first experience was not very fortunate. They safely crossed the
Ægean Sea, but instead of steering for Troy, the pilots, through either
ignorance or mistake, brought the vessels to the shore on the coast of
Teu-thra'ni-a, a district in the kingdom of Mys'i-a, lying southeast of
Troas. Here the Greeks landed, but they were at once attacked by
Tel'e-phus, the king of that country, who came down upon them with a
strong force, and drove them back to their ships after a battle in which
many of them were killed. They would probably have fared much worse had
it not been for the friendly aid of Bacʹchus, the god of wine. While
Telephus was fighting at the head of his men he tripped and fell over a
vine, which the god had caused to spring up suddenly from the earth at
his feet. As he lay flat on the ground Achilles rushed forward and
severely wounded him with a thrust of his spear.
The Greeks, however, were obliged to take to the sea, and soon afterward
a great storm arose, which destroyed many of their vessels. Owing to
this misfortune they had to return to Aulis, where they set about
repairing their damaged ships and getting ready to start again. While
the Greeks were thus engaged, they were surprised by the appearance of
King Telephus, who came to their camp to beg Achilles to cure his wound,
an oracle he had consulted having told him that he could be cured only
by the person who had wounded him.
Achilles was at first unwilling to comply with the request of Telephus,
but Ulysses advised him to do so. Telephus was one of the sons of
Hercules, and it had been decreed that without the help of a son of that
hero Troy could not be taken. Moreover, he was a son-in-law of Priam,
and his country lay close to where the war was to be carried on. For
these reasons Ulysses wished to make him friendly to the Greeks, and so
he persuaded Achilles to cure the Teuthranian king. Achilles did this by
dropping into the wound portions of the rust from the point of his
spear. Telephus was so grateful that he joined the expedition against
Troy, and undertook to pilot the Grecian fleet to the Trojan coast.
But another difficulty now stood in the way of the Greeks. Their fleet
was once more ready for departure, but the winds were unfavorable. In
ancient times they could not make a sea voyage when the winds were
against them. Their ships were very small, and were moved only by oars
and sails. Homer gives us a good idea of the ancient system of
navigation, where he tells, in the Odyssey, about young Telemachus
setting out on a voyage in search of his father, Ulysses:
Telemachus went up
The vessel's side, but Pallas first embarked,
And at the stern sat down, while next to her
Telemachus was seated. Then the crew
Cast loose the fastenings and went all on board,
And took their places on the rowers' seats,
While blue-eyed Pallas sent a favoring breeze,
A fresh wind from the west, that murmuring swept
The dark-blue main. Telemachus gave forth
The word to wield the tackle; they obeyed,
And raised the fir-tree mast, and, fitting it
Into its socket, bound it fast with cords,
And drew and spread with firmly twisted ropes
The shining sails on high. The steady wind
Swelled out the canvas in the midst; the ship
Moved on, the dark sea roaring round her keel,
As swiftly through the waves she cleft her way.
BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book II.
For many days the Greek chiefs at Aulis waited for favoring breezes, but
none came.
"The troops
Collected and embodied, here we sit
Inactive, and from Aulis wish to sail
In vain."
EURIPIDES (Potter's tr.).
At last the soothsayer Calchas told them that the easterly winds which
prevented them from sailing were caused by the anger of Di-anʹa. Diana
was the goddess of hunting, and there was one of her sacred groves in
the neighborhood of Aulis. In this grove King Agamemnon went hunting
during the time the ships were being repaired after the storm, and he
killed one of Diana's favorite deer. He even boasted that he was a
greater hunter than Diana herself. This enraged the goddess, and Calchas
said that her anger could be appeased only by the offering up of
Agamemnon's daughter, Iph-i-ge-niʹa, as a sacrifice.
[Illustration: DIANA HUNTING.
_Painting by Makart._ (_Fragment_.)]
The feelings of the father may be easily imagined. He heard the
announcement of the soothsayer with the utmost horror, and he declared
that he would withdraw from the expedition rather than permit his child
to be put to death. But Ulysses and the other princes begged him to
remember that the honor of their country was at stake. They said that if
he should withdraw, the great cause for which they had labored for ten
years would be lost, and the Trojan insult to his own family and to all
Greece would remain unpunished.
At last Agamemnon consented, and messengers were sent to Mycenæ to bring
Iphigenia to Aulis. The king was even persuaded to deceive his wife,
Clyt-em-nesʹtra. Knowing that she would not allow her daughter to be
taken away for such a purpose, he wrote a letter to the queen, saying
that Iphigenia had been chosen to be the wife of Achilles, and that he
wished the marriage ceremony to be performed before the departure of the
young prince for Troy.
"I wrote, I seal'd
A letter to my wife, that she should send
Her daughter to Achilles as a bride
Affianc'd."
EURIPIDES (Potter's tr.).
Clytemnestra agreed to the proposal, happy at the thought of her
daughter being married to so great a prince as Achilles. Iphigenia
accordingly accompanied the messengers to the Greek camp at Aulis. When
she learned of the terrible fate to which she had been doomed, she threw
herself at her father's feet and piteously implored his protection. But
her tears and entreaties were in vain. The agonized father had now no
power to save her, for the whole army demanded that the will of the
goddess should be obeyed. Preparations for the awful sacrifice were
therefore made, and when everything was ready, the beautiful young
princess was led to the altar. Tennyson, in his "Dream of Fair Women,"
has these lines about Iphigenia at Aulis:
"I was cut off from hope in that sad place,
Which men called Aulis in those iron years:
My father held his hand upon his face;
I, blinded with my tears,
Still strove to speak: my voice was thick with sighs
As in a dream. Dimly I could descry
The stern, black-bearded kings with wolfish eyes,
Waiting to see me die."
But Iphigenia was not sacrificed after all. Her innocence excited the
pity even of Diana, and at the last moment the goddess snatched the
weeping maiden away in a cloud, and left in her place a beautiful deer
to be offered up as a sacrifice. She carried the princess off to
Tauʹri-ca, a country bordering the Black Sea, and there Iphigenia
remained for many years, serving as a priestess in Diana's temple.
The anger of Diana being appeased, favorable winds now began to blow,
and the Greeks again set sail. This time they had a more fortunate
voyage. Piloted by Telephus, the fleet crossed the Ægean Sea, and safely
reached the coast of Troas. But here Calchas made another discouraging
prophecy. He declared that the first Greek who stepped on Trojan soil
would be killed in the first fight with the enemy. This the oracle at
Delphi had also foretold. There was some hesitation, therefore, about
landing, for the army of King Priam was ranged along the beach prepared
for battle with the invaders.
This was the occasion of an heroic act by Pro-tes-i-laʹus, king of
Phylʹa-ce in Thessaly, who boldly leaped ashore as soon as the vessels
touched the land. The prediction of Calchas was soon fulfilled.
Protesilaus was struck dead in the first fight by a spear launched by
the hands of the Trojan leader, Hector. The bravery of the Thessalian
king, and the grief of his queen, La-od-a-miʹa, when she heard of his
death, have been much celebrated in song and story.
Protesilaus the brave,
Who now lay silent in the gloomy grave:
The first who boldly touch'd the Trojan shore,
And dyed a Phrygian lance with Grecian gore;
There lies, far distant from his native plain;
And his sad consort beats her breast in vain.
POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.
Laodamia in her sorrow prayed to the gods that she might see her husband
again on earth. Jupiter heard her prayer, and he ordered Mercury to
conduct Protesilaus from Hades, the land of the dead, to Thessaly, to
remain with Laodamia for the space of three hours.
Laodamia was happy for the brief time allowed her to enjoy again the
companionship of her beloved Protesilaus, and she listened with pride to
the story of his brave deed on the Trojan shore.
"Thou know'st, the Delphic oracle foretold
That the first Greek who touched the Trojan strand
Should die; but me the threat could not withhold:
A generous cause a victim did demand;
And forth I leapt upon the sanely plain;
A self-devoted chief--by Hector slain."
WORDSWORTH, _Laodamia_.
But the happy moments flew swiftly by, and when the three hours had
passed, Mercury returned to take the hero back to the world of shades.
The parting was too much for the fond Laodamia. She died of grief as her
husband disappeared from her sight.
Protesilaus was buried on the Trojan shore, and around his grave, it is
said, there grew very wonderful trees. These trees withered away as
soon as their tops reached high enough to be seen from the city of Troy.
Then fresh trees sprang up from their roots, and withered in like manner
when they reached the same height, and so this marvelous growth and
decay continued for ages.
Upon the side
Of Hellespont (such faith was entertained)
A knot of spiry trees for ages grew
From out the tomb of him for whom she died;
And ever, when such stature they had gained
That Ilium's walls were subject to their view,
The trees' tall summits withered at the sight;
A constant interchange of growth and blight!
WORDSWORTH, _Laodamia_.
The heroic act of Protesilaus was the beginning of the great war. Before
he fell himself he slew many of the enemy, and hosts of his countrymen,
encouraged by his example, poured from their ships and encountered the
Trojans in fierce conflict. In this first battle the Greeks were
victorious. Though Hector and his brave troops fought valiantly they
were driven back from the shore, and compelled to take refuge within the
strong walls of the city.
The Trojans were well prepared for the war. King Priam had not been idle
while the Greek leaders were mustering their forces. From all parts of
his kingdom he had gathered immense supplies of provisions, and the
princes and chiefs of Troas came with large armies to defend their king
and country. The most celebrated of these chiefs was the hero Æ-neʹas,
son of An-chiʹses and the goddess Venus. He commanded the Dardanian
forces, and had as his lieutenants the two brave warriors, Acʹa-mas and
Ar-chilʹo-chus.
Divine Æneas brings the Dardan race.
Archilochus and Acamas divide
The warrior's toils, and combat by his side.
POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.
The Trojans had numerous and powerful allies. Troops were sent to them
from the neighboring countries of Phrygia, Mysia, Lycʹi-a and Caʹri-a.
The Lycian forces were led by Sar-peʹdon, a son of Jupiter, and a
renowned warrior.
A chief, who led to Troy's beleaguer'd wall
A host of heroes, and outshined them all.
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
But the greatest of the heroes who defended Troy, and, with the
exception of Achilles, the greatest and bravest of all who took part in
the Trojan War, was the famous Hector.
The boast of nations, the defense of Troy!
To whom her safety and her fame she owed;
Her chief, her hero, and almost her god!
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.
So long as Hector lived Troy was safe. When he died, his great rival,
Achilles, by whose hand he was slain, rejoiced with the Greeks as if
Troy had already fallen.
"Ye sons of Greece, in triumph bring
The corpse of Hector, and your pæans sing.
Be this the song, slow-moving toward the shore,
'Hector is dead, and Ilion is no more.'"
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.
But though led by the great Hector, the Trojans, after their first
defeat, were unable to keep up the fight in the open field against the
vast numbers of the Greeks. Seeing, therefore, that they must depend for
safety on the strong walls which Neptune had built, they drew all their
forces into the city, leaving the enemy in possession of the surrounding
country.
Then the famous siege of ten years began. The Greeks hauled their ships
out of the water, and fixed them on the beach in an upright position
supported by props. Close to the vessels, on the land side, they erected
their tents, which extended in a long line, one wing, or end, of which
was guarded by Achilles, and the other by Ajax Telamon. Between this
encampment and the walls of Troy--a distance of three or four
miles--many a fierce conflict took place, and many a brave warrior fell
during the great contest. For the Trojans, headed by Hector or some
other of their chiefs, often came out from the city through the
principal gate, called the Scæʹan Gate, which faced the Grecian camp,
and fought the enemy in the open plain, on the bank of the celebrated
river Simois.
And from the walls of strong-besieged Troy,
When their brave hope, bold Hector, march'd to field,
Stood many Trojan mothers, sharing joy
To see their youthful son's bright weapons wield;
And to their hope they such odd action yield,
That through their light joy seemed to appear,
Like bright things stain'd, a kind of heavy fear.
And from the strond of Dardan, where they fought,
To Simois' reedy banks the red blood ran,
Whose waves to imitate the battle sought
With swelling ridges; and their ranks began
To break upon the galled shore, and then
Retire again, till, meeting greater ranks,
They join and shoot their foam at Simois' banks.
SHAKESPEARE, _Lucrece_.