トロイ

Vol. 27 : The Long War

At first, everything had been going well for the Greeks. They had won the battle on the beach. They had driven the Trojans back into their city.

But Troy's walls were strong, its soldiers were skilled, and Hector was a brilliant leader. The Greeks could not defeat them.

Nor did they have enough men to surround Troy. This allowed the Trojans to bring in food, water and reinforcements. Indeed, many powerful allies came to help Priam defend his city.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to years. The Greeks had thought it would be a short war, but they had been wrong.

They made sacrifices to the gods, praying for a quick victory. But the gods had grown bored of the war. They knew how long it would be before Troy fell and they turned their interest elsewhere.

Achilles and Patroclus led raiding parties to plunder the lands surrounding Troy, but even that could not stop morale from sinking. Men were questioning the point of the war — whether it was worthwhile to suffer all this for another man's cheating wife.

As yet another spring came to the shores before Troy, men longed to go home. They thought of their wives and their children. No one hoped to see his family more than Odysseus. Agamemnon meanwhile slept badly, dreaming of those horrifying moments when his daughter had been killed.

Within the walls of Troy, the situation was no different. The Trojans were also growing tired of the war. Occasionally, Hector would lead the men in an attack against the Greeks, killing a few here and there, but mostly the Trojans stayed inside the city.

Helen grew sadder, and with her sadness, she became more beautiful. The people of Troy called her the Lady of Sorrows and each time they saw her, they fell in love with her again and swore never to return her to the Greeks.