Trip to Troy summary. The Trojan War in the description of Homer - "Iliad"

As the epic poems say, Troy fell and the Greeks were victorious after a ten-year war when they sneaked into the city by cunning.

The Greeks besieged Troy for ten years. Trade stopped, the inhabitants died of hunger, and the best Trojan warriors fell in fierce battles outside the city walls. Among the fallen was Hector, the eldest son and heir of King Priam of Troy.

But finally, unexpectedly, the Greeks lifted the siege. They built a wooden horse and left it at the gates of Troy. Then they burned their camp, boarded their ships and sailed west, as it seemed home, to the shores of Greece. In fact, they hid behind the island of Tenedos. The wooden Trojan horse is described in two epic poems of antiquity - in the Odyssey by the Greek poet Homer, created 500 years after the Trojan War, and in the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil, written 8 centuries after Homer's poem. When it became clear to the Trojans that the Greeks would not return, they opened the gates and, in amazement and bewilderment, crowded around a huge wooden horse, not inferior in size to the ship, trying to decide what to do with it next.

It was believed that this was a gift from the Greeks to the god of the seas, Poseidon, and most of the inhabitants of Troy were inclined to believe that the horse should be brought into the city. The priest of the god Apollo, Laocoön, and his other more cautious adherents, not trusting any gifts of the Greeks, preferred to burn the horse or throw it off the cliff. And in order to give more weight to his words, Laocoön threw his spear at the horse. The empty inside of the horse echoed with a dull rumble, foreshadowing the death of the great Troy.

Meanwhile, an alleged deserter from the Greek army was caught and he was brought bound to King Priam. He said that his name was Sinon and said that Odysseus wanted to continue the siege after it seemed already hopeless. That the Greeks tried to sail away, but bad weather prevented them. And how the oracle of Apollo ordered the Greeks to offer a sacrifice, and that the sacrifice should be none other than he, Sinon. He managed to escape and now he surrenders to the mercy of the king. According to Sinon, the Greeks built a horse in honor of Pallas Athena, the patroness of Troy, in order to atone for the blood they shed. King Priam ordered the release of Sinon.

A terrible and terrible omen dispelled the last doubts of the Trojans and made them believe in the story of Sinon. When Laocoon sacrificed a bull to the god Poseidon, two huge snakes swam out of the sea, entangled the priest and his sons in rings and strangled them. The Trojans saw this as a punishment for the fact that Laocoon hit the horse with a spear. They decided to bring the horse into the city and placed it near the statue of Pallas Athena. The prophetess Cassandra tried to prevent this, but no one listened to her. Everyone thought she was insane. The horse was so large that the Trojans had to dismantle part of the city wall.

That same night, the Greek fleet returned to the shores of Troy. When, after a stormy celebration, the Trojans fell asleep, Sinon disassembled the side part of the wooden horse. The warriors hiding inside the horse got out, killed the guards at the city gates and threw them open in front of the entire Greek army waiting outside. Breaking into the city, the Greeks staged a bloodbath for the Trojans, setting fire to one house after another and destroying everyone in a row.

Trojan warriors led by Aeneas (the mythical forefather of the Romans) tried to resist the Greeks. They desperately tried to protect the palace of King Priam. The palace was surrounded on all sides and doomed. But its defenders managed to shake and topple the turret hanging over the gate. There were screams and groans from below. Dozens of Greeks were left lying under the ruins.

Finally, Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, ran up to the gates of the palace with a log in his hand. He managed to break the gate and the Greeks broke into the palace. The palace was filled with the cries of the slain. And there was no mercy for anyone.

Queen Hecuba and her daughters crowded around the altar, in the courtyard. Neoptolemus rushed to Andromache, the widow of Hector, who was clutching the baby to her chest, snatched it up and shouted “Hector baby!” thrown down from a high wall. The elder Priam, who clung to the altar of Zeus, Neoptolem, grabbing his hair, pierced through.

Beginning to light up. Greeks came out of the palace, some with leather bags or precious utensils, some dragging a half-dressed woman or child by the hand. The groans and cries of captives and children filled the scorched city. They were drowned out by the cries of the warriors, who were trying to win back a stronger, younger, prettier slave.

Of the Trojan warriors, only Aeneas survived. All he had to do was run. Aeneas with an elderly father and son went to the mountains. There they were joined by other surviving Trojans. Having chosen Aeneas as a leader, they went to overseas lands in search of a new life.

Where was Troy?

For many centuries, the legends about the Greek heroes Achilles and Ajax, about the Trojan king Priam and Helen the Beautiful from Sparta, whose flight with her beloved Paris kindled the fire of war, were considered mere legends, embellished by Homer and Virgil, and almost no one believed.

But there have always been people who admitted that Homeric Troy is a very real city that once existed. The first serious attempts to discover ancient Troy were made in the 19th century. In 1871, the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began excavations of the Hissarlik hill on the plain mentioned in the Iliad, located in the western part of Asia Minor near the Dardanelles. Schliemann penetrated 15 meters deep into the hill, breaking through seven cultural layers belonging to different eras and leading back to the Bronze Age. On May 13, 1873, he discovered treasures that clearly belonged to a highly developed civilization that perished in the fires.

The fact that Homeric Troy was located on the site of the Hissarlik hill is now widely recognized. Schliemann called the treasures he found after the name of the Trojan king "the treasure of Priam." However, the city of Schliemann, as archaeologists later found out, was a small Bronze Age citadel, and the age of the treasures found by Schliemann is about a thousand years older than the events described by Homer.

To date, archaeologists have discovered on the territory associated with ancient Troy, traces of nine fortresses-settlements that existed in different eras. The seventh layer belongs to the Homeric era, which represents Troy in the form of a vast (over 200 thousand m²) settlement, surrounded by strong walls with nine-meter towers. This city was destroyed by fire around 1250 BC. e., which roughly corresponds to the time of the Trojan War.

Cause of the Trojan War

According to Greek legend, all the Olympic gods were invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles, the main and bravest hero of the Iliad), except for the goddess of discord, Eris. She, holding a grudge, appeared uninvited and threw a golden apple with the inscription: “To the most beautiful” among the feasting. Three goddesses entered into a dispute - Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The argument escalated more and more. Irritated, the goddesses turned to those gathered with a request to judge them, but the guests, as one, refused to do so. Everyone was well aware that the apple would go to one, and the other two would bring down their anger and revenge on the one who dared to bypass them. They turned to Zeus, but he did not want to be a judge. He considered Aphrodite the most beautiful, but Hera was his wife, and Athena was his daughter. Zeus gave judgment to Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy.

Paris was tending herds in the mountains and did not even suspect that he was the son of a king. As a baby, Paris was taken to the mountains and thrown there to the mercy of fate, because shortly before his birth, Priam's wife Hecuba had a terrible dream, foreshadowing that the child she had born would be the culprit for the death of Troy. But the boy was found and raised by a simple shepherd.

The goddesses appeared naked to Paris on Mount Ida. Hera promised him dominion over Asia, Athena - victories and military glory, Aphrodite - love and possession of the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris did not hesitate for a long time, he handed the golden apple to the goddess of love - Aphrodite.

Having listened to the words of Aphrodite, Paris went to distant Sparta, to the court of King Minelaus, whose wife, Helen, was the most beautiful woman in the world. Minelaus warmly received Paris, but was soon forced to go to Crete for his grandfather's funeral. Paris, instigated by Aphrodite (Venus among the Romans), persuaded Helen to flee with him to Troy. They fled at night, secretly, taking the royal treasures.

Returning, Minelaus discovered the absence of his wife and vowed to return Elena and take revenge on the offender. The brother of Minelaus, the king of Mycenae Agamemnon, recalled the oath that all the former suitors of the beautiful Elena took - to come to the aid of Menelaus at his first call. All the Greek kings came to the call. The army consisted of 100,000 soldiers and 1186 ships. Agamemnon was chosen as leader. The Greeks unsuccessfully besieged Troy for ten years, after which they captured the city with the help of cunning.

Modern historians believe that this war may have been one of the episodes in a whole chain of fierce trade wars between the Mycenaean Greeks and the Trojans, who controlled the trade in wool, grain and other goods delivered from the Black Sea region through the Dardanelles.

According to the ancient Greek epic, at the wedding of the hero Peleus and the Nereid Thetis, whose unborn son Themis predicted that he would surpass his father, all the Olympic gods appeared, except for the goddess of discord Eris; not having received an invitation, the latter threw among the feasting golden apple of the Hesperides with the inscription: “To the most beautiful”, this title was followed by a dispute between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They asked Zeus to judge them. But he did not want to give preference to any of them, because he considered Aphrodite the most beautiful, but Hera was his wife, and Athena was his daughter. Then he gave judgment to Paris.

Paris gave preference to the goddess of love, because she promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, the wife of King Menelaus Helen. Paris sailed to Sparta in a ship built by Ferekles. Menelaus warmly received the guest, but was forced to sail to Crete to bury his grandfather Katreya. Aphrodite made Helen fall in love with Paris, and she sailed with him, taking with her the treasures of Menelaus and the slaves Ephra and Clymene. On the way they visited Sidon.

The abduction of Helen was the closest reason for declaring war on the people of Paris. Deciding to take revenge on the offender, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon travel around the Greek kings and persuade them to participate in the campaign against the Trojans.

As a result, when it started Trojan War, the Trojans were supported by Aphrodite, their opponents, who arrived to return Elena to her lawful husband - Hera and Athena. And in general, all the gods were divided into 2 camps. So the troubles because of Pandora still happened ...

Task 1. Part 2. Phraseologisms

1. Augean stables- a reference to the sixth feat of Hercules. Cleaning the barnyard of Avgia in one day became one of the exploits of Hercules - Hercules broke the wall that surrounded the barnyard from two opposite sides, and diverted the water of two rivers, Alpheus and Peneus, into it. The expression "Augean stables" has become winged and means "strong disorder, neglect in business."

2. Reach the Pillars of Hercules Greek myths, later borrowed by the Romans, tell of 12 exploits of Hercules, one of which was the abduction of cows by the giant Gerion. During his journey to the west, Hercules marked the farthest point of his route. This point served as a border for navigators in the ancient era, therefore, in a figurative sense, the “Pillars of Hercules” is the end of the world, the limit of the world, and the expression “to reach the Pillars of Hercules” means “to reach the limit”.

3. Homeric laughter- uncontrollable, loud laughter. Often used to mean laughing at something extremely awkward or stupid. It arose from the description of the laughter of the gods in Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey". The epithet "Homeric" is also used in the meaning: plentiful, huge.

4. Greek gift- a symbol of deceit, deceit, cunning, hypocrisy and flattery. A reference to a Trojan horse.

5. Two-faced Janus- a symbol of duplicity, hypocrisy and lies. Janus - in Roman mythology - the two-faced god of doors, entrances, exits, various passages, as well as the beginning and end, as well as the god of time. A two-faced Janus was always depicted with two faces - usually young and old, looking in opposite directions.

6. Wheel of Fortune- chance, blind happiness. Fortune - in Roman mythology, the goddess of blind chance, happiness and misfortune. She was depicted blindfolded, standing on a ball or wheel, holding a steering wheel in one hand and a cornucopia in the other. The steering wheel indicated that Fortune controls the fate of a person, the cornucopia - well-being, the abundance that it can give, and the ball or wheel emphasized its constant variability.

7. Sink into oblivion- disappear from memory, forget. Leta is the name of the mythical river of oblivion among the ancient Greeks.

8. Hippocratic Oath - a medical oath expressing the fundamental moral and ethical principles of a doctor's behavior. According to legend, the oath goes back to the direct descendants of Asclepius, it passed orally as a family tradition from generation to generation.

9. Thread of Ariadne- a guiding thread, a means to get out of difficulty. This well-known phraseological unit came to us from the ancient Greek myth about the Athenian hero Theseus. Ariadne, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos, helped Theseus, who arrived from Athens, fight the terrible Minotaur. With the help of a ball of thread that Ariadne gave to Theseus, he managed to get out of the famous labyrinth in which the Minotaur lived after defeating this monster.

10. Procrustean bed - the desire to fit something under a rigid framework or an artificial measure, sometimes sacrificing something significant for this. Procrustes is a character in the myths of ancient Greece, a robber who lay in wait for travelers on the road between Megara and Athens. He tricked travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and for those for whom it was short, he chopped off the legs, and for those who were large, he stretched out his legs - along the length of this bed. Procrustes himself had to lie down on this bed: the hero of ancient Greek myths, Theseus, having defeated Procrustes, acted with him in the same way as he did with his captives. For the first time, the story of Procrustes is found in the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus.

11. Skilla and Charybdis- sea monsters from ancient Greek mythology. Charybdis in the ancient Greek epic is the personified representation of the all-consuming deep sea. In the Odyssey, Charybdis is depicted as a sea deity living in a strait under a rock at an arrow's flight distance from another rock that served as the seat of Scylla.

12. Sisyphean labor- endless and fruitless work. Sisyphus - in ancient Greek mythology, the builder and king of Corinth, after death, sentenced by the gods to roll a heavy stone onto a mountain located in Tartarus, which, having barely reached the top, rolled down over and over again.

13. Bonds of Hymen- marriage ties.

14. Pandora's Box- that which, if careless, can serve as a source of grief and disasters. When the great titan Prometheus stole the fire of the gods from Olympus and gave people the fire of the gods, the father of the gods Zeus punished the daredevil terribly, but it was too late. Possessing the divine flame, people ceased to obey the celestials, learned various sciences, and got out of their miserable state. A little more - and they would have won complete happiness for themselves ... Then Zeus decided to send punishment on them. The blacksmith god Hephaestus fashioned the beautiful woman Pandora from earth and water. The rest of the gods gave her: some - cunning, some - courage, some - extraordinary beauty. Then, handing her a mysterious box, Zeus sent her to earth, forbidding her to remove the lid from the box. Curious Pandora, barely having come into the world, slightly opened the lid. Immediately all human disasters flew out of there and scattered throughout the universe. Pandora, in fear, tried to close the lid again, but in the box of all misfortunes, only a deceptive hope remained.

15. Apple of discord- the cause of disputes and strife. Peleus and Thetis, the parents of Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War, forgot to invite the goddess of discord, Eris, to their wedding. Eris was very offended and secretly threw a golden apple on the table, at which the gods and mortals were feasting; on it was written: "To the most beautiful." A terrible dispute arose between the three goddesses: the wife of Zeus - the Hero, Athena - the maiden, the goddess of wisdom, and the beautiful goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite. “The young man Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, was chosen as a judge between them. Paris awarded the apple to the goddess of beauty. Grateful Aphrodite helped Paris kidnap the wife of the Greek king Menelaus, the beautiful Helen. To avenge such an insult, the Greeks went to war against Troy. As you can see, the apple of Eris actually led to discord.

16. Riddle of the Sphinx is a difficult task that is not easy to solve. A reference to the myth of Oedipus.

17. Golden Rain- sudden and easily acquired wealth. In the form of a golden rain, Zeus penetrated Danae, who was imprisoned, and impregnated her.

18. Throw thunder and lightning- emotionally reprimand, scold someone, go on a rampage, furiously smash.

19. Saddle Pegasus- soar with a thought, be inspired / speak in verse. As the Greek myth tells, from the blood of Medusa beheaded by Perseus, the winged horse Pegasus arose. On it, the hero Bellerophon defeated the sea monster, fought with the Chimera and the Amazons, and when Mount Helikon, having heard the marvelous singing of the Muses, was ready to rise to heaven, Pegasus kept the mountain from rising with a hoof and at the same time knocked out of it the magic key - Hippocrene. Everyone who drinks the water of Hippocrene suddenly begins to speak in verse.

20. Cornucopia- prosperity, wealth. The ancient Greek myth tells that the cruel god Kronos did not want to have children, as he was afraid that they would take away his power. Therefore, his wife gave birth to Zeus in secret, instructing the nymphs to take care of him, Zeus was fed with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. Once she, clinging to a tree, broke off her horn. The nymph filled it with fruits and gave it to Zeus. Zeus gave the horn to the nymphs who raised him, promising that whatever they wished would come out of it.

Task 1. Part 3. Terms

2. Hexameter- in ancient metrics, any verse consisting of six meters. In a more common sense - a verse of five dactyls or spondees, and one spondee or trochee in the last foot. One of the three main sizes of classical antique quantitative metrics, the most common size of ancient poetry.

3. Dithyramb- a genre of ancient Greek choral lyrics. Dithyrambs are folk hymns of a stormy orgiastic nature, performed by a choir, mostly dressed as satyrs, at a grape harvest festival in honor of the god of the productive forces of nature and wine, Dionysus (the word "dithyramb" itself is one of the epithets of this god). In the 7th century BC e. the poet Arion gave artistic decoration to the dithyrambs, especially, apparently, in the musical part. Partly from the popular dithyramb, Greek tragedy originated. In the 5th century BC e., for example, with the poet Bacchilid, the dithyramb approaches the drama, sometimes taking the form of a dialogue, performed to the accompaniment of aulos and alternating with the singing of the choir.

4. Idyll- “small image”, “picture”, diminutive of είδος - “view”, “picture”) - originally (in ancient Rome) a small poem on the theme of rural life. Later, in Byzantium, the word idyll was used by scholiasts, who interpreted certain passages from the writings of Theocritus. In historical and literary terms, the meaning of the term "idyll" largely intersects with "pastoral" and "bucolic"; the difference is manifested in the fact that "idyll" is called a separate poetic work of the pastoral genre, which is not limited to the biography of a shepherd's life. In modern times, this narrow meaning is blurred, and works about the peaceful life of a couple in love (Gogol's Old World Landowners), or even about peaceful patriarchal life in general, not necessarily rural, are often called idyll.

5. Catharsis- concept in ancient philosophy;

A term for the process and result of the facilitating, cleansing and ennobling effect on a person of various factors.

A concept in ancient Greek aesthetics that characterizes the aesthetic impact of art on a person. - The term "catharsis" was used ambiguously; in a religious sense (purification of the spirit through emotional experiences), ethical (elevation of the human mind, ennoblement of his feelings), physiological (relief after strong emotional stress), medical.

A term used by Aristotle in the doctrine of tragedy. According to Aristotle, tragedy, causing compassion and fear, makes the viewer empathize, thereby purifying his soul, elevating and educating him.

7. cothurn- high open boot made of soft leather with a high sole.

As everyday shoes, cothurni were affordable only for wealthy people. Coturnes were used by actors in the performance of tragic roles - they visually increased the growth of the actor, made his step more majestic, as befitted the characters of tragedies. In ancient Rome, cathurn boots were worn by tragedy actors depicting gods, and sometimes emperors who equated themselves with deities.

8. Oh yeah- a genre of lyrics, which is a solemn poem dedicated to an event, a hero or a separate work of such a genre. Originally in ancient Greece, any form of lyric poetry intended to accompany music was called an ode, including choral singing. Since the time of Pindar, an ode has been a choral epinic song with emphasized solemnity and grandiloquence, as a rule, in honor of the winner of sports.

9. Orchestra- in the ancient theater - a round (then semicircular) platform for performances by actors, a choir and individual musicians. The original and etymological meaning is "a place for dancing."

The first round orchestra appeared at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis. Choirs performed on it - they sang and danced praises in honor of the god Dionysus. When the dithyramb was transformed into tragedy, the theater inherited the orchestra as a stage for the actors and the choir.

10. parod- in the ancient Greek theater (tragedy and comedy), a choral song that was performed by the choir during the entrance to the stage, when moving to the orchestra. The word parode also refers to the aisle itself (an open corridor), a constructive element of the ancient theatre. Parod and stasim were important elements of the structure not only of tragedy, but also of comedy. Kualen's treatise (which is considered to be a summary of the second, lost part of the Poetics) does not contain the term "parody", but mentions the "exit of the choir" as an important watershed in the structure of comedy.

The dramatic significance of the parod was to give the listeners the first information about the further plot and to set the public as a whole in a way corresponding to the narrative. The earliest tragedies (of those that have come down to us) do not contain parodies. The parod is supposed to have been monodic and sung by the choir in unison. Since complete musical samples of parodies (as well as other genres of choral theatrical music) have not been preserved, it is difficult to talk about their more specific compositional and technical features (for example, about musical rhythm and harmony).

11. Rhapsody- professional performers of epic, mainly Homeric poems in classical Greece; wandering singers reciting poems with a rod in their hand (the rod is a symbol of the right to speak at a meeting).

Rhapsody already belongs to a later stage in the development of the epic, to the era of great poems with a more or less fixed text; at an earlier stage, the epic song was improvised by an aed, a singer who accompanied his singing by playing the lyre. At the rhapsodic stage, performance had already been separated from creativity, although individual rhapsodes could be poets at the same time (Hesiod). In the historical era, great poems were usually performed at festivities in the form of a rhapsodic contest. Homeric poems are already designed for rhapsodic performance, although in the poems themselves, the action of which is attributed to the distant past, only Aeds are mentioned. The rhapsodes, sometimes combined into entire schools, apparently played a significant role in the collection of the Greek epic at the stage of its decomposition. Antiquity imagined Homer as a rhapsodist, and Homeric criticism attributed the creation of Homeric poems to rhapsods, the unification of individual small songs into a large epic.

12. Skena- theatrical props were formed in it, and from it the first playwrights-actors, wearing theatrical costumes, went out to the stage of the orchestra to perform their roles. Later, when dramatic performances became regular, this temporary tent was replaced by a solid building - first wooden, and then stone and marble. But the original name "skene" this building retained forever. From this came the modern word "stage" (the late Latin form of the pronunciation of this word) in the sense of an elevation or stage on which the actors play. However, in the classical Greek theater there was no such elevation - at least no traces of it have survived.

13. Exod- in ancient drama, the final exit of the choir in the performance

14. Elegy- lyrical genre containing free poetic form any complaint, expression of sadness, or emotional result of philosophical reflection on the complex problems of life. Initially, in ancient Greek poetry, elegy meant a poem written in a stanza of a certain size, namely a couplet - hexameter-pentameter. The word έ̓λεγος meant among the Greeks a sad song to the accompaniment of a flute. The elegy was formed from the epic about the beginning of the Olympiads among the Ionian tribe in Asia Minor, from which the epic also arose and flourished.

Having the general character of lyrical reflection, the elegy among the ancient Greeks was very diverse in content, for example, sad and accusatory in Archilochus and Simonides, philosophical in Solon or Theognis, militant in Callinus and Tyrtheus, political in Mimnermus. One of the best Greek authors of the elegy is Callimachus.

Among the Romans, the elegy became more definite in character, but also freer in form. The importance of love elegies has greatly increased. Famous Roman authors of elegies - Propertius, Tibull, Ovid, Catullus.

15. epic- a heroic narrative about the past, containing a holistic picture of people's life and representing in a harmonious unity a kind of epic world of heroes-heroes.

16. Yamb– 1) in ancient metrics, simple foot, disyllabic, three-dimensional, short syllable + long syllable (U-); in syllabo-tonic versification (for example, Russian) - unstressed syllable + stressed syllable; 2) the same as a verse consisting of iambic meters; 3) genre of lyrics

Task 1. Part 4. General questions

The fantasy of the Greek people has widely developed the cycle of legends about the Trojan War. Their subsequent popularity was explained by a close connection with the centuries-old enmity of the Hellenes and Asians.

The arena of the Trojan War - an area on the northwestern coast of Asia Minor, stretching as a plain to the Hellespont (Dardanelles), further from the sea rising in ridges of hills to Mount Ida, irrigated by Scamander, Simois and other rivers - is already mentioned in ancient myths about the gods. The Greeks called its population Trojans, Dardanians, Tevkras. The mythical son of Zeus, Dardanus, founded Dardania on the slope of Mount Ida. His son, rich Erichthonius, owned vast fields, countless herds of cattle and horses. After Erichthonius, the Dardanian king was Tros, the ancestor of the Trojans, whose youngest son, the handsome Ganymede, was taken to Olympus to serve the king of the gods at feasts, and his eldest son, Il (Ilos), founded Troy (Ilion). Another descendant of Erichthonius, the handsome Anchises, fell in love with the goddess Aphrodite, who gave birth to a son from him, Aeneas, who, according to myths, fled west to Italy after the Trojan War. The offspring of Aeneas was the only branch of the Trojan royal family that survived after the capture of Troy.

Excavations of ancient Troy

Under the son of Il, Laomedont, the gods Poseidon and Apollo built the fortress of Troy, Pergamon. The son and successor of Laomedont was Priam, who was famous for wealth throughout the world. He had fifty sons, of whom the brave Hector and the handsome Paris are especially famous. Of the fifty, nineteen of his sons were born by his second wife Hecuba, the daughter of the Phrygian king.

Cause of the Trojan War - the abduction of Helen by Paris

The cause of the Trojan War was the abduction by Paris of Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. When Hecuba was pregnant with Paris, she saw in a dream that she gave birth to a flaming brand and that all of Troy burned down from this brand. Therefore, after his birth, Paris was thrown into the forest on Mount Ida. He was found as a shepherd, grew up strong and dexterous, handsome, a skilled musician and singer. He pastured the herds on Ida, and was the favorite of her nymphs. When three goddesses, who were arguing over which of them was the fairest, over a bone of contention, gave him a decision, and each promised him a reward for the decision in her favor, he chose not the victories and glory that Athena promised him, not dominion over Asia, promised by the Hero, but the love of the most beautiful of all women, promised by Aphrodite.

Judgment of Paris. Painting by E. Simone, 1904

Paris was strong and brave, but the predominant traits of his character were sensuality and Asian effeminacy. Aphrodite soon directed his path to Sparta, whose king Menelaus was married to the beautiful Helen. The patroness of Paris, Aphrodite, aroused love for him in the beautiful Elena. Paris took her away at night, taking with him many treasures of Menelaus. It was a great crime against hospitality and marriage law. The wicked man and his relatives, who received him and Helen in Troy, incurred the punishment of the gods. Hera, an avenger for adultery, aroused the heroes of Greece to stand up for Menelaus, starting the Trojan War. When Elena became an adult girl, and many young heroes gathered to woo her, Elena's father, Tyndareus, took an oath from them that they would all protect the marital rights of the one who would be elected. They were now to fulfill that promise. Others joined them out of love for military adventure, or out of a desire to avenge an offense done to all of Greece.

Elena's kidnapping. Red-figure Attic amphora, late 6th c. BC

Beginning of the Trojan War. Greeks in Aulis

The death of Achilles

Later poets continued the story of the Trojan War. Arktin of Miletus wrote a poem about the exploits accomplished by Achilles after the victory over Hector. The most important of them was the battle with Memnon, the radiant son of distant Ethiopia; therefore Arktin's poem was called "Ethiopida".

The Trojans, discouraged after the death of Hector - it was told in the "Ethiopian" - were animated with new hopes when the queen of the Amazons, Penthesilea, came from Thrace to help them, with regiments of her warriors. The Achaeans were again driven back to their camp. But Achilles rushed into battle and killed Penthesilea. When he removed the helmet from the opponent who fell to the ground, he was deeply moved to see what a beauty he had killed. Thersites scathingly reproached him for this; Achilles killed the offender with a blow of his fist.

Then, from the far east, the king of the Ethiopians, the son of Aurora, the most beautiful of men, came with an army to help the Trojans. Achilles evaded the fight with him, knowing from Thetis that soon after the death of Memnon, he himself would die. But Antilochus, the son of Nestor, the friend of Achilles, covering his father persecuted by Memnon, died a victim of his filial love; the desire to avenge him drowned out in Achilles concern for himself. The fight between the sons of the goddesses, Achilles and Memnon, was terrible; Themis and Aurora looked at him. Memnon fell, and his mournful mother, Aurora, wept, carried his body home. According to an Eastern legend, every morning she waters her dear son again and again with tears falling in the form of dew.

Eos carries off the body of his son Memnon. Greek vase, early 5th century BC

Achilles furiously chased the fleeing Trojans to the Skean gates of Troy and was already breaking into them, but at that moment an arrow fired by Paris and directed by the god Apollo himself killed him. She hit him in the heel, which was the only vulnerable point of his body (Achilles' mother, Thetis, made her son invulnerable by immersing him as a baby in the waters of the underground river Styx, but the heel, for which she held him, remained vulnerable). All day long the Achaeans and the Trojans fought in order to take possession of the body and weapons of Achilles. Finally, the Greeks managed to take the body to the camp greatest hero The Trojan War and its weapons. Ajax Telamonides, a mighty giant, carried the body, and Odysseus held back the onslaught of the Trojans.

Ajax takes out the body of Achilles from the battle. Attic vase, ca. 510 BC

For seventeen days and nights, Thetis, with the Muses and Nereids, mourned her son with such touching songs of sorrow that both gods and people shed tears. On the eighteenth day, the Greeks lit a magnificent fire on which the body was laid; Achilles' mother, Thetis, carried the body out of the flames, and transferred it to the island of Levka (Snake Island, lying in front of the mouths of the Danube). There, rejuvenated, he lives, forever young, and enjoys war games. According to other legends, Thetis transferred her son to the underworld or to the islands of the Blessed. There are also legends saying that Thetis and her sisters collected the bones of her son from the ashes and placed them in a golden urn near the ashes of Patroclus under those artificial hills near the Hellespont, which are still considered to be the tombs of Achilles and Patroclus left after the Trojan War.

Philoctetes and Neoptolemus

After the brilliant funeral games in honor of Achilles, it was to be decided who was worthy of receiving his weapon: it was to be given to the bravest of the Greeks. This honor was claimed by Ajax Telamonides and Odysseus. Trojan prisoners were chosen as judges. They decided in favor of Odysseus. Ajax found this unfair and was so annoyed that he wanted to kill Odysseus and Menelaus, whom he also considered his enemy. On a dark night, he secretly went out of his tent to kill them. But Athena struck him with a cloud of reason. Ajax killed the herds of cattle that were with the army, and the shepherds of these cattle, imagining that he was killing his enemies. When the darkness passed, and Ajax saw how wrong he was, he was seized with such shame that he threw himself on his sword with his chest. The whole army was saddened by the death of Ajax, who was stronger than all Greek heroes after Achilles.

Meanwhile, the Trojan soothsayer, Helen, who was captured by the Achaeans, told them that Troy could not be taken without the arrows of Hercules. The owner of these arrows was the wounded Philoctetes, abandoned by the Achaeans on Lemnos. He was brought from Lesbos to the camp near Troy. The son of the god of healing, Asclepius, Machaon healed the wound of Philoctetes, and he killed Paris. Menelaus desecrated the body of his offender. The second condition necessary for the victory of the Greeks in the Trojan War was the participation in the siege of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus), the son of Achilles and one of the daughters of Lycomedes. He lived with his mother, on Skyros. Odysseus brought Neoptolemus, gave him his father's weapons, and he killed the beautiful Mysian hero Eurypylus, who was the son of Heraclid Telephus and Priam's sister, and was sent to help the Trojans by his mother. The Achaeans now defeated the Trojans on the battlefield. But Troy could not be taken as long as it remained in its acropolis, Pergamum, a shrine given to the former Trojan king Dardanus by Zeus - palladium (an image of Pallas Athena). To look out for the location, palladium, Odysseus went to the city, disguised as a beggar, and was not recognized in Troy by anyone except Helen, who did not betray him because she wanted to return to her homeland. Then, Odysseus and Diomedes sneaked into the Trojan temple and stole the palladium.

Trojan horse

The hour of the final victory of the Greeks in the Trojan War was already close. According to a legend already known to Homer and told in detail by later epic poets, the master Epey, with the help of the goddess Athena, made a large wooden horse. The bravest of the Achaean heroes: Diomedes, Odysseus, Menelaus, Neoptolemus and others hid in it. The Greek army burned their camp and sailed to Tenedos, as if deciding to end the Trojan War. The Trojans who came out of the city looked with surprise at the huge wooden horse. The heroes who hid in it heard their deliberations on how to deal with it. Helen walked around the horse, and loudly called the Greek leaders, imitating the voice of each wife. Some wanted to answer her, but Odysseus held them back. Some Trojans said that one cannot trust one's enemies, and one should drown the horse in the sea or burn it. The most insistent of all was the priest Laocoön, the uncle of Aeneas. But before the eyes of all the people, two large snakes crawled out of the sea, wrapped rings around Laocoön and his two sons and strangled them. The Trojans considered this a punishment to Laocoon from the gods and agreed with those who said that it was necessary to put the horse in the acropolis, dedicate it as a gift to Pallas. The traitor Sinon, whom the Greeks left here to deceive the Trojans with the assurance that the horse was destined by the Greeks as a reward for the stolen palladium, and that when it was placed in the acropolis, Troy would be invincible, especially contributed to the adoption of this decision. The horse was so large that it could not be dragged through the gate; The Trojans made a hole in the wall and dragged the horse into the city with ropes. Thinking that the Trojan War was over, they feasted happily.

Capture of Troy by the Greeks

But at midnight, Sinon lit a fire - a signal to the Greeks waiting at Tenedos. They swam to Troy, and Sinon unlocked the door made in d Eos carries away the body of the Memnon-wooden horse. By the will of the gods, the hour of the death of Troy, the end of the Trojan War, has come. The Greeks rushed to the carelessly feasting Trojans, slaughtered, robbed and, having plundered, set fire to the city. Priam sought salvation at the altar of Zeus, but Achilles' son Neoptolem killed him at the very altar. Priam's son Deiphobes, who married Helen after the death of his brother Paris, courageously defended himself in his house against Odysseus and Menelaus, but was killed. Menelaus led Helen to the ships, whose beauty disarmed his hand, raised to strike the traitor. The widow of Hector, the sufferer of Andromache, was given by the Greeks to Neoptolemus and found in a foreign land a slavish fate, predicted to her by her husband at the last farewell. Her son Astyanax was, on the advice of Odysseus, thrown off the wall by Neoptolemus. The soothsayer Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, who sought salvation at the altar, was torn off from him by the blasphemous hand of Ajax the Small (son of Oileus), who overturned the statue of the goddess with a frantic impulse. Cassandra was given as booty to Agamemnon. Her sister Polyxena was sacrificed over the coffin of Achilles, whose shadow demanded her as a prey for herself. The wife of the Trojan king Priam Hecub, who survived the fall of the royal family and kingdom. She was brought to the Thracian coast and found out there that her son (Polydorus), whom Priam had sent with many treasures before the start of the war under protection to the Thracian king Polymestor, had also died. Legends spoke differently about the further fate of Hecuba after the Trojan War; there was a legend that she was turned into a dog; according to another legend, she was buried on the northern shore of the Hellespont, where her tomb was shown.

The fate of the Greek heroes after the Trojan War

The adventures of the Greek heroes did not end with the capture of Troy: on the way back from the captured city, they had to experience many troubles. The gods and goddesses, whose altars they defiled with violence, subjected them to grievous fates. On the very day of the destruction of Troy, in the assembly of heroes, heated with wine, there was, according to Homer's Odyssey, a great strife. Menelaus demanded to immediately sail home, and Agamemnon wanted to soften the anger of Athena with hecatombs (by bringing several sacrifices, each of a hundred oxen) before sailing. Some supported Menelaus, others supported Agamemnon. The Greeks completely quarreled, and the next morning the army was divided. Menelaus, Diomedes, Nestor, Neoptolemus and some others boarded the ships. At Tenedos, Odysseus, who sailed with these leaders, quarreled with them and returned to Agamemnon. The companions of Menelaus went to Euboea. From there, Diomedes returned favorably to Argos, Nestor to Pylos, safely sailed to their cities Neoptolemus, Philoctetes and Idomeneo. But Menelaus was caught by a storm near the rocky Cape Malea and brought to the coast of Crete, on the rocks of which almost all of his ships crashed. He himself was carried away by a storm to Egypt. Tsar Polybus cordially received him in the hundred-gate Egyptian Thebes, gave him and Elena rich gifts. The wanderings of Menelaus after the Trojan War lasted eight years; he was in Cyprus, in Phenicia, he saw the countries of the Ethiopians and Libyans. Then the gods gave him a joyful return and a happy old age with the eternally young Elena. According to the stories of later poets, Helen was not at all in Troy. Stesichorus said that Paris only stole the ghost of Helen; according to the story of Euripides (the tragedy " Helena"), he took away a woman like Helen, created by the gods to deceive him, and Hermes transferred the real Helen to Egypt, to King Proteus, who guarded her until the end of the Trojan War. Herodotus also believed that Helen was not in Troy. The Greeks thought that the Phoenician Aphrodite (Astarte) was Helen. They saw the temple of Astarte in that part of Memphis where the Tyrian Phoenicians lived; probably from this arose the legend of Helen's life in Egypt.

Agamemnon, upon returning from the Trojan War, was killed by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. A few years later, the children of Agamemnon, Orestes and Electra, severely avenged their mother and Aegisthus for their father. These events formed the basis for a whole cycle of myths. Ajax the Small, on his way back from Troy, was killed by Poseidon for his unheard-of pride and blasphemous insult to the altar when Cassandra was captured.

Odysseus suffered the most adventures and hardships when returning from the Trojan War. His fate gave the theme and plot for the second great

The ancient Greeks believed Trojan War its most significant event. Historians of antiquity were sure that it took place at the turn of the 13th-12th centuries BC.
There were many myths and legends about how the Achinean Greeks started a war against the city of Troy, which was located in the northwestern part of the peninsula of Asia Minor.
The great Greek Homer described the events of this epochal event in his poem "The Iliad". For a long time, all these events, along with the legendary Troy, were considered a myth, until Heinrich Schliemann dug up Troy. , whose characters were not only real heroes, but also gods, got their material confirmation.
A beautiful legend is the cause of the Trojan War, which became a kind of boundary between the era of gods and heroes that ended, and the era of ordinary people that began.
The reason for the war was the golden apple of discord, which the goddess Eris threw to the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, who were feasting at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. On the apple was written "To the most beautiful" and the goddesses argued to whom it should belong.
The judge in this dispute was Paris, the youngest son of the Trojan king Priam. The goddesses who appeared to him, each of whom tried to seduce the prince with their gifts, he replied that for him the most beautiful is Helena, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. Aphrodite, who is the goddess of love, approved of the choice of Paris and decided to help him kidnap Elena.
In the absence of Menelaus, Paris, having come to his house as a guest, showed treachery and secretly took away his wife. The fugitives took with them not only slaves, but also the treasures of the royal house. According to one version, after three days they took refuge behind the walls of Troy. According to another, the goddess Hera decided to take revenge on Paris and sent a storm to the sea, which threw the ship of the fugitives to the Phoenician shores, and from there they long time got to Troy.
Paris broke all the laws of hospitality and had to answer for his misconduct. His father Priam and older brother Hector understood that Paris, by his act, had inflicted a cruel insult on Menelaus and all Greeks, and they would not leave the act of the Trojan prince without consequences. Their revenge will be terrible, and the whole people will suffer because of the recklessness of the lover.
Menelaus, together with his brother, the powerful king of Mycenae Agamemnon, gathered a huge army. They were joined by noble Achaean heroes and kings, along with their squads: Odysseus, Achilles, Diomedes, Ajax, Philoctetes and many others. The Greeks chose the Achaean king Agamemnon as the leader, who, for the sake of victory, sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia.
According to legend, the gods also took part in the Trojan War. Hera and Athena, rejected by Paris, supported the Achaeans, Aphrodite and Apollo helped the Trojans.
At first, the Greeks, despite the insult, wanted to resolve everything peacefully and sent the tried diplomat Odysseus and the offended husband Menelaus to negotiate. The Trojans refused a peaceful solution, and a long, exhausting war began.
The Greeks were unable to take Troy immediately and a ten-year siege began. They camped on the seashore, sacking the nearby cities and attacking the Trojans' allies.
At the same time, skirmishes constantly arose in the Achaean camp, which led to failures in hostilities. Everyone was tired after ten years of siege of an impregnable fortress and there was a moment when the attackers decided to return to their ships to sail home. The situation was saved by Odysseus, who returned the deserters with a firm hand.
Taking advantage of the strife of the Greeks, the Trojans, led by Hector, went on the offensive, broke into the camp of the Achaeans and were going to burn enemy ships.
The situation was saved by Achilles' friend Patroclus, who put on the armor of the legendary hero and, jumping on his chariot, rushed to help the Greeks. He was able to stop the onslaught of the Trojans, but he himself died. An enraged Achilles challenges Hector to a duel and kills him. He also strikes the leader of the Amazons, Penthesilea, who came to the aid of the Trojans. But, soon he himself dies from the arrow of Paris, which is directed by the god Apollo. As predicted, he was hit in the heel, the only weak spot on Achilles' body.
The hero Philoctetes from the island of Lemnos, who arrived to help the Achaeans, strikes Paris and the Trojans are left without a leader, but the walls of the fortress are still impregnable for the Achaeans.
And only the military cunning of Odysseus, who will offer the Greeks to create the appearance that they are sailing on their ships, leaving the Trojans as a gift a huge wooden statue of a horse, helped to crush the defense.
In the horse were selected warriors who left their shelter at night and opened the gates

There is probably no person in the modern world who has not heard about the Trojan War. However, the idea of ​​​​it is formed mainly either from the film "Troy", or from the textbook of the history of the Ancient World. Briefly, the events of that war are described as follows: the Trojan prince Paris, while in Sparta, seduces Helen and flees to Troy with her. The offended Greeks, burning with anger, gather in a horde and go to avenge the Trojans for the desecrated honor of Helen's husband Menelaus. Thus, the causes of the war emerge: lust on the one hand (Helen and Paris), a passion for power on the other (on the part of Agamemnon) and a desire to restore the desecrated honor on the third (on the part of Menelaus). Some vices. In general, passions rule the world.

After this, events develop as follows: the Greeks land on the shore in front of Ilion (the capital of Troy) and for ten years they nightmare the Trojans. But the war for the Greeks is not an easy task: no matter how much the Greeks stormed Ilion, they can’t take it just like Hercules did - the walls of the city are strong, and the defenders are skilled in battle. And only the cunning of Odysseus helps the Greeks to complete what they started.

Beautiful fairy tale! But in her captivity are not only the layman, but also scientific world. Historians still cannot resolve the contradictions that they encounter in the course of the study: how can the small size of Ilion correlate with its insignificant human resources and the long-term opposition of the Trojans to the Achaeans, who had a significant military contingent. And in general, why did the Achaeans not blockade Ilion, but settled at a distance from it on the seashore? They didn't come to fish!

GENERAL ENVIRONMENT IN AEGEI

It is clear that in order to deal with any such topic, first of all, one should understand the motives that pushed the characters to certain actions, and in our case, to the war of the Achaeans with Troy. To do this, you need to deal with the situation that existed in the Aegean: let's see what events preceded this war.

In 1219 BC "peoples of the sea" reappear on the stage of history. The Sardans, in alliance with the Luwians (Libu), attack the Nile Delta. But the campaign for the attackers was unsuccessful; the elderly pharaoh Merneptah, although he was already in years, kept the powder in the powder flasks dry: the Egyptians at Cape Migdol defeat the aliens and drive them away from the borders of Egypt. After this, the Libu (Luwians) settled west of Egypt on the coast of North Africa in Garamantia: from that moment on, this part of the coast of North Africa becomes known as Libya. The Sardans go even further west and occupy an island known since that time as Sardinia.

But as we showed earlier, this was not the first invasion "peoples of the sea" in Egypt: there was also an invasion in 1243 BC.

It would be possible to call the culprits of such a migration of the Achaeans, as is done by everyone, if it were not for the fact that the Achaeans themselves in 1243 BC were named among the migrants. That is, the culprit of these events is completely different.

How useful are the indicated dates and events for our topic? First of all, by the fact that the trends in the development of the events themselves are revealed, and the Achaeans could not fail to notice it: an inquisitive glance immediately sees the periodicity (temporal pattern) of events - twenty-four years. If the first invasion took place in 1243, and the event was repeated in 1219, then the next event should be expected around 1195 (or a little earlier), that is, in a generation. Further, the Achaeans could well argue as follows: If we do not want to get hit on the ears, then by this time we should thoroughly prepare and repel the attack. If the first run "peoples of the sea" in 1243 BC, no one in Achaia attached serious importance to Achaia and the coast of Asia Minor, the events in the Aegean region in 1219 BC forced the Achaeans to radically reconsider their attitude to these events, and for one thing to their neighbors . Everyone understood that this was just the beginning - a test of strength and continuation would be necessary.

The detection of periodicity makes it possible to determine the reasons for the migrations of ethnic groups to different parts of the Mediterranean - this is a constant increase in the population in certain regions. But if you look at who exactly participated in the campaigns, you can also identify the region in which there is an excessive population growth. Thrace was such a region.

From all this, a fairly complete picture emerged: the lack of sufficient resources in Thrace, necessary to feed the growing population, would inevitably lead society to fight for the possession of scarce resources and their distribution among separate groups. For the elite of the tribes, such a confrontation threatened to result, if not in civil war, then into a constant leapfrog for a change of power. All this could not but push the elite of the tribes to find solutions to strike a balance between population growth and the presence of the region's meager resources. The example shown by the priests of Poseidon fit very well into the plans of the elite to appease the population of the ethnic groups they control. Moreover, the organization for the eviction of fellow tribesmen to neighboring territories could not fail to please not only the elite of the tribes, but also the ordinary population: such an approach could not but be recognized as the most optimal solution to the problem from all available options.

And I must say the Achaeans were not mistaken in their assumptions. In 1195 BC "peoples of the sea" become active again and begin to constantly disturb the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Defeated by Pharaoh Ramesses III in land and sea battles, "peoples of the sea" are divided into several groups and inhabit the not yet developed, or poorly populated, lands of the Mediterranean coast.

The conclusion from the events of 1243 and 1219 was made by the Achaeans correctly - the continuation will certainly and even known in what, approximately, year. The last decades of the thirteenth century BC. for the Achaeans, they became an extremely anxious and restless time. Of course, the Achaeans could not know this for sure, but the pattern they discovered could not but push them to act ahead of the curve and how to prepare in case events develop according to such a scenario. That is, recalling the events of 1243 and 1219, the Achaeans could not but perceive the upcoming events with alarm.

Thus, by the beginning of the Trojan War, the Achaean society began to feel the spinal cord of the threat that hung over Achaia from the peoples of the northern Balkans.

Archaeological finds can be taken as evidence that the Achaeans correctly determined the place from where such a strike could be delivered. Archaeological studies show that in the immediate vicinity of the main centers of the Mycenaean civilization in the north and northwest of the Balkan Peninsula (the areas that were called in ancient times Macedonia and Epirus), a completely different life was going on, very far from the luxury and splendor of the Achaean palaces. Here lived tribes that stood at an extremely low level of development and, obviously, had not yet left the stage of the tribal system. We can judge their culture from the crude hand-made pottery and the primitive clay idols that make up the accompanying inventory of the vast majority of burials in these areas. So, there was someone to be afraid of the Achaeans.

An invasion was coming. The Achaeans and Danaans felt this and understood that they would not be able to repel it if they were left face to face with the enemy. Not only fear, but horror of future events should have accumulated in society.

Thus, having outlined the situation in which Aegeis found itself after 1219, one can name the strategic goal that stood before the Achaean society after 1219, namely; secure their future and the future of their children from possible raids of the Balkans.

But not only the Achaeans discovered such a pattern: exactly the same conclusions were made by the Trojans. They also determined the region, from where a negative development of events was to be expected. The reasons for the onset of events were also impeccably determined by them.

But as subsequent events show, such conclusions were not made by all the inhabitants of the Aegean: the bulk of the peoples living on the coast of the Aegean Sea continued their serene existence.

PRIVATE EVENTS

Having become acquainted with the general situation in the Aegean, it's time to get acquainted in more detail with those who took part in the Trojan War.

PARTICIPANT FIRST - ACHEANS. By 1219 BC, Achaia's society was not homogeneous: it consisted of several ethnographic groups, although they communicated with each other and maintained contacts with each other, but lived apart from each other - they were Achaeans, Danaans, Cadmeans, Lelegs and Pelasgians. All five groups had different origins, but were held together by a single culture, which in the modern world has received the name Mycenaean. At the same time, all groups occupied different territories in the legendary Achaia. The descendants of the Lelegs (immigrants from Crete) lived in Attica. Natives of Phoenicia - the Cadmeans, occupied Boeotia. Argolis was occupied by immigrants from Egypt - the Danaans. Most of the Peloponnese was occupied by the Achaeans. Pelasgians lived in the northwest of the Peloponnese. The whole of Achaia was divided into small kingdoms, which were more like territorial regions, headed by kings - Vanaks, than real kingdoms. As you can see, Achaia was fragmented and did not represent unity, not only politically, but also historically. In linguistic terms, the population of Achaia can hardly be considered a single one: to which language families the population of Achaia belonged can be judged by where it came from to the Balkan Peninsula.

PARTICIPANT SECOND - TROYANTS. Who are the Trojans (including the Teucers)? What was Troy like by 1219 BC? In fact, it was a city with a district of insignificant size, which was 5-6 times smaller than Achaia. Despite the fact that after 1243 BC Troy was strengthened by the Teucres who settled on its northern borders, Troy cannot be considered a serious military force even in the Dardanelles region. Who were the Trojans in ethnic and linguistic terms? It is believed that the Trojans belonged to the circle of peoples of Indo-European unity. The language of the Trojans was the Hittite-Luvian dialect, which can be inferred from the written materials found during the excavations of Ilion and from the etymology of the names of the rulers.

In addition, the western part of Troy was inhabited by the Dardani related to the Trojans. The territory of residence of the Dardani was called Dardania.

Shortly before the start of the Trojan War, part of the Bghrigu and Carians settled on the territory of Troy.

The question is how strong was Troy militarily and could, even despite the presence of Teucres on its territory, stand alone without outside help one on one with an external enemy such as Achaia? Considering the insignificant size of Troy with its insignificant human resources, it is doubtful to consider Troy as some kind of serious rival to Achaia only on the basis of the data presented. But at the same time, she was, and this has to be reckoned with.

There is an opinion that, due to the circumstances and geographical location of their territory, the Trojans were a force that controlled the movement of goods and people through the straits of the Sea of ​​Marmara, both from north to south, from west to east, and in the opposite direction . Being at the crossroads of migration and trade routes, Troy was a key player not only in the political arena of the Northern Aegean, but also in trade. However, here the researcher encounters a contradiction: the Trojan fleet is not mentioned anywhere in the Iliad, although, based on the events of that time, they could not have had one. But the Trojans in the Iliad are called horse tamers ( hippodamoi– "horsemen"). On this basis, it can be assumed that the Trojans carried out border guards on horseback patrols. Having at their disposal a maneuverable branch of the troops, the Trojans could respond in time to the penetration of neighbors into their territory. The question, for whom did the Trojans carry out border guards, remains open? Most likely, such a service was carried out for the Hittites and for the court of the Hittite rulers. As usual, there is no direct evidence of this, but an analysis of the information about who was in league with the Trojans and who might need such information forces us to pay special attention to this version. That is, the Trojans were not so much a people of sailors as a people engaged in breeding horses (it is worth remembering the gift of Zeus). In this regard, a contradiction appears; horse breeders somehow do not fit with the image of sailors ... But not everything is so simple. After settling within Troy, the Teucres, who were one of "peoples of the sea" and well managed by the fleet, the fleet appeared at Troy, which is confirmed in subsequent events.

PARTICIPANT THIRD - BALKANS. As the events of 1243 and 1219 showed, the Balkans turned out to be a sufficiently organized community, numerous enough and strong enough to impose their opinion on their neighbors. Moreover, despite the fact that the Balkans consisted of several tribes, they were able to find mutual language with each other and act together, coordinating their actions and pursuing common goals. At the same time, despite all this, all the Balkans had one common misfortune that they could not cope with on their own; a very weak material and production base, and industrial relations that were not sufficiently developed for their time. Remaining at the same rather low level of development, they could not provide for society in its needs. Population growth outpaced the development of the material base and industrial relations. In 1243, the local tribal nobility was offered a methodology for solving emerging problems, which they liked so much that, as the events of 1219 showed, they were not going to refuse them. It was not difficult to organize fellow tribesmen in raids on neighbors, especially considering the positive results of such campaigns. Some of the participants in such campaigns perished. Another part remained in the occupied territories. And those who returned from the campaign compensated for the needs of their fellow tribesmen with the booty captured on campaigns. Thus, the strategic goal of the upper tribes of Thrace can be called balancing the growth of the population (production forces) of their region with the development of production relations in it.

Thus, the situation in the Balkans could be compared to a steam boiler, which, in order to continue quiet operation and longer, had to be opened from time to time in order to relieve steam (pressure): otherwise the boiler would break (inside the Balkan society, massacre would begin).

But not only the Achaeans with the Balkans lived in the Aegean; besides them, other peoples also lived in the Aegean.

Take, for example, Mysia. The Mysians, judging by the Iliad, were engaged in viticulture. Being neighbors of the Trojans, they were in league with them.

There were other peoples - the neighbors of the Trojans, but there is no evidence that they made exactly the same conclusion as the Trojans and the Achaeans.

So, we got acquainted with the situation. What does this give us in understanding the causes of the Trojan War? We are inclined to believe that both the Trojans and the Achaeans drew the correct conclusions from the events of 1219 regarding subsequent events in the Region and what their countries might expect in the future.

And this means that both of them were obliged to formulate quite clearly the strategic goal that confronted both the Trojan society and the Achaean society - to secure their future and the future of their children from negative consequences that may come in the future.

Proceeding from a certain goal, it also became possible to name the strategic tasks facing the parties.

Let's see how these tasks could be formulated by the Trojans.

The first task is to solve the problem of having enough human resources: either find them (which is impossible to do overnight), or somehow compensate for their absence. The Trojan society could not but understand that in the absence of human resources, trouble awaits Troy.

The second task proceeded from the first - to focus on the search for allies against the Balkans.

The third task is to increase the defense capability of Troy in general and Ilion in particular: it was necessary to strengthen the city and increase the combat effectiveness and training of the troops at Troy's disposal.

The fourth task is to still try to avoid a blow aimed at Troy: either stop such a blow in time, or redirect it to another target.

It was these five tasks that determined the behavior of Troy in the upcoming events. These tasks, as we will show below, up to a certain point, the Trojans managed to solve masterfully.

But the sixth task could also loom before the Trojans - to determine where exactly the blow could be struck from? But in addition to all this, one should also know exactly where such a blow could be delivered. The uncertainty of who, from where and where the next campaign of the Balkans will be sent, forced the Trojans to consider themselves, Troy, as a possible direction of attack.

Now let's see what tasks the Achaeans had to solve in this case?

The first task is to strengthen the cities: restore the old walls, build new ones. With this, the Achaeans did not hesitate and began to strengthen their own cities immediately after 1219. In Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens and other places in Achaia, at the time described, the hasty restoration of old and the construction of new defensive structures began. Even on the Isthma, a massive wall is erected, clearly designed to protect the Mycenaean states of the Peloponnese from the danger that was approaching from the north. This is confirmed by the frescoes of the Pylos Palace (Messinia), created shortly before his death: the artist depicted on them a bloody battle, in which, on the one hand, Achaean warriors in armor and characteristic horned helmets participate, and on the other, some barbarians dressed in animal skins, with long flowing hair. Apparently, these savages were the very people whom the inhabitants of the Mycenaean strongholds were so afraid of and against whom more and more fortifications were erected.

The second task before the Achaeans was to unite the military potential of Achaia under a single command and unified control. Having a sufficiently large military force, a powerful military potential, but scattered over boundless spaces, the lack of coordination of actions and a unified command led to the loss of military initiative, depriving the Achaeans of the physical ability to quickly gather forces in the right place. And, as a result, one could see the doom to defeat in parts, completely concentrated for the most powerful blow by the enemy, who mobilized all his military resources into a single shock fist.

That is, the Achaeans relied solely on internal resources and solely on themselves, but at the same time they understood that each Achaean state individually would not be able to resist the aggressor - the Balkans would defeat them one by one in no time, but if they united, then there would be a chance to survive. Therefore, in order to survive - you need to unite, and in order to unite - someone must lead the whole process.

At the same time, the Achaeans had to solve other important tasks; What if things don't go as they planned? What then? What to do if it doesn't work? Where are the weak links? Are there backup plans? Where are the reserves located?

At the same time, it should be noted that initially the plans of the Achaeans were limited to these two tasks. It was supposed to strengthen the cities, preparing them for defense, to work out the tactics of timely and quick collection of troops and to destroy uninvited guests stuck in the siege of a city on their territory. That is, it was supposed to confine itself to a war on its own territory, protecting it and destroying enemy landing forces.

THE ROAD TO SAFETY

As already noted, in general, the goals and objectives of Achaia and Troy were similar, but the parties had different ways to achieve these goals. The implementation of these plans was influenced not only by who saw the situation in the future, but also by the design of the direction of the Balkan strike: if the time of the next events was known (1195), then the direction of the next campaign of the Balkans was not established. Hence the question followed, which direction for the next blow would the Balkans choose? How to determine such a direction?

In reality, the choice for the direction of the blow from the Balkans was not great: either Asia Minor (Hittia, and with it Troy), or Achaia with Egypt. If we look at the situation from the positions of each of the listed parties, then there was no certainty that the Balkans would choose any region, but not the region of the observer. This was understood both in Troy and in Achaia.

Now let's see how each of the parties solved the tasks set for itself.

ACHEANS. Remembering the events of 1243 and 1219 in Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens and other places, the Achaeans did not shelve the implementation of the first point of the strategic task and immediately began to hastily restore the old and erect new defensive structures. A massive wall is erected even on the Isthme.

The Achaeans did not drag out the rubber even with the implementation of the second point: almost at the same moment, a vanaka with outstanding abilities entered the stage of history, which led the entire process of uniting the population of Achaia - Agamemnon. It was he who, having shouldered the burden of responsibility for the future of the country and the Achaean society, united Achaia in a short time. According to Homer's Iliad, the unification of Achaea was not so bloody and it was connected not only with Agamemnon's ability to manage processes, but with the methods by which Achaia was united by him. The army converged for battle, but the battle was replaced by a duel of the strongest warriors, in which the strongest of the army was destroyed, and thus not so much strength was demonstrated as primacy (hierarchy) in relationships. In the presence of such a fighter as Achilles, the consequences of the unification processes for Achaia were not difficult to predict. After the duel, the army of the king (vanak), who lost the duel, passed into the subordination of Agamemnon. At the same time, both sides demonstrated to the entire society of Achaia an understanding that it is not a problem to kill each other, but to unite against a common enemy, while preserving the face of the commander of the losing side for his own army, to save the army and establish a hierarchy in relationships, it is necessary and necessary , even at the cost of losing part of their own independence. Moreover, the fear of future events pushed the population of Achaea to unite, even despite the unwillingness to take such a step. The same Achilles, disliking Agamemnon, stepping on the throat of his ambitions, fought in his ranks and by personal example moved the situation in the right direction.

The result of such unifying efforts makes itself felt: Achaean strength was demonstrated to the whole world around. At the same time, Agamemnon understood that, despite the presence of pooled resources, Achaia’s forces still remained limited, and therefore the established peace would not be able to last for so long: in 1195, a blow hanging from the north would be dealt.

Agamemnon could not but be interested in the question of which city would be struck first? The Balkans could attack anywhere: the surprise factor was on their side. If the attackers choose the tactic of landing multiple strikes in several places at the same time and Achaia is chosen for such strikes, then Achaia will have, oh, how hard. The way out of this situation could be pitched battle. But for this enemy to be gathered together and destroyed in one battle. But here, too, not everything is so colorful, but what if the enemy is stronger? Then you won't envy Achaia. . . That is, before Agamemnon stood not an easy task working out the tactics of conducting military operations on the territory of Achaia, as well as working out the interaction of detachments with each other.

At the same time, it was precisely according to this plan that events developed in Achaia from the very beginning.

TROYANTS. Now let's see how the Trojans implemented their strategy. Troy also did not drag out the rubber with the implementation of the planned plan and immediately began to implement it. But she did it differently than Achaia.

First things first, Troy fortified the walls of Ilion.

After that, she began to embody the idea of ​​replenishing her insufficient human resources.

In addition, the Trojans begin to solve the second task - the search for allies. To this end, Troy began to invite settlers from other areas of Asia Minor to its territory.

The first such settlers were the Lycians, with whom the Trojans enter into an alliance and give them a place on their territory for the construction of the city. The Lycians take such a step without resisting and build the city of Zeleia on the territory allotted to them, creating their own colony.

In addition, the Trojans are establishing allied relations with their close neighbors - the Dardani. Along the way, an alliance is being created between Misia and Dardania. For this purpose, Priam's sister Astyochia, who gave birth to Telefu's son Euripilus, is married to Telefu. If the Trojans assigned the Mysians the role of a reserve in case the enemy invaded the territory of Asia Minor, then the Dardanians - the role of carrying out border service.

Troy strengthens its positions on the islands of Tenedos and Lesvos.

Somehow the Trojans manage to find a common language with the Lycaons as well.

Moreover, the Trojans, in a fit of expansion, climb into someone else's garden: they capture Cyprus and subjugate the Achaeans and the local population living there, leaving the Teucres as a garrison in Cyprus. In Cyprus, the cult of Aphrodite begins to take shape.

Troy did not neglect the third task and focused on increasing the combat capability and training of the troops at Troy's disposal. Some time after that, the Trojans remember the overseas territories they once had. The Trojans, realizing that the main threat stems from the Balkans and the goal of the Balkans may be they, the Trojans sought to avoid such a blow to themselves, decide to take the situation into their own hands and keep the Balkans on a short leash. To do this, the Trojans needed not only to rethink the situation, but also to change their values: what if the Balkans were turned from potential enemies into their allies? And not even so much into allies, but into the population dependent on Troy? In fact, the Trojans returned to the politics of which Il was the ancestor, but unlike Il, his descendants approached this more flexibly. On the one hand, the Balkans had to see strength in Troy and favor it, but on the other hand, they should perceive Troy not as an enemy or occupier, but as an ally. Following this plan, Hector brings Res to power in Thrace (in Bghrigia). Realizing that the opposition of Res is strong enough, and, in fact, he has no one to rely on, Hector sends part of his army, called peonies, to Bghrigia and creates something like a military base out of it on the territory of Bghrigia. Almost the center of Bghrigia, the banks of the Aksy River, was chosen as the location of the base of the peonies. Asteropaeus was placed at the head of the peonies. In the eyes of the bghrigu, the Trojans looked like a force. In addition, Hector had another goal; the presence of the Trojan army in Bghrigia and the alliance with the Bghrigu gave the Trojans the opportunity to timely strike retaliation against the Balkan ethnos who intended to attack Troy. That is, the peonies were obliged not only to maintain their combat form and Res, but also to perform a reconnaissance function (to carry out reconnaissance). Thus, the peonies turned into a rapid reaction corps.

In addition, the Trojans did not forget about the solution of the second task - replenishment of insufficient human resources at home. To do this, the Trojans take a rather cunning step - they make bghriga their hostages. For this purpose, the Thracians are allocated a part of the Trojan territory, on which the Thracians are settled, and they, in turn, build the city of Colon there. The Thracian, Kykn, was again appointed king in the city. Thus, the Trojans also stood at the head of the migration flow, directing it in the right direction for themselves (the Trojans personally dumped excess steam in the Balkan boiler). - under control (development of events according to a scenario negative for the Trojans), the bghrig of the city of Colon was waiting for the same fate. That is, the bghrig should think ten times before endangering his fellow tribesmen.

As you can see, the Trojans created a security belt around themselves, stretching along the northern and eastern coasts of the Aegean towards the southern coast of Asia Minor. Their actions could not but find full support from the Hittite state.

ADJUSTMENT OF PLANS. The news of the capture of Bghrigia and the construction of a Thracian city in Troy seriously alarmed Agamemnon.

If it were not for the news from across the sea that Hector subjugated Bghrigia, probably the Trojan War would never have happened. But at one fine moment, everything changed: such news came!

Agamemnon came to the conclusion that it is urgent to change the tactics and strategy of the upcoming war: the war must be waged not on its own territory, but on the territory of the enemy. Why would it suddenly? With what such a fright did he have such thoughts? It turns out, indeed, from a fright that came after Hector brought Res to power in Bghrigia, or, to be more precise, established a protectorate over this overseas territory. What has changed? Yes, the fact that from that moment on, the troops of Bghrigia, in fact, were already the troops of Troy, well, if you want - Hector. That is, the Balkans were now ruled by Troy and they would go on a campaign to where Troy would point them. And they would go, because now Troy was preoccupied with how to balance the base with the superstructure.

Now Achaea had completely different tasks, namely:

Now the task was to avoid, despite the power at the disposal of the Achaeans, the blow aimed at Achaia, nevertheless, to avoid - the blow had to be redirected to another target.

But the fourth task also followed from this - the onset of the hour “ x” (implementation of the third task) should be accelerated. The purpose of such a move was to prevent the enemy from gaining strength comparable to the Achaean: until the enemy gained strength and prepared veterans, his strength should be depleted before the onset of 1195: there are no more veterans, and unprepared youth can be killed anyway.

In addition, Agamemnon's worldview changed: the fact is that in anticipation of a blow, Achaia looked like an object of influence and turned into a passive observer, while active players pulled the strings as they wanted. In an effort to redirect the blow to another object, Achaia not only turned from a passive observer into an active one, but also became the arbiter of her own fate. Moreover, it also became the arbiter of the fate of its neighbors, that is, it became the subject of international politics. Now she herself could control the situation and now it depended only on her exactly where the blow would be directed. "peoples of the sea" and when.

However, there was a weak link in this strategy; in order to redirect such a blow, it was necessary not only to form the attractiveness of the object for attack, showing it as the most valuable prize, but also to convince the attacking side of this.

But the most dangerous thing was that it took time, but it played against the Achaeans. The fact is that the force collected by the Achaeans had to be used for its intended purpose and it could not be left inactive - without action, this force was doomed to decay. As one famous character said: “From idleness you will not only get drunk, but you will also go into all serious troubles”. If the war is not started in time, the end of Achaia will not be far off.

Moreover, having the collected strength at hand, the Achaeans needed to constantly demonstrate its power to their neighbors, thereby making it clear to everyone that Achaia, as a target of attack, is completely unsuitable and whoever wants to try his luck in a raid on her should think carefully. , and even better - look for a more suitable target for this.

Such a goal for the Balkans was to be the Hittite state and Asia Minor, or at least Egypt.

The only thing left to do is to show this very goal in all its beauty.

Moreover, as we have already noted, the Achaeans should not have delayed the implementation of their plan for the reason that a generation of veterans could grow up in the Balkans. Therefore, in order for this not to happen, it is necessary that the Balkans lose their nerve, they acted ahead of time and did not have time to prepare the fighters.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that both sides (both the Trojans and the Achaeans), in order to solve their problems, used the time allotted to them to implement their plans as efficiently as possible. But it is not difficult to see that Agamemnon united the population, more or less ethnically related, while the Trojans had to unite not only the heterogeneous elements into one whole, but also to draw a potential enemy into such an association, making him their ally.

If the first three tasks, in general, were the same for the parties, then the last (fourth) task for the parties was directly opposite. Achaia stood up in opposition to Troy.

If Troy sought to compensate for the forces she lacked, and for this she needed time, in Achaia, having gathered strength, she sought to provoke the enemy to speak out ahead of time - until he was weak and did not gain strength (a new full-fledged generation of fighters had not grown up) and defeat him still not strong . That is, to defeat the Balkans until the population in the Balkans reaches a critical mass, but simply to deliver a preemptive strike. If such a blow is too late, then the Balkans will sweep away everyone themselves.

Another difference: if for Troy, Egypt could serve as a target for such a strike by the Balkans, then for Achaia, it was Hittia, that is, the strike of the Balkans, according to the plan of the Achaeans, should have been directed towards Troy. Egypt was not suitable for Achaia as a place for the Balkans to strike - the Trojan Union remained safe and sound, and even more dangerously, in force.

In addition, it became obvious to Achaia that if the peace continued for some time, then the Trojans, having gathered the rest of the world of Anatolia around them, would intensify so much that it was possible that Achaia herself might be the next target of the Trojans. Until Troy became strong enough to become an inaccessible barrier, Achaia had to urgently start a war.

With the advent of a new strategic objective, Achaia also had a completely new tactical goal; destroy the plans of Troy. That is, it was required to return everything to normal - to restore everything as it was before; Troy must remain within the borders of Troy. The Balkans must get rid of the protectorate of Troy and become independent. Troy's alliances with its neighbors must be destroyed.

The Balkans, left alone with their problems, will be forced to dump the ballast from their population somewhere. Where will it be dropped? Will it be Egypt or the Hittites? The choice depended solely on the attractiveness of the target. For the Achaeans, it was desirable that the Hittite state became such a goal. But, the path to the Hittia was completely closed by Troy and Vilusa (Mysia). It was clear to the Achaeans that, being allies of the Hittite Empire, Troy and Mizia would simply not let these peoples through the straits into the territory of Asia Minor. It was clear that in order to launch the Balkans into Asia Minor, the barrier erected by Priam had to be urgently removed.

If you look at the situation on a larger scale, it turns out that two empires were created in the Aegean, which can be called military-political unions, the goals and objectives of which were directly opposite to each other.

In fact, Troy, protecting itself and its world, willingly or not, became in opposition to Achaia.

CASUSBELLI. But the Achaeans did not burn with desire to fight Troy. Knowing the negative attitude of the Achaeans to the war with the Trojans, Agamemnon had to arrange everything so that all Achaia shuddered and boarded the ships, so that no one would doubt the righteousness of the act being committed. Moreover, the war had to go, in fact, on fellow tribesmen - the Mysians, and here a simple call to rob will not do. We need a reason, a weighty pretext, and a solid high-quality provocation to accompany the pretext.

It seems that knowing this, Agamemnon is trying to probe the Trojans and see how they will perceive the very idea of ​​passing the Balkans through their possessions, and in fact, to look at how the Trojans will react to the idea of ​​betraying their ally, the Hittites. Hector and Paris are invited to Sparta.

But Agamemnon would not have been a politician on a large scale, and therefore, in the event of a negative perception by the Trojans of the idea of ​​letting the Balkans pass through their possessions, he could not help but prepare a fallback scenario. He just couldn't afford to lose the battle.

Without going into details, it is only worth noting that no one in the world has ever coped better with the role of a provocateur. . . and such a woman was found in Achaia: Paris kidnaps the wife of Menelaus (brother of Agamemnon) - Helen.

The story of the kidnapping is confusing, vague and far from unambiguous. There have been many versions about the real causes of those events over the past three thousand years: Elena herself seduced Paris, Paris seduced Elena, both (both Elena and Paris) fell madly in love with each other. In general, there is still quite a bit to invent stories. For us, the main thing is to remember the situation in which Achaia found herself at that moment and the tasks that her leadership faced, which means that the events should be described in this context.

Accusing Elena of all mortal sins, everyone in all this loses sight of one detail - at the time of her escape with Paris, Elena already had three children who, after her mother's flight, were not injured and were not subjected to disgrace. In addition, it is doubtful that a mother would simply leave her children like that. Third: in the Iliad there is not a word about the tragic fate of Helen after the capture of Troy. The conclusion from all this suggests itself unexpected: the escape of Helen with Paris was carried out not only with the knowledge of Agamemnon, but also with the knowledge of Menelaus, and Elena in this whole story did not play the role of an innocent sheep, but an agent of Agamemnon and one of the saviors of Achaia. Having sacrificed herself for the sake of the future of her children and the country, Elena "succumbs" to the spell of Paris (lets Aphrodite fall in love with Paris) and flees with him to Troy. Athena, having a grudge against Paris, does not prevent such a development of events.

The role of the blind kitten in this whole story was assigned to Paris. Of course, the rest of Achaia was such a blind kitten, but that's a completely different story.

But the Trojans were good too. It must be assumed that successes in foreign policy turned their heads: it seemed to them that they grabbed God by the beard. And from that it seemed to them that the whole world began to revolve around them, and they are almost the center of the universe and not the arbiters of the fate of the entire planet. The Trojans simply lost their sense of proportion and forgot about the danger with caution.

Be that as it may, Agamemnon immediately grabs the occasion that has turned up to him: “The foundations of society as a whole and the inviolability of the hearth in particular have been violated! Unheard of business! Death to the sacrilegious!!!", - and collects the militia. As you can see, PR and ideology were not alien to society at that time either. Information processing of the population even then gave its positive results. A formal reason for war has been found.

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROJAN WAR. Although it should be noted that the war with Troy seriously frightened the Achaeans. For example, Odysseus, in order not to go to war, pretended to be mentally ill, and Achilles dressed up as a woman. That is, most of the elite of Achaia saw Troy as a serious enemy and therefore went to war with great reluctance. Despite this, they had to go to war.

According to the Iliad, almost all of Achaia went to war. The war, which began in 1209 BC, lasted ten years and, thanks to chance, ended with the destruction of Ilion. In this struggle, Achaia secured itself against intrusions for a long hundred years. Heroes saved the country from enemy invasion.

Knowing that a fairly strong and numerous enemy was hanging over Achaia from the north of the Balkans, Agamemnon could not help but leave a barrier in the north of Achaia that could resist the enemy for some time in the event of his invasion of the territory of Achaia. This is confirmed by the fact that while Odysseus was fighting near Troy, the number of suitors wooing Penelope exceeded all reasonable limits. That is, in Achaia there were forces sufficient to repel an invasion from the north.

The Achaeans started the war in a rather original way.

Agamemnon proved himself not only as a good screenwriter and director, but also as an excellent strategist and commander. Understanding what Troy was like, the Achaeans do not proceed to its siege, but to the destruction of the Trojan Union. What would happen if the Achaeans immediately began to lay siege to Troy? Probably, at the same moment, messengers for help would have rushed to all ends of Asia Minor. And help would come. The united forces of Asia Minor (the Trojan League) would have risen against the Achaeans. And even if the Achaeans even won the battle with this united army, then they simply would not have the remaining soldiers to storm Troy. In the end, the battle was won, but the war was lost. The threat to Achaia has not been eliminated, and the forces to resist the external threat are no longer there. Yes, and the authority of Agamemnon has been undermined, who will again be able to assemble an army to repel the invasion of foreigners? Achaia is still under attack. Fifteen years after such a battle, Achaea will be invaded by the Balkans and cease to exist. Disappointing result. But if you try to destroy individually and in turn the allies of Troy, then there will be no one to come to the aid of Troy. Yes, and Troy itself is not subject to attack, which means that there is no reason to trumpet it about danger.

With this in mind, the Achaeans take the first step. Pretending to have lost their way, the Achaeans rush past Troy, located on the very coast of the Aegean Sea, not far from the entrance to the Dardanelles. In other words, it was simply impossible not to notice Troy, but the Achaeans, nevertheless, do not want to notice it and swim further - towards Mysia. The apparent inconsistency is actually explained very simply: the Achaeans go to those who are the closest ally of the Trojans in Asia Minor and represent the real strength of this alliance. The Achaeans decide to turn Mysia from an ally of Troy into their ally. That is, the principle divide and rule” was used already then and was by no means an invention of the Romans. The Achaeans attack Mysia and proceed to devastate and plunder the Mysia plain. The main thing is to provoke a response and force the Mysians to grab their weapons.

Telef, as befits a ruler, gathers an army and goes out to meet the Achaeans. The Achaeans encounter serious resistance. According to the Iliad, even Achilles turns out to be powerless with his prowess and courage in front of the Mysians, which naturally causes distrust: the best fighter of Achaea, who has no equal in battle, was almost defeated, albeit from the son of Hercules, but still inferior to him in military skill ? Here one can trace another well-thought-out step on the part of Agamemnon and Achilles, which was not to destroy the Mysians, but to win them over to their side and tear them away from the alliance with Troy.

For all other Achaeans, the Mysians looked like the first threat to achieve their goal. To get bogged down in a war with the Mysians, whose forces turned out to be comparable to those of the Achaeans, meant to bury the dream of achieving the desired goal forever. In the battle with the Achaeans, Teleph not only kills Thesander, but also enters into a confrontation with Achilles himself. The battle of Telephos with Achilles on the plain of Caica is mentioned by many ancient authors. But, the gods need not the war of the Achaeans with the Mysians, but the war of the Achaeans with the Trojans. To stop an unnecessary war, at the moment of the battle between Telephos and Achilles, Dionysus makes Telephos catch his foot on vine and fell. Achilles, as befits a first-class fighter, seizes the moment and inflicts a wound on Telephus with Chiron's spear. So that the most experienced warrior does not kill the enemy, but only wounds him? This way of posing the question is even more perplexing. But remembering the real purpose of the trip to Moesia, the real meaning of what is happening becomes clear: Agamemnon needed Telef alive and Achilles perfectly played the role assigned to him here. As you can see, Achilles was also a great actor!

The battle is over, the king of the Mysians is alive, and the forces of the opponents seem to be equal. You will not find a better reason to find a common language with the Mysians and bind them to yourself. The Achaeans urgently, inflamed with love for the enemy, take steps to resolve the conflict: they immediately remembered that it was not someone there who ruled the Mysians, but the son of Hercules himself. . . as a result, Achilles even seeks to help Telephus heal the wound inflicted on him. To atone for the mistake, Agamemnon rushes to Delphi and makes an atoning sacrifice. In tenderness, Teleph, as a sign of reconciliation, shows the Achaeans the way to Troy. The first step in weakening Troy and isolating it has been successfully completed; Troy is left without an ally who was able to help and protect her. Moreover, the Mysians unite with the Achaeans against the Trojans.

Trojans at first fall into a stupor. Instead of trumpeting the general gathering of their allies, the Trojans do nothing. It must be assumed that the Trojans, for whom it was important to gain time, underestimated the logic of Agamemnon.

But not all Trojans reacted so negligently to the passivity of Priam and his descendants. Opposition to Priam and the policy pursued by his descendants is growing in the city: everything that so much effort and time has been spent on is collapsing. The opposition is led by the priest of Apollo Laocoön and his sons. But Hector manages to take control of the situation: as long as the bghrigu are in alliance with the Trojans, nothing threatens Troy. Hector is right, but he underestimated the prospect of such events.

It would seem that by doubling the army, the Achaeans can boldly storm Troy. But the war continues strangely again. Instead, the Achaeans are « carried away by the storm" off the coast of Asia Minor. At the same time, again it is not clear how this same storm can rage in the narrow Dardanelles Strait? Be that as it may, but the Achaeans arrive at Aulis and from there they sail for the second time under Troy. But there is a sense in such a step of Agamemnon: by doing so, Agamemnon sends the first signal to the Aegean society and the rest of the world (the Balkans) - it indicates a region that is attractive with something so that the Achaeans decide to plunder it and do not want to retreat from their intended goal. Merchants and travelers spread the news around the area, which reaches Bghrigiya.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR. Remembering the need to concentrate the attention of the inhabitants of nearby regions on the coast of Asia Minor (forming the attractiveness of the image of Asia Minor - the Hittites), the Achaeans again attack, but this time the island of Tenedos is attacked. Under a far-fetched pretext, the population of Tenedos, like the population of Mysia, is plundered. The news of the "feat" of the Achaeans again flies around the Aegean and the lands adjacent to it.

The Achaeans take the next step in the same vein: they provoke the Bghriga to active hostilities - they attack the Trojan city of Colon. The object for the attack was again not chosen by chance: the king in the city, as already noted, was the Thracian Kykn. Despite the fact that Kykn was invulnerable and interfered with the landing of the Achaeans on the shore, he was struck down by Achilles and strangled with a helmet belt. The news of the death of such a heroic character was bound to reach the shores of Bghrigia.

So far, everything is going according to Agamemnon's plan. Attention to the region has been drawn, now it remains to inflame passions and draw the necessary forces into the war.

At the same time, a limited circle of Achaeans was privy to the real causes and course of the war. Due to ignorance of the true plan of warfare, a murmur begins among the Achaeans: “We went to fight with Troy, but we are robbing innocent neighbors. Why don't we go to Troy?

To quench their discontent, the Achaeans go to Ilion itself... but even here they behave, at first glance, somehow strange. Instead of camping on the Trojan Plain, surrounding the city and taking it, if not by storm, then at least by starvation (to suffocate with hunger), the Achaeans are located on the coast at some distance from the city. Naturally, in order to bring down the intensity of discontent in the army, Agamemnon is obliged to demonstrate to him that he is Agamemnon - a lamb in the flesh and wants peace, but not the desire of the Trojans to go to the world, leads to the need to continue the war to a victorious end. Odysseus and Menelaus do an excellent job with this task. Sent by Agamemnon to the city for " negotiations with the Trojans on the extradition of Helen and on the reconciliation of the warring parties"Odysseus and Menelaus behave quite interestingly:" After Alexander thus kidnapped Helen, the Hellenes first decided to send messengers to return Helen and demand a fine for the kidnapping.". Strange behavior loving husband. But this also indicates what the real task of Odysseus and Menelaus was. And it did not consist in the fact that the Trojans agreed to the demands of the Achaeans. On the contrary, the Trojans demanded peace without fail. That is, Agamemnon knew perfectly well who needed to be sent for negotiations.

Despite the desire of Elena herself to return home and Antenor's advice to the Trojans to end the matter with reconciliation, the Trojans refuse to satisfy the Achaeans in their demands. Although, the Trojans, perhaps, would have given Helen to Menelaus, but the demand for a fine from the Achaeans looked simply arrogance. Maybe the Trojans would have agreed to pay a fine, but its amount was declared such that it was unlikely that the Trojans would have it. For this reason, the Trojans rejected the demand of the Achaean ambassadors.

Agamemnon only needed this: “Ah! Don't want to give? Well, sit in your lair, and we'll live with you for the time being. Achaeans! Peace offer rejected. We have to move on and finish what we started.”

After landing in Troy, the Achaeans do not forget about the neighbors of the Trojans and continue to kindle the fire of the conflict, expanding its geography. Now it's the turn of the Dardanians. Achilles begins to plunder the herds of Aeneas, which forces the latter to get involved in the war. The Dardani, who up to this point had been peacefully observing the events around Dardania and carrying out border guards, grab their weapons.

The next step of the Achaeans was an attack on Zelea, one of the cities of the Lycians, located within Troy.

The Lycians, whose colony was in the immediate vicinity of Troy, being attacked, express their displeasure to the Achaeans.

The Achaeans only need this and they immediately attack Lycia.

Having repulsed the attack on their territory, the Lycians, in retaliation for the invasion, equip a detachment of soldiers led by the king of Lycia Sarpedon and Glaucus and send it to protect Zelea, but the detachment, for obvious reasons, ends up under the walls of Ilion.

In an effort to expand the geography of the conflict even more, the Achaeans, led by Achilles, capture Lesbos and Thebes of Plaki.

The goal of the Achaeans is still the same: on the one hand, to sow discord between the Trojans and their allies, and on the other hand, to sow discord within the Trojan society. The thing is that Thebes of Plaki is the birthplace of Hector's wife Andromache. During the capture of the city and its ruin by Achilles, the king of Thebes Etion and the seven brothers of Andromache were killed. It is understandable the grief of Hector's wife and her dissatisfaction with her husband and the Trojans, who dragged everyone around into the slaughter, and themselves sit behind the walls of Ilion like cowardly hares.

At the same time, Ilion still remains aloof from the theater of hostilities and the Achaeans do not even make any attempts to start not only its assault, but even its blockade.

Information about a full-scale war and its epicenter is gradually spreading throughout the Aegean and its environs. The surrounding peoples naturally have a question, why are the Achaeans so clinging to the coast of Asia Minor and what did they find there that they would not calm down and go home?

The conflict is expanding, but not yet gaining the scale that would move the Balkan peoples off the dead center and set them in motion. In order to draw more and more parties into the conflict, Palamedes, on behalf of Agamemnon, under the plausible pretext of supplying the Achaean army with wheat, goes to Thrace (Bghrigia) .... The fame of the events in Troy is growing every day.

Despite the large army, the Achaeans are still sitting on the shore, and the Trojans do not risk provoking the Achaeans to battle.

But, the information war is doing its job. The news of the war in Troy and the riches of the shores of Asia Minor reaches the one who should come to the war - the Bghrigs. In order for the bghrigu to come to Troy, the Achaeans put into circulation a prediction that if the snow-white horses of King Res are sated at least once with Trojan food and drink water from Xanth, then Troy will remain impregnable.

The Trojans, having heard about the prediction, peck at the bait and, seizing it as a lifeline and a guarantee of their existence, send Hector himself to King Bghrig Res. Hector goes to Res and tells the prediction. Res, does not burn with a special desire to go to war, but, remaining in debt to Hector, is forced to agree to his proposal. At the same time, Res delays the entry of his subordinates into the war as soon as he can.

The Trojans also try to pause and delay the time of a direct confrontation, but their nerves give out and they dare to attack the Achaean camp. During the battle, Patroclus dies. Some time later, in a duel, Hector himself dies at the hands of Achilles.

If until this moment Hector managed to restrain the Trojans and pursue a balanced policy, then with his death in Troy chaotic throwing from side to side began: there was no longer any talk of any restrained and balanced tactics of warfare.

The Achaeans do not let up and make a trip to the mouth of Galis - to the country of Casks (Amazons). Realizing the main goal of their campaign - to make the area of ​​​​future attack attractive (Asia Minor and the Hittite Empire), the Achaeans make campaigns, almost throughout the entire water area of ​​​​the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Amazons, in retaliation for the Achaean raid, put up a detachment led by Penthesilea to help the Trojans.

The conflict grows in earnest, and the fame of Troy reaches unprecedented levels. At the same time, the Achaeans still do not touch Ilion.

Somehow, information about the war in Troy also reaches the Ethiopians - the inhabitants of Elam. These also did not fail to seek their fortune on the side of the Trojans and sent a detachment led by Memnon to Troy.

The Hittites, suspecting something was wrong in the Achaeans' undertaking, and remembering the war almost half a century ago, decide to help their allies and begin to gather troops to Troy, where a detachment headed by Eurypylus, the son of Telef, who was put at the head of the Mysians, is heading.

Lycaon was also sent there at the head of the Hittites (Ketites) and Lycaons.

Pilemen, the king of Paphlagonia, with his Paphlagonians, was also sent there.

At the same time, in order to keep the Trojans on their toes, Achilles kills two more sons of Priam - Troilus and Polydorus.

At the same time, the Achaeans, seeing the numerical growth of the enemy’s troops, take a rather thoughtful step: Achilles, this Bronze Age commando, will capture Lycaon, the leader of the Lycaons and the Hittites (Ketites). It made a lot of sense. If Achilles killed Lycaon, then both the Lycaons and the Hittites would certainly begin to avenge their leader, which would significantly strengthen the forces of the Trojans. The capture of Lycaon led to their neutralization and, even thrown into battle, the Lycaons and Hittites would fight half-heartedly against the Achaeans, fearing that the Achaeans would kill their leader in revenge.

In addition, the death of Lycaon could force the Hittite state to get involved in the war, and then the hope of winning the war for the Achaeans would be as distant as it was nine years ago. But this was completely useless to the Achaeans.

END OF THE WAR

In the tenth year of the Trojan War, seeing that the coalition against the Achaeans was becoming formidable, King Bghrigu Res finally decided to go to Troy. The Bghrigu, led by King Res, arrived in time and just when the Trojans were already in despair.

Along with the bghrigu, the peons, led by Asteropaeus, also arrived in Troy.

The Achaeans only need this. Seeing that information about the events in Troy has spread, almost the news known world, the Achaeans, foreseeing a possible negative outcome for themselves, act quite deliberately and decisively. They do not wait for all the troops going to help the Trojans to unite together and pose a real threat to the Achaean army, the Achaeans destroy each of them in turn.

Soon, under the walls of Ilion, the main battle breaks out, in which Diomedes kills Res. Bghrigu, as revenge for the murder of their king, begin to draw all their forces to Troy. The task that initially faced the Achaeans was completed - the Bghrigu were drawn into the war and it was time to end it.

The Achaeans had another reason for ending the war. By this time, the war, which for almost ten years seems to have been going on, but it seems to be still not, is pretty starting to annoy the Achaeans. The most combat-ready part of the Achaean army (Achilles and his warriors) defiantly beat their thumbs, avoiding participation in hostilities. Moreover, a rebellion is brewing in the camp of the Achaeans and the desire to return home is growing stronger. This time the opposition is led by Palamedes. Agamemnon understands that the rebellion that is brewing in the camp must be extinguished. To this end, Odysseus throws gold into the tent of Palamedes with a forged letter from Priam promising even more gold and accuses him of treason. By court decision, Palamedes was sentenced to death as a traitor and stoned to death. But his body, contrary to the will of Agamemnon, was buried by the hero Ajax Telamonides, who did not believe in treason. Here it becomes clear to Agamemnon that if the final part of the war is delayed for some more time, it will simply be impossible to keep the Achaeans under the walls of Ilion: explicitly or secretly, but the army will disperse home and then the ultimate goal of the campaign will not be achieved .

In the next battle, Asteropey, who led the army of peonies, dies at the hands of Achilles.

Eurypilus, the son of Telef, who led the Mysians, also dies in battle.

Sarpedon, the leader of the Lycians, was also killed.

The queen of the Amazons, Penthesilea, kills Podarka, but she herself dies at the hands of Achilles.

Soon Achilles also dies from the arrow of Paris.

THE FINAL

Despite the death of the leaders, the troops of the Hittites, Mysians and Peons were not defeated, and the coalition against the Achaeans grows in numbers every day. Now it was time for the war to end. . .Odysseus offers a cunning knight move ...

The Trojans, seeing the offering of the Achaeans, decide that the war is over and offer to place the horse in Ilion. But, the priest of Apollo, Laocoön, who insisted on burning the horse, opposes such a move. But Poseidon did not sleep: " two snakes appeared from the sea and attacked Laocoön and his sons". That is, in opposition to the priests of Apollo stood the priests of Poseidon, who did not forget the insults inflicted on them by Laomedont. As a result, the point of view of the priests of Poseidon won. . . and. . . around 1200 BC, the Achaeans, together with the Danaans, take and destroy Ilion by cunning.

The Achaeans took Ilion in time, as they sailed in time from the coast of Troy.

Ilion fell, with the fall of the city, all its inhabitants died, including the priests of Poseidon, thus paying for their irrepressible greed and rancor.

AFTER THE WAR

The second wave of bghrigu, who came to avenge the dead king Res, saw the ruined Ilion in front of them. There was no one to help. There are no Achaeans either - there is no one to take revenge. Before the bghrigu, there was only one correct choice - to pour into unprotected Asia (well, do not go home empty-handed). That is, why not go where there is no more restraining force and there will be no one to stop the Balkans? In addition, Asia Minor is a more attractive and richer prey object than some kind of Achaia. The preference was given to the second option as less risky and more profitable. And the bghrigu fall upon the Mysians (allies of the Hittites), who remained after the Trojan War in the region face to face with the Balkans. The defeat of the Mysians becomes a turning point in the history of Asia Minor.

In fact, the bghrigu, pouring into the expanses of the Hittite state, realized the idea of ​​the Achaeans. Agamemnon succeeded in realizing his plan.

The Bghrigu and the Amazons did not lag behind. After the death of Penthesilea, Mirina became queen of the Amazons. Under her leadership, the Amazons passed through Asia Minor, founded a number of cities and sanctuaries in it, such as Mirina, Smyrna, Martesia, Otrera and conquered Syria.

But it turns out that the end of the war did not bode well for the Achaeans either. While the army and its leaders were at war, a new generation grew up in Achaia, who wanted to rule the country themselves. For example, Odysseus had to beat the suitors of Penelope. Agamemnon died at the hands of his wife, barely having time to return to Mycenae. Menelaus and Elena were forced to wander the world for seven years, until the situation in Sparta changed and they could not return home. The veterans who came from the war had to regain the right to power in their own home with weapons in their hands. Civil strife broke out in Achaia, as a result of which Achaia was on the verge of extinction. Most of the cities were destroyed, and the population was killed. In Messenia, out of 41 cities, only 8 remained inhabited, in Laconia out of 30 cities - 7, in Argolis and Corinthia out of 44 cities - 19, in Boeotia out of 28 cities only five survived. The migration of the Achaean population began to the north, northwest of the Peloponnese and to the islands of the Ionian Sea (Kafelonia and Ithaca).

Part of the population of the north-west of the Peloponnese (Pelasgians), who faced the fact of the expansion of the Achaeans into their territories and were not able to resist them, loaded onto ships and soon ended up in Canaan, populating its coastal territories. The territory on which the Pelasgians settled began to bear the name Peleshtim (Palestine).

Under such conditions, there were no people who wanted to invade the territory of Achaia and fall under the hot hand of the furious veterans of the Trojan War. Apparently, the glory obtained in the Trojan War ran ahead of the victors.

Although, it should be noted that the bghrigu, after all, tried to invade Achaia. But, the path of the bghrigu, led to Achaia by Ares himself, who became the king of the bghrigu instead of Res, is blocked by no one there, but by Odysseus himself. According to legend, Apollo himself manages to prevent the clash of the Achaeans with the Bghrigu. For the bghrigu, it became obvious that the strength of Achaia remained unshakable and combat-ready, their army was saved, and besides, the gods favored the Achaeans and, therefore, it was futile to continue the war with them.

The Hittites were also unlucky: under the blows of the Bghrigu, the Hittite kingdom fell.

It was not easier for the rest of the population of Asia Minor: under the blows of the Bghrigu and the Amazons, the population began to collect their belongings and look for new, more peaceful lands for settlements. In 1195, a new wave poured into Egypt "peoples of the sea".

conclusions. Who is responsible for the start of the Trojan War? But, no matter how overpopulated the Balkans are and no matter how great the desire to blame the population of the Balkans for all the troubles, Laomedont with the priests of Poseidon, who provoked the events and launched the mechanism of aggression, should be considered the culprit of all these troubles: these guys showed the Balkans how it is necessary to solve problems. It was they who, not knowing how to stop in time and resolve conflicts peacefully, moved the entire array of the peoples of the Balkans from their place, provoking them on a campaign and showing a manhole through which a number of their problems could be solved. Simply put, they gave a method for solving such problems. For this reason, the gratitude of the Achaeans to the Trojans had no limits.