Homesick
The Trojan War, Part 4: Zeus puts his plan into practice
Content warnings: violence, threatened violence, mentions of nudity
Find the last two parts of the story of the Trojan War here:
Part 2
Part 3
That night, while Hera slumbered gently beside him in dreams that didn’t threaten to hurt her, Zeus considered Thetis and her request. If she wanted Achilles’ name glorified and her son begged for his warrior aid once more, Zeus would need to prompt the Greek war camp into battle and prove his loss. He summoned the Oneiroi, the spirits of dream, and sent them down to King Agamemnon with a message.
The spirits bounded down from high Olympus and tumbled over themselves as they went, eager to reach the sleeping king and sow Zeus’ seeds of chaos. They arrived at Agamemnon’s bedside and bent over him, taking the form of his trusted advisor King Nestor. In Agamemnon’s dreams, Nestor encouraged him to attack Troy; it was now, Nestor advised, that the city was at its most vulnerable. Launching an attack would surely bring a successful end to the war, especially now that Hera had corralled the Olympians to support the Greeks, with Zeus promising his aid in giving the Trojans trouble.
Agamemnon rose at once at the departure of the Oneiroi, dwelling on the words spoken to him in his dream. This was a message from Zeus, there was no doubt, taking the form of his most trusted to reassure him of the validity of his information. He had the influence of the king of Olympus and had at last been told that now was his time to finally win the war that had spanned nine long years.
He summoned his war council to meet at Nestor’s ship, his table of kings and commanders, and told them of the dream he’d been sent. The real King Nestor admitted that if anyone else had had such a dream then he would dismiss it as nonsense but to come from Olympus’ appointed king was surely a sign that the dream had been true, that they really had Zeus’ assurance of support.
With such a proclamation, the leaders gathered their men into conference to receive their orders and a speech from their king Agamemnon and soon the camp was congregated under his watchful eye. He stood, visible to every man on the sand, and enacted his own scheme that had been brewing since his message had startled him awake.
He looked out at these men who had pledged their lives to his cause, to his brother’s honour, and leaned on his divine-given staff. He declared that he had had a message from Zeus, that today was the day that they must fight one more time to take Troy. To the surprise of his advisors, however, Agamemnon continued, lamenting that they must do so, that surely the Greek army couldn’t take Troy after trying so hard for nine years. It was perhaps best, he added, that they should all pack up their camps and board their ships for the voyage home, that there was no use in fighting further.
A moment of silence reigned over the stunned crowd before the noise of eager movement broke forth into the air. Before Agamemnon could stop them, every soldier was running to their camps and preparing their ships, joyous at finally being released from their service with eyes desperate to at last glimpse the shores of home.
Agamemnon watched in dismay as his test of his men failed so dismally and completely. He had only expected a few cowards to back out of the war, not the whole fleet. He had wanted to test the mettle of those he would finally take Troy with, but now every ship was abuzz with delight and haste, ignorant to his distress.
On Olympus, Hera watched the deserting army with horror and shame. The defeat of Troy she had so longed for was slipping through her fingers and she couldn’t bear the sight of it. She called Athena to her and spoke at length with her of such cowardice, that surely the Greek army wouldn’t leave such a chance of glory and the recovery of the lost Helen. She begged Athena to appeal to her champions, to Odysseus most of all, that he had the ear of the men with his wisdom and courage and could surely wrangle the soldiers back to the battlefield.
Athena readily agreed to go and duly stepped from the palace and through her golden light, appearing beside a disgruntled Odysseus. She had found him near the ships, as all the men were, but he was the only one in a stoic funk, refusing to help any of the soldiers in their effort to finally leave the shores of Troy. She greeted him and lauded his attitude, sharing Hera’s concerns with him as the men bustled around them, paying their commander no heed.
She urged him to action, that he had the confidence of Hera and Athena behind him, that he must stop this mass exodus. He took courage in her speech, steeling himself for what he must do, and thanked her for such inspiration. Not stopping even to see Athena’s golden departure, Odysseus strode to Agamemnon, still baffled on his stage, accompanied by his own squire and herald from Ithaca, Eurybates.
From the king they obtained his mighty staff and, now armed with a weapon of Zeus and Olympus, went to confront the leaders and soldiers who were so eager to abandon their duty and their oath. He persuaded, where he could, condemning such behaviour and shaming some commanders into ceasing such cowardly behaviour. Where even his words of wisdom couldn’t reach, Odysseus threatened the captains and leaders with the staff, striking them with it where required to get his point across.
Slowly but surely, Odysseus and Eurybates corralled the soldiers, ship by ship and kingdom by kingdom, to return to Agamemnon and pledge themselves anew to their cause; what would be the purpose, he reasoned, in letting nine years of fighting and sacrifice go to waste?
The only soldiers who remained away from this renewed conference were those of Achilles, still resolute in his refusal to fight, even though he saw the men return to Agamemnon and wished he could be among them. He craved the battlefield, longing for a chance to hear his sword sing with the blood of the Trojans, but still Agamemnon had not begged for his return. He bade his men unpack the ships and reset their camp, but commanded that they may not join their fellow warriors until the king had sought them out himself.
With all but Achilles’ men returned to him, Agamemnon called for quiet once more. All but one obeyed; Thersites, a soldier who was well-hated by the leaders of the Greek army, called out to Agamemnon and taunted him for his continued interest in the Trojan War. He jealously mocked the spoils of war that Agamemnon had accrued and added how little respect he had for such a king who fought little and gained much on the backs of his men, rehashing the arguments that had led Achilles to leave Agamemnon’s army.
Odysseus, who, alongside Achilles himself, had suffered much annoyance and irritation at Thersites’ constant bandying of his opinions, reprimanded the soldier for speaking so out of turn to his lord king and commander. He threatened Thersites with a naked whipping should he catch him with such disrespect again and hit him with Agamemnon’s sceptre, still in his hands, to demonstrate both his point and his ready anger at such interruption.
Thersites was quelled for now and Odysseus was roundly lionized by the other commanders, many of whom had also been irked by Thersites’ opinions in the past. A herald, stood next to Odysseus, called for quiet, though only Odysseus could see that he was really Athena in disguise, ready in her support and delighting in her opportunity for camouflage. Again the men settled into silence and Odysseus began to speak, appealing to Agamemnon’s reason over his ready temper at such betrayal by his entire army.
He acknowledged that while the men had been ready to return home at a moment’s notice, it couldn't be held against them. For nine years these men had toiled and fought, losing friends and family on the battlefield of Helen’s honour. It was only reasonable that they should wish to leave when given a chance but that it was the bloody past that also prompted them to stay. Here, Odysseus turned to the sea of men before him and applied to them in Agamemnon’s stead. So many men were gone and so many moments missed with their families at home; so much sacrifice by so many. It would spit in the face of all that had been and gone, he announced, should they give up now. Troy may still stand now, it was true, but Calchas had predicted ten years of war and the gods had been true in their word so far. Odysseus beseeched both soldier and commander to see out the fight, to reach the ten years since nine had already passed at such a price.
The men, both soldiers and leaders, were inspired by this speech and cheered for Odysseus as he stepped back in amongst the ranks of advisors. Nestor entreated Agamemnon not to become caught up in the petty arguments and bickerings of the day-to-day, even those with Achilles, but instead to remain strong in his conviction to stay and fight for Helen and Menelaus.
Agamemnon, soaking in his advisors’ words, declared them to be true and charged all present to ready themselves, to eat and prepare, that they would fight this day to take Troy under Zeus’ protection as promised.
Find the fifth part of the story of the Trojan War here:
