S6E6 - Troy: Rallying the Troops

The stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features lots of names, preparing to go to war, and people, dancing, prophecies that are ignored, and the sacrifice of a daughter.

This episode is about preparing for wartime activities.

If you've had too much of wartime activities lately, maybe skip this one.

Listen, and you'll see it's freaking

out.

We're back to Greece, and we're gonna pick up right where we left off,

which is

with Trojan War.

Oracle, do you remember where we stopped last time when we were talking about the Trojan War?

I remember that you rudely stopped the story at a key plot point with no apparent remorse.

Right.

Yes, my evil plan to create suspense has succeeded.

So were you suspended?

Suspense is not an effective use of my time.

I'll take that as a yes.

And of course, I will continue to tell the story.

You don't even have to ask.

Now, I remember last time we were.

Thetis had just captured Achilles to ensure that he did not go and fight in the Trojan War.

Right.

Thetis had heard a prophecy saying Achilles would not return from Troy if he went to fight, so she did everything in her power to make sure her son would never get to Troy, including some light kidnapping.

And she ended up taking her son to the island of Skyros.

Skyros is a small island in the Aegean Sea.

The kingdom was led by a man named Lycomedes.

You will stay here on the island of Skyros until the war is over, Thetis informed Achilles when he woke up the next morning.

Hardly anyone ever comes here, and Lycomedes owes me a favor.

I will kill him if he tells tells anyone you're here.

Now, you might remember that Achilles didn't super care about this particular war that was brewing, but he did want to fight and prove himself in battle.

He didn't want to hide out in this faraway kingdom.

But he had no way off the island and no one willing to help him stand up to his powerful mother.

And, well, you know, she was his mother.

She probably knew what was best.

So it didn't really matter how he felt about the war.

He knew he was staying put.

His resolve to do what his mother said was tested though when Thetis insisted that Achilles remain in disguise and not just any disguise.

You see, Lycomedes had a daughter named Diademia and she loved to sing and dance and was always surrounded by a troop of female dancers.

Thetis asked Achilles to dress up like one of those girls as a way to remain inconspicuous.

Don't you think this is going a little bit overboard?

Achilles asked Thetis as he was getting dressed in his dance costume.

But Thetis did not care.

Her son was safe.

She would make him dress up like a banana if she thought it would help keep him alive.

Why would he dress up like a banana?

I don't know.

Maybe to hide in a bunch?

Yeah?

Bananas are a healthy fruit.

They are high in potassium and fiber, and also have magnesium and vitamins C and B6.

Right, but I was actually...

now, never mind.

Anyway, bananas aside, Achilles actually ended up embracing his role as one of Diademia's ladies.

And because he was so athletic, he wasn't half bad at dancing.

People truly believed he was a dancer who was born and raised on the island of Skyros.

Now at this point, Agamemnon and Menelaus, the leaders of the Greek army, were starting to panic.

They needed Achilles to fight on their side, and he was nowhere to be found.

And if that wasn't bad enough, they had another problem.

Odysseus, the only man clever enough to find Achilles and convince him to fight, was refusing to participate in the war.

Odysseus has been mentioned several times on this podcast, most recently during episode two of this season, where he convinced all of Helen's suitors to take an oath.

promising to defend Helen's future husband should she be kidnapped.

Exactly.

And since then, our friend Odysseus has done exceptionally well for himself.

Thanks to Helen's father's help, he was able to marry Penelope and take his place as king of Ithaca.

He had a newborn son whom he loved dearly, and he was happy.

He didn't want to leave and fight a random war, even if he did swear an oath.

I mean, whose stupid idea was that anyway?

It was Odysseus's idea.

This is an example of using a rhetorical question, which is a question not meant to be answered for humorous effect.

Exactly.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Well, anyway, Odysseus was already pretty smart, like Achilles.

He didn't show up when Agamemnon sent out the call for war either.

But the two brothers knew what to do, and they sent a man named Palamedes to find Odysseus.

Palamedes was a famous Greek prince known for his cleverness as well.

You can think of him as Odysseus's arch nemesis, even though they were on the same side.

Agamemnon and Menelaus knew they would need a clever man to convince Odysseus to fight, and since they obviously couldn't have Odysseus be the one to convince himself think of how weird that would be they went with the next best option Palamedes.

But Odysseus wasn't just laying around waiting for someone to make him fight the Trojans.

From the second he got the summons to war, he was scheming and hatching his plan.

And his plan was pretty simple.

He was going to pretend to be insane.

When Odysseus received word of Palamedes' arrival, he went straight to his fields.

He hitched a donkey to one side of his plow and an ox to the other side of his plow.

The animals were very different sizes and each pulled at a different speed and walked in a slightly different direction, causing the plow and Odysseus to jerk back and forth dangerously.

And to make matters worse, he was also planting salt instead of seed.

Yeah, by any standard, Odysseus looked very much insane and incapable of fighting in any war.

A plow is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seeds or planting.

For centuries, it was pulled by animals, but in modern times, it is pulled by a tractor.

Palamedes was shocked when he saw Odysseus riding on this strange plow setup.

Well, he's clearly acting crazy, Palamedes thought to himself.

But I bet bet this is just another one of Odysseus's tricks.

Let's see how dedicated he is to this.

He went over to introduce himself.

Hello there, Odysseus.

It is an honor to meet you.

I am Palamedes.

I've been sent here because, as you may recall, you promised to defend Helen's husband if she was kidnapped.

And she's been kidnapped, so I'm going to need you to come and fight the Trojans.

Odysseus did not reply.

He stared straight ahead and and merely continued to plow his field.

Very well.

You clearly look disturbed.

I will tell Agamemnon and Menelaus of your current state.

But before I go, let me just try one small thing.

And before Odysseus knew what was happening, Palamedes had placed Odysseus' infant son directly in front of the chaotic plow.

And since the machine was being pulled in all directions, it was only a matter of time before it crushed the child.

Odysseus had a choice, put his son in harm's way, or abandon his plan entirely to save his child.

It was an easy decision.

Odysseus loved his son.

He leapt off the plow and scooped the boy into his arms.

That's an awfully low blow to put my son in danger, he said.

Palamedes, is it?

I will come with you to your measly war, but I promise you, you will never forget the day you crossed Odysseus.

odysseus and palamedes remained rivals throughout the trojan war that's true but we've got so much to cover we probably won't get back to their eternal hatred for each other this season okay so we have odysseus on board however reluctantly and as predicted his first assignment was to locate achilles and convince him to fight Now, Odysseus knew Thetis would never let Achilles out of her sight.

And since she was a sea nymph who preferred to stay near the ocean, Odysseus Odysseus figured it made sense to start searching some of the Greek islands.

He just had to visit them all.

And wouldn't you know it, before long, he made his way to Skyros.

Odysseus was clever enough not to announce the true purpose of his visit when he met with King Lycomedes.

He dressed up as a merchant, someone who sells things, with lots of luxury goods to sell.

Fine cloths, jewelry, all sorts of things.

He claimed he was just touring some of the islands looking to sell his goods to the most discerning customers.

And as a result, the king and his family welcomed him with open arms and even made Diodamia's dancers perform for him.

Odysseus appreciated the warm welcome and was very intrigued by some of the dancers, specifically the tall, muscular one.

Thank you to everyone for your warm welcome.

Let me show you all of the things I have brought to set,

he said.

Odysseus brought out a variety of trinkets, including beautiful jewels, musical instruments, and even some weapons.

High-quality weapons, such as spears, swords, or bows, were considered to be very valuable in ancient Greece.

While Diademia and her dancers were gathered around examining the merchandise, Odysseus had one of his crew members outside blow a trumpet.

It was the same sound used to to signify the start of battle.

The blare of the trumpet scared everyone in the room.

What was happening?

Was Skyros under attack?

For a moment, there was chaos.

Some people ran, some hid under the banquet table.

But one of the dancers grabbed a sword from the pile and prepared to fight.

Just like that, Odysseus had found Achilles.

Why, Achilles, you look beautiful.

Do you find those clothes easier to fight in?

Achilles sighed, but had to laugh as he began to remove his costume.

How did you find me?

I have my ways.

If it helps, I don't think I would have ever recognized you if it wasn't for your warrior instincts.

Come on, let's talk.

And the two made their way outside.

You are requested to fight in the war, Odysseus began.

I know it might not be the most noble of causes, but you are needed to defend the Greeks.

This is shaping up to be a bigger war than anybody ever anticipated.

Odysseus explained about all the heroes that were coming to fight for Greece.

There was Agamemnon, a vicious warrior by all accounts.

He was leading the charge, and his brother Menelaus was close at his heels, ready to defend his wife at all costs.

There was Philoctetes, a famous Greek warrior who happened to have a very important weapon, the bow of Hercules.

Here, uh, please, right, right, sorry, sorry, Heracles, the bow of Heracles.

There was also Ajax, the great-grandson of Zeus, and a formidable opponent on the battlefield, and Odysseus went on and on.

With all of these Greek heroes agreeing to fight, Odysseus hoped Achilles would join the ranks to prove that he really was the best of the best.

But Achilles still needed some time.

I can see you need to think about it, Odysseus said.

But before I leave, here's your present.

And through the door walked Patroclus, who Achilles hadn't seen since he'd been posing as a dancer.

He was relieved that Patroclus was all right.

Told you I'd follow you into battle, Patroclus said with a grin.

Patroclus and Achilles talked about the situation for hours.

Achilles wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but it helped to have Patroclus there to help him decide.

Everything just seemed so much better with Patroclus around.

You don't have to make a choice today, but there is something you need to do right now.

You gotta go talk to your mom.

Achilles groaned.

Patroclus was right.

He needed to talk to Thetis, but he already knew it wasn't going to end well.

That night, Achilles found Fetus by the ocean.

As he predicted, she was furious and outraged that Odysseus had found them.

She decided she needed to explain to Achilles why she was so adamant about him not fighting in the Trojan War.

There is a prophecy, she began.

Should you go to Troy, you will achieve eternal glory.

The world will speak your name forever, but you will not return.

If you do not go to Troy, you will be forgotten like most mortals, but you will live a long life.

This is why I beg you to stay.

This is a reminder that Fetus once held Achilles in the River Styx as a way to get immortality for her child.

Hearing of his early death is her worst nightmare.

That's true.

It's obvious why Thetis doesn't want him to fight, but for Achilles, it's not that simple.

He has been told his entire life that he's destined for greatness.

It's part of his identity.

The idea of eternal glory was very enticing.

So later that night, Achilles told Patroclus what Thetis had said.

So if you go to Troy, you won't make it out?

That's what it sounds like.

And you're sure this prophecy is true?

I mean, you're Achilles.

You're the greatest warrior of all time.

Who could possibly defeat you?

It is infuriating that people constantly question the truth of prophecies.

Yeah, I can see how that would get annoying for an oracle, but Achilles just didn't believe it.

He was the best warrior around.

He had a very good chance of surviving a war.

Maybe he should just roll the dice.

After all, Patrickless would be there with him.

How bad could it possibly be?

You know, I'm feeling a commercial break right now.

I think this is a good place to take a moment.

We'll get a break.

We'll come back with more greaking out in just a little bit.

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Well, there's a Webby award-winning show called Girl Tales that takes classic stories and puts a unique twist on them, giving girls the chance to save the day, use their intelligence and bravery, and show that they can be the heroes of their own stories.

If you are ready for an adventure, find Girl Tales wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay.

And now back to more greaking out.

All right, he told Odysseus.

Let's go to Troy.

And so, with Achilles and Ajax and the other great warriors on board, it might seem like the Greeks had a clear advantage.

Also, and I'm just going to mention this quickly, but it's kind of weird, Achilles had a powerful army of ant people called myrmidons at his command.

It's complicated, and obviously, Zeus was involved somehow, but all you really need to know is that the Myrmidons were hard-working and dangerous fighters.

Definitely a plus to the Greek side.

The bullet ant, which lives in the humid jungle of the Amazon, is said to have the most painful sting in the world.

It has been compared to being hit with a bullet.

But don't forget that the Trojans had some pretty powerful people on their side as well.

You already know Paris.

Paris is the Trojan prince who stole Helen from Sparta.

and brought her back to Troy.

And when Paris came back to Troy with Helen, he was welcomed home by his parents, King Priam and Queen Hecuba.

King Priam was known as a kind and benevolent ruler who would do anything to protect his city.

He wasn't one to bow down to bullies or give in to demands, so when Paris brought Helen home with him and she said she wanted to stay, he was ready to fight.

If Helen wants to be with you, she should be with you.

But this war isn't just about her.

This is about the Greeks wanting to put us in our place.

They see our riches and they want them for themselves.

I will never let Troy fall.

Paris was also greeted by his older brother, Hector.

Hector was the oldest child of King Priam and Queen Hecuba and was the heir to the Trojan throne.

Yes, and Hector was also an amazing fighter.

He was certainly the best in all of Troy and may have been second only to Achilles.

To make matters worse for the Greeks, Hector was the commander of the Trojan army, which meant he he had personally trained all of the Trojan soldiers to be skilled and talented warriors.

But unlike his parents, Hector was not happy about the prospect of war.

What have you done?

He asked Paris.

Putting us all in jeopardy over a girl you barely know.

This could be the end of our city.

And for what?

A pretty face?

Hector was disgusted.

He was a devoted husband to his wife Andromache, and he had a young son.

He didn't want to risk his family's well-being for his brother's foolishness, and he had a lot to lose, a lot to live for.

But regardless of his personal beliefs, Hector would fight for Troy.

He would defend his city until his last breath.

That was just the type of guy he was.

He would never abandon Troy.

Hector and Paris also had a cousin named Aeneas, who had been trained to fight by Hector and was fearsome to see on the battlefield.

Aeneas was the son of Prince Enchises and the goddess Aphrodite.

And Troy had other allies outside of the family, including King Memnon.

Now, Memnon was the ruler of Ethiopia, and not only was he a fighter in his own right, he had thousands of skilled warriors under his command.

King Memnon was also the child of Eos, the goddess of the dawn, and the subject of the lost epic, the Ithiopis, which detailed his role in the Trojan War.

The lost epic?

Yes, no copies of it have survived to modern day.

Wow, okay.

I did not know that.

You have forgotten one important member of the Trojan royal family.

Ah, yes.

Well, I wouldn't really call her a plus for the Trojans in this case.

Cassandra, who we've talked about before, was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba.

And as you might remember, Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy, but then cursed by Apollo so that no one would ever believe anything she predicted.

It was a cruel and unusual punishment, and it was especially bad luck here, where Cassandra was able to predict the events of the war, but no one ever listened to her.

At this point, Cassandra was not doing well.

She had been ignored for years.

Now, with this big war coming, she was quite upset.

Yeah, I would be too it's gonna be hard to be cassandra for the next couple of episodes okay so i did give you a lot of names there but you've got the greeks agamemnon menelaus odysseus ajax achilles philoctetes and their armies versus the trojans priam hector paris aeneas memnon and their armies and that's just the people we're going to talk about there were a lot more fighting for each side keep in mind in this story the women aren't warriors so they have to watch and wait for the outcome.

In some versions of the story, the Amazons, led by Queen Penthesilea, came in to help defend Troy as well.

Okay, right.

My bad.

There are some women warriors in this story.

But you might be wondering, what did the gods think of this war?

Whose side were they on?

While most of the gods were more or less impartial and viewed this as a silly squabble between mortals, whatever, some of the gods were pretty heavily invested.

Aphrodite, for one, was strongly team Paris and Team Troy after they declared her to be the most beautiful goddess during Peleus and Thetis's wedding.

Also, her son Aeneas was Trojan.

Aphrodite ultimately made Helen fall in love with Paris and go with him to Troy.

She was more or less responsible for the entire war.

I suppose you could look at it that way.

And because Aphrodite was pro-Trojan, so was Aries, because he loved her.

On the other side, you have Athena and Hera, who were still angry about Paris' decision to choose Aphrodite.

And as we all know by now, it doesn't end well when you insult the gods.

They were out for revenge and were therefore very strongly on the side of the Greeks.

Athena, however, was suffering from a little bit of a conflict of interest.

She was very distressed because inside the city of Troy, there was a gift that she had given them in better times.

You know, before she was entirely disrespected by the Prince of Troy.

This gift was a statue and is commonly referred to as the Palladium.

It was a memorial to Pallas, a beloved friend of Athena.

Right, and it meant a great deal to her, which put Athena in an interesting position.

She wanted to help the Greeks destroy Troy, but she didn't want anything to happen to the palladium.

For the time being, she was torn.

And there was another god who had a profound impact on the Trojan War.

You see, once the Greek army was assembled, they were ready to set sail and head to Troy.

But there was a problem.

There was no wind.

Like none.

Nothing.

Not a zilch.

Which, of course, makes it kind of hard to sail across the ocean if there's no wind.

Minimum wind speed for sailing is about five knots.

Right, and that's not exactly very fast, but the Greeks weren't even getting that.

They had no wind, no breeze, nothing.

And understandably, Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army, was pretty upset about it.

They had made all of these grand plans and found all of these amazing warriors, and now they couldn't even make it to Troy because of the wind.

Agamemnon was the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytinestra, Helen's twin sister.

Right, and he was committed to winning the war for the Greeks.

It wasn't just because Paris had stolen his brother's wife either.

Agamemnon knew that winning this war would make him the most powerful king of all time.

He was ready to take all of the riches of Troy and grow his wealth.

But Agamemnon knew that the lack of the winds was no coincidence.

This was clearly the work of the gods.

Someone in the Greek army must have insulted them.

He didn't know what to do, so he decided to ask an oracle for help.

And the advice he received was troubling.

It is you who have angered the gods, Agamemnon, said the oracle.

The goddess Artemis was enraged when you killed one of her sacred deer.

You will need to apologize.

Of course, said Agamemnon.

What do I have to do?

You must sacrifice your daughter, Iphigenia.

Only then will the gods know that you are truly sorry.

When the word of the prophecy spread throughout the Greek camp, many assumed the war would never come to be.

What man would kill his own daughter just to fight a war?

asked Achilles.

Agamemnon would be crazy to do that.

There's no way we will ever make it to the shores of Troy.

But Achilles was used to parents who would do anything for their children, and Agamemnon was not that kind of parent.

Agamemnon may have loved loved his daughter, but he was determined to win the war.

When it became clear that the only way he'd make it to Troy was through this sacrifice, he had his daughter killed to appease the gods.

In some versions of the story, Iphigenia went willingly to her death to help the Greeks win the war.

In other versions, she didn't.

In some versions, she dies as a sacrifice.

In others, Artemis, who looks after women who are not mothers, saves her at the last second.

Yeah, I like that last one.

But either way, it was clear that Agamemnon was very determined.

His wife, Clytemnestra, was devastated.

The warriors honored her sacrifice, but the troops definitely stopped to question who was this man leading their army?

Now the world will know of my dedication, Agamemnon said.

I have sacrificed a lot for this war.

There is nothing I would not do for victory.

And with that, the Greeks sealed their fate.

They were headed to Troy, and nothing was going to stand in their way.

Okay, Oracle, I'm going to stop here for now.

Are you okay with that?

Yes.

This feels like more of a natural conclusion to today's storytelling.

Nice.

I'm glad you approve.

Breaking out.

Thanks for listening.

Next episode, we learn what happens when the Greeks finally make it to Troy.

Listen, and you'll

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes and hosted by Kenny Curtis, with Tori Kerr as the Oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Elillian Doherty is our subject matter expert and Emily Everhart is our producer.