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According to the mysterious mythographer Dictys
of Cnossos (who has left a document in which he
narrates the fall of Troy with the details of an eyewitness, which he claimed
to have been), Achilles was treacherously murdered during a truce in the
temple of Apollo near the
city by the two brothers Paris and Deiphobus 1, sons of Priam 1. Dictys says that Deiphobus 1 approached Achilles as if to
confirm the agreements concerning Priam 1's daughter Polyxena 1, whom Achilles had fallen in
love with, and embracing him in false friendship
refused to let go, so that Paris, rushing forward
with sword drawn, could deal him two deadly blows
in his sides.
Joy at Troy
After committing such a crime in a sacred place,
the perpetrators were seen leaving the scene by Odysseus, Ajax 1, and Diomedes 2, who
arrived just in time to hear the dying man's last
words of accusation against his murderers. Such was
the end of Achilles;
and the Trojans, seeing that their most feared
enemy had departed to another world, rejoiced.
Defection
But since great deeds are reduced to ashes when
achieved by low means, very soon their joy was
clouded over. For there are men whose love of
country knows limits, and they refuse to put up
with injustice, betrayals, crimes, and the like.
And when the seer Helenus 1 learned that his brother Paris had desecrated Apollo's shrine, he,
loving the gods more than his country, fled from Troy. Helenus 1 then joined
the enemy as a suppliant, being fetched by Odysseus and Diomedes 2 in the same
temple, and brought to the Achaean camp, where he
declared that he feared not death but the gods, and
that other leading Trojans, such as Aeneas and Antenor 1, found Paris' outrage impossible
to bear. So the death of Achilles, which prima
vista seemed to be an advantage, on second analysis
proved to be a flaw, because of the indignation and
defection that it caused among the Trojans.
Death of Paris
Yet some could argue that Helenus 1 fled Troy, not because of Paris' crime against the
god, but because he had learned, through an oracle,
of Troy's imminent fall.
And others have told that Helenus 1 did not
desert the city, but that he was captured by the
Achaeans, and forced by them to tell how Troy could fall; for there
were oracles that had to be fulfilled before the
city could be taken, and these were known by Helenus 1 the seer. In
any case, shortly after the defection of Helenus 1, his brother Paris was challenged by Philoctetes to fight
a duel with the bow; and Paris having missed, Philoctetes hit him
first in one hand, then in one eye, and after
piercing both his feet, he finished him off.
Sedition at Troy
It is at this moment, says Dictys, that the
Trojan nobility, seeing the enemy raging around the
walls and their own resources diminishing, started
to plot sedition against King Priam 1 and his sons, and
decided to return Helen and the stolen property to Menelaus. But when Deiphobus 1 learned about their plans, he carried the woman off and married her. Because of the pressure and the stalemate caused by this sudden wedding, the Trojan council was taken over by discord, and the king, being insulted by Aeneas, had to yield to
the nobles, and accordingly charged Antenor 1 to negotiate
peace with the Achaeans.
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5031: Grave relief, Attica 4C BC. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.
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Antenor 1's opinion
of Priam 1
The gods know if that was a good decision. For Antenor 1 was of the opinion that the two last Trojan kings, Laomedon 1 and Priam 1, were both
guilty of ill-considered acts; and speaking to the
Achaeans, he called Priam 1 both evil and foolish, saying that he had
attacked everyone around him, killed, committed
personal injuries, coveted the property of others,
and finally spread like a plague his own bad
example to his sons, who now violated all rules,
both sacred and profane, being inspired by a father
who acted with insolence and hatred. And in
presenting himself to his new friends, Antenor 1 declared (so that no one would be confused) that he, although related to the king by the same line of descent, was a very different kind of person.
A charade
Those presentations made, the negotiations
turned into a charade. For the Achaeans and Antenor 1 decided that Troy should be destroyed,
except that Aeneas should
share the spoils and his house should not be
harmed. As for Antenor 1 himself, they resolved that he should receive
half of Priam 1's wealth,
and one of his own sons, whatever his choice,
should sit on Troy's
throne. And as ambassadors to the peace conference
to be held at Troy, they
appointed Agamemnon, Idomeneus 1, Odysseus,
and Diomedes 2,
sending back Antenor 1 with a false report: he was to say that the
Achaeans prepared a gift for Athena, and that they
would leave after receiving Helen and a certain amount
of gold.
Priam 1 reviled by the
Trojan council
The next day Antenor 1 pleaded, in a long speech, for peace at the
Trojan council, advising to give whatever was
demanded:
"Let us give
even the ornaments of our temples, if otherwise we
cannot save our city." (Antenor 1 to the Trojan council. Dictys 5.2).
On hearing Antenor 1, everyone showed agreement demanding that Priam 1 should bring an
end to the adversity and misery they were
suffering. And since rulers dislike to be told what
to do, Priam 1 tore his
hair and wept, declaring that not only the gods
hated him but also his own people. For that reason,
he said, he would leave their presence, being in
any case prepared to accept whatever they decided
to do. And when the king had left, the council
decided to send both Antenor 1 and Aeneas to the Achaean
camp in order to negotiate the exact terms of the
peace treaty, and then broke up.
Helen makes her move
About midnight, says Dictys, Helen came to Antenor 1 and begged
him to plead on her behalf when meeting the
Achaeans; for now the time had come, also for her,
to hate Troy and secure her
safe return to Hellas and her lawful husband Menelaus. So when the
next day the two Trojans conferred with the
Achaeans, not about how to make peace, but about
the best way to betray the city, they also asked
forgiveness for Helen. After this meeting, Antenor 1 and Aeneas returned to the
city accompanied by Odysseus and Diomedes 2, who came as ambassadors; and when these were seen in the city, the Trojans' hopes were raised; for they believed that their presence meant the end of the war, and that danger had been averted. As the desire for peace spread, bad times came upon those who had previously been too eager against the invaders. And thus Antimachus 5, who had been more eloquent than any in defeating all proposals to give back Helen to Menelaus, was banished
from all of Phrygia; for
the Trojans now tended to believe that he and those
like him were the cause of their terrible troubles.
It was also at this time that a curious and deadly
accident took place, in which the children of Paris and Helen were conveniently
crushed by the collapsing roof of their home.
The Palladium
It is during this visit to Troy that Odysseus and Diomedes 2 learned
from Antenor 1 the
oracle that declared that Troy would be destroyed if
the Palladium, a wooden statue, were carried outside the city walls (see Conditions to take Troy at Trojan War). And having returned for negotiations some days later, they obtained it from Antenor 1. For the
latter, being a helpful man, went to the temple of Athena, and having accosted the priestess (Theano 2, whom others call Antenor 1's wife) with
both threats and promises of reward, obtained from
her the Palladium which he wrapped and sent to Odysseus through
faithful friends or close accomplices.
Gold consumes time and other things
In the meantime, negotiations focused, as usual,
on the matter of gold, which, believed to be the
measure of all things, is employed to inflame as
well as to appease. For victors may abstain from
destruction if a suitable amount of gold is put
before their eyes in form of what they may call
indemnity or compensation; but if they are not
satisfied with what has been piled up, they might
immediately abandon the idea of peace, to the
detriment of those who are already impoverished by
defeat. So when the Trojans protested on account of
the Achaean demands (for gold is always too much
when given, and too little when received), Diomedes 2,
remembering his toils, informed them:
"We did not
come from Argos to give special terms to Troy, but to fight you to the death. Therefore, if you are still desirous of war, the Achaeans are ready …" (Diomedes 2 to the Trojan council. Dictys 5.6).
… and so, after a long discussion (for gold demands a large amount of time, and a most careful investigation of details) an agreement was reached.
The WOODEN HORSE
Since the Achaeans thought they were being
assisted by success, both concerning the false
negotiations and the theft of the Palladium, they
decided to proceed with their gift to Athena. For this purpose
they consulted the seer Helenus 1, whom they
considered to be excellent on the following ground:
that he was able, without having been informed, to
give a detailed account of all events that had
taken place so far. And indeed some believe that
this is the way to test prophets and seers; since
no one, they reason, can know the future who cannot
tell about the past. So Helenus 1, after
telling them that there was no hope left for Troy now that the Palladium was away,
declared that the Achaeans should offer a WOODEN HORSE to Athena, making it so large that the Trojans would have to breach the city walls in order to take it in. Having thus been instructed by the seer, the Achaeans brought a great deal of wood, and appointed the architect Epeius 2 and Ajax 2 to
supervise the work.
Ratification of the treaty
Meanwhile, the peace treaty was ratified at Troy, where the Achaean
ambassadors (Diomedes 2, Odysseus, Idomeneus 1, Ajax 1, Nestor, Meriones, Thoas 2, Philoctetes, Neoptolemus, and Eumelus 1) were received with hope both by the people, who thought that their presence meant the end of their afflictions, and by the council. The ratification of the terms of peace took place the following day around the altars that were raised in the plain (so that all could see), where sacred oaths were sworn by both parties, who called on the highest gods to be their witnesses. Diomedes 2 and Odysseus were the first
to swear, and after them Antenor 1, on behalf of
the Trojans.
Antenor 1's greatest
day
This was one of Antenor 1's greatest days, although he grounded it on
treason. And since many cannot distinguish between
loyalty and betrayal, being satisfied with the mere
appearance of things, the Trojans too, believing
him to be a wonderful peacemaker, heaped upon him
the highest praises and revered him like a god,
while he, together with Aeneas, monitored the
Trojans, making sure that they were carrying to Athena's temple the
amount of gold and silver stipulated by the treaty.
The WOODEN HORSE dragged into the city
When Epeius 2, following the instructions of Helenus 1, had
completed the building of the WOODEN HORSE, which,
standing on wheels, towered to an immense height,
the Achaeans drew it from the camp to the walls,
telling the Trojans to receive it with devotion as
a sacred offering to Athena. But, as planned,
the fateful device was too large to pass through
the city gates; and as predicted, the Trojans
started to tear down the walls, helping each other
with the greatest enthusiasm in their stupid
purpose, which, for being shared and common, did
not look stupid at all. When the Achaeans saw the
walls almost demolished, they deemed opportune to
demand the gold and silver before they allowed the WOODEN HORSE to be
drawn into Troy, and when
the Trojans had paid they were graciously permitted
to continue their work of self-destruction by
finishing the demolition of the walls. And as soon
they had merrily put down the part of the walls
necessary to let the horse in, the happy crowd
proceeded to draw it within the city, where they
gave themselves to feast and joy.
Final Attack
In the meantime, the Achaean fleet, charged with
the Trojan ransom of gold and silver, sailed off to
Sigeum to await the darkness of night; and when Sinon, whom they had left
behind, lit a beacon lamp as a signal, they
returned in full armour to the city, slaughtering
whomever they found, parents and children alike, in
homes, streets, temples, or any other place, sacred
or not. Those who were awake died without being
able to reach for their arms, and those who slept
never woke up. Likewise the invaders set on fire
and destroyed the buildings of the city, with the
sole exception of the homes of Aeneas and Antenor 1, where guards
had been posted. For these traitors were never
despised by the enemy, nor were they ever suspected
by their own people; or else they were no traitors
at all, as others say.
Death of Deiphobus 1
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The sacrifice of Polyxena 1. 0828 detail: Giambattista Pittoni 1678-1767: Die Opferung der Polyxena. Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.
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The members of the Trojan royal family, seeing
what was happening, fled to the temples to save
their lives with varying success: Priam 1 was slaughtered
by Neoptolemus at
the altar of Zeus, and Cassandra was captured
by Ajax 2, who dragged her
off from Athena's shrine. Menelaus' forces arrived to the house where Deiphobus 1 and Helen lived, and when they
had her new husband arrested, Menelaus cut him to
pieces under torture, lopping off ears and nose,
and all of his limbs one by one. And since at
daybreak, there were still many seeking protection
at the altars of the gods, the Achaeans, not yet
sated with Trojan blood, decided to pull them away
and slay them, who looked, says Dictys, like
trembling sheep; for those who had escaped the
slaughter of the previous night and had not been
taken by surprise as many others, had had many
hours in the temples to ponder, between panic and
hope, over their miserable plight.
The booty
Such was the end of Troy, which the Achaeans
burned to the ground, pillaging both temples and
houses. And when they had completed their work,
they proceeded to divide the booty, beginning with
the captives of royal blood, whom they enslaved: Helen was restored to Menelaus; Polyxena 1 was given
to Neoptolemus to be
sacrificed to Achilles; Cassandra was given to Agamemnon; Aethra 2 (Theseus' mother) was given to her grandsons, Demophon 1 and Acamas 1; Andromache was
apportioned by lot to Neoptolemus, and
Dictys says that her two sons by Hector 1 (for he does
not say, as others do, that Hector 1 had just one son, little Astyanax 2, whom the Achaeans murdered) were allowed to accompany her; and Hecabe 1 fell to Odysseus, but she,
preferring death to enslavement, cursed the
Achaeans in such evil ways that they finally stoned
her to death, burying her at Abydos (the city in
the Troad opposite the Thracian Chersonesus) at a
place called Cynossema or The Grave of the Bitch
(on account of her mad barking, says Dictys). On
the other hand, the traitors Aeneas and Antenor 1 were
honoured, and the former was even invited to sail
along and promised a kingdom. The seer Helenus 1 received the
sons of Hector 1 from Neoptolemus, and
rewards in gold and silver from the rest of the ACHAEAN LEADERS for all his services.
Death of Ajax 1
It was at this time, says Dictys, that
contention arose between Ajax 1 on one side, and Odysseus and Diomedes 2 on the
other; yet not because of the armour of Achilles, as others
have said, but because of the Palladium. For this
great Ajax 1 saw himself
(and many agreed with him) as the performer of
unsurpassed deeds, and therefore (he thought), the Palladium should be
his. But on the other hand, Diomedes 2 and Odysseus claimed it on
the ground that they had themselves carried it off.
So Ajax 1 argued that it
was Antenor 1 who had
carried the Palladium off, themselves having no troubles. On hearing that
true fact, Diomedes 2 yielded, but not Odysseus, who was
finally favored by the Atrides Agamemnon and Menelaus, on the ground
of his merits in this particular case only, since
no one dared to put in doubt the prowesses of Ajax 1. Yet it was known
that they did so because it was through Odysseus' intercession
that Helen, still loved by Menelaus, had been
brought back unharmed; for had the will of Ajax 1 found its way, Helen had been
dead, since he, on the
verge of the sack of Troy,
had proposed that she should be killed who had
caused the death of so many excellent men like
himself. The decision of the Atrides caused unease
in the army, which split in two factions; and when
the next day Ajax 1 was
found dead out in the open (being later buried in
Rhoeteum by Neoptolemus), Odysseus, fearing those
who believed that Ajax 1 had been treacherously murdered, sailed away,
leaving the Palladium behind for Diomedes 2 to keep.
New enemies
And since when an enemy disappears a new one
must be produced, the army now got angry, on
account of what happened to Ajax 1 (whose children were given to Teucer 1, his half brother) at the Atrides Agamemnon and Menelaus, whom they
called ignoble, for being, as they asserted, not
the sons of Atreus but of Plisthenes 1. And not without difficulty they were able to sail unharmed, although like outcasts. On the Trojan side, Aeneas failed in trying
to drive Antenor 1 out
of the country and was himself, since Antenor 1 gained
control of the kingdom, forced to sail away, coming
eventually, as far as Dictys tells, to the Adriatic
sea. As for Antenor 1, some have said that he came to northern Italy, but Dictys affirms that he increased his power in the Troad, being loved by all those who trusted his wisdom, and ignored everything about his extraordinary transactions.
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