Trojan War by William Chandler

Wedding of King Peleus and Thetis

Jan 1, 1000

When Thetis married Peleus all but one of the gods would be invited to the wedding, the one exception being Eris, the Goddess of Discord. In an attempt to spite the other Gods for their decision, Eris would throw an apple into the crowds of the wedding that had inscribed on it the phrase "For the Fairest" The Goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera all believed themselves deserving of the apple and requested that Zeus decide which of them was meant for the apple, but he could not choose.

Judgement of Paris

Jan 2, 1000

Due to Zeus's worry that his choice in picking one of the three Goddesses would anger the others, he decided to choose a worthy mortal judge he felt was fair and just-- Paris, Prince of Troy. As Paris observed the Goddesses, each offered a bribe to win his favor. Aphrodite offered him the love of the world’s most beautiful woman. He took most fondly to Aphrodite's offer and she awarded him the love of Helen of Sparta.

Paris goes to visit King Menelaus of Sparta

Jan 3, 1000

Paris entered King Menelaus's palace and over time, swooned over Helen with his fine looks, style, and honeyed-words, whilst Aphrodite fueled Hellen's lust for him.

Paris steals Hellen

Jan 4, 1000

When Paris and Helen Arrived back in Troy, his family scolded him for his vile acts of adultery, in vain, for Paris knew that the most beautiful woman in the world harbored an affection for him like no other.

Menelaus finds that Helen is gone

Jan 5, 1000

Menelaus appeals to his brother Agamemnon to help him rescue his wife, with the most powerful king in all of Greece at his side he could acquire the help of other kings. However Because Helen's Father made all of her suitors, which Agamemnon and many of the other kings were, swear not only to abide by his decision but also to protect her honor, Menelaus turned to Odysseus. Menelaus sent Odysseus to to tour the palaces and cities of Greece and to recruit men for a mission to free Helen.

Odysseus and Achilles Avoid the Trojan War

Jan 6, 1000

In the beginning Odysseus had seen an Oracle that told him that if he went to war he would be away for 20 years and return a beggar. Odysseus's solution to this was to put up the facade of a mad man, and to plow his fields with salt instead of seed, though he was discovered when he stopped the plow to avoid killing his child. Achilles as well had a solution to avoid the Trojan war and hides on the Island Skyros disguised as a woman in court of King Lycomedes though he too is discovered.

The Trojan War Begins

Jan 7, 1000

Agamemnon takes Chyseis

Jan 8, 1000

When Agamemnon takes Chryseis, the daughter of an Apollo Priest as a new maiden, Chryseis Father offers to pay ransom to get her back. Agamemnon, of course, refuses so in desperation the priest seeks confidence in Apollo who sends a plague upon the Greeks in retaliation.

Agamemnon steals Achilles maiden Breseis

Jan 9, 1000

Agamemnon at the loss of Chryseis, took it upon himself to take Achilles slave girl Breseis, who is the daughter of a prince. Due to Achilles loss of Breseis, whom he has genuine affection for, he decides to step down from the Trojan war.

The Gods take sides

Jan 10, 1000

As the war raged on for the ninth year The gods became more and more aware of all the commotion and intervened. Athena, Ares, and Hera, along with Poseidon, sided with the Greeks, whereas Artemis, Apollo, and Aphrodite sided with the Trojans. Zeus vowed to Remain Neutral, but in his heart he favored the Trojans.

Menelaus battles Paris in one on one combat

Jan 11, 1000

The Trojans and Greeks eventually came to a conclusion to lessen the loss of life between the two sides by pitting Menelaus and Paris against one another for Helen's hand. However Menelaus was a viscous Greek warrior that easily outmatched the feeble Trojan prince. Menelaus seized Paris by his helmet and began dragging him around, but only narrowly did he escaped, as Aphrodite cut the strap holding Paris's helmet, hiding him with a thick mist to cover his tracks as he fled.

Ares switches sides

Jan 12, 1000

In the Midst of battle Athena sends Diomedes, a Greek hero, after Aphrodite and her son Aeneas. Diomedes manages to injure Aphrodite and begins to go after Apollo when the god tries to protect Aeneas. Ares seeing this switches sides and takes physical form to fight along the Trojan warrior Hector to push the Achaeans back. Athena and Hera rally with Diomedes and guide his spear directly into Ares chest, who then flees to Olympus to tend to his wounds.

Achilles cousin Patroclus falls to Hector

Jan 13, 1000

As the great Trojan warrior Hector tore through Greek infantry he met on the battlefield Achilles cousin, Patroclus. Patroclus faced Hector in combat donning Achilles armor and was swiftly killed. Under Hector's assumption that this was the actual Achilles he relished the victory and took his armor as a trophy.

Achilles drives the Trojans back into Troy

Jan 14, 1000

Achilles, hearing of his cousins death, is eager to once again rejoin the fray of battle and acquires a replacement set of armor. When Achilles encounters Hector, he viciously attacks him, exploiting all of the weak points of his old armor. When he finally kills hector Achilles ties his ankles together and drags his corpse around the walls of troy. Later that night, King Priam entered the Greek camp with the support of the Gods, and requested for the return of his sons mutilated body for Burial.

The Trojan Horse

Jan 15, 1000

As victory neared ever closer for the Achaeans they would soon need a final push to put an end to the Trojans once and for all. To account for this Odysseus took matters into his own hands. Odysseus had his men build a great wooden horse with enough hollow space inside to fit a few dozen soldiers inside and instructed Agamemnon to take the rest of the soldiers and sail to a cove just out of sight of the Trojan watch towers.

The Trojans find the horse

Jan 16, 1000

When the Trojans found the battle field the following day, the only sign of the Greeks left was the large wooden horse and one solitary Achaean soldier, who relayed that the Greeks had given up and fled in the night. In exchange for his life he would tell the Trojans about the mysterious horse. He claimed that the Greeks had built the horse as an offering to Athena in hope that the suspicious Trojans would destroy it and invoke the wrath of the Goddess. The Trojans bought the story and took it.

The Destruction of Troy

Jan 17, 1000

The Trojans brought the massive horse behind their walls and began to celebrate in honor of their victory. As Trojans began to doze off for the night and the city fell quite and still, the Greeks sprung into action. First, they would kill the watchtower guards and open the gates for the rest of their army. From there they lit the city ablaze and killed the Trojans as they woke with the only goal of extermination. So In the wake of this Troy fell with the greatest of ease, the Greeks had won.