![]() ![]() But eventually, with the help of Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus, they were able to convince him to give them Heracles’ bow. Many years earlier, at the beginning of the Trojan War, the Greeks had abandoned him on a desert island, so now he hated the Greeks and did not want to give them Heracles’ bow. The Greeks first set out to acquire Heracles’ bow, which was difficult because Heracles had given it to his friend, Philoctetes, before he died. First of all, they needed Heracles’ bow, and second, they needed to capture the Palladium, a wooden statue of Athena, which was kept in Athena’s temple in Troy. ![]() The Greeks learned from Helenus, a son of Priam whom they had captured, that they needed to complete two tasks before they could capture Troy. Meanwhile, the Trojan War raged on, despite the deaths of both Hector and Achilles. A small bronze figurine of Odysseus tied to the underside of a ram to escape Polyphemus in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi The Bow of Heracles and the Palladium The Odyssey, Odysseus later came to deeply regret his “win”. Ajax was so mortified by being passed over for an honor that he felt was rightfully his, that he killed himself in shame…. As a result, Odysseus was awarded Achilles’ armor, even though everyone knew in their hearts that Ajax really deserved it. ![]() But Odysseus used his amazing speaking ability to convince Agamemnon and Menelaus (who were judging the contest) that his cleverness made him more valuable than Ajax (who was not known for his wits) and that he, Odysseus, was in fact the second best Greek warrior. Everyone knew that the second greatest warrior was the Greater Ajax, the son of Telamon he was huge, he was brave, and he was selfless he spent all his time protecting the other Achaeans. Now that Achilles, the greatest of the Achaeans, was dead, it was agreed that his immortal armor should go to the second greatest warrior. Book 18 of The Iliad, Achilles had immortal armor, which had been crafted for him by the god, Hephaestus, to make up for the armor he had lost when Patroclus had worn it into battle (and Hector had taken it after he killed Patroclus). The Suicide of AjaxĪfter Achilles’ death, it was decided that his armor should be given to the second greatest Greek warrior after Achilles…. ![]() Since she held him by the ankle, the waters of the Styx did not touch that part of him, so he was mortal and vulnerable in that spot. This was the only vulnerable spot on Achilles’ body because his mother tried to make him immortal when he was a baby by dipping him in the River Styx. The Greeks were fighting near the gates of Troy and Paris shot at Achilles with his bow, which Apollo guided to Achilles’ one vulnerable spot, his ankle. The first of these events is the death of Achilles, which came at the hands of Paris with the help of Apollo. A bronze figurine of one of the men turned into pigs by Circe in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore The Death of Achilles Furthermore, there are also a few events that happened between the end of the Iliad and the beginning of The Odyssey, that are helpful to know. These stories are told piecemeal and in flashbacks, so they are a little more difficult to follow. Although the Odyssey focuses on Odysseus’ story, it also tells about the returns of four other heroes: Nestor, Agamemnon, Menelaus, and the Lesser Ajax. The Odyssey tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus’ return home from the Trojan War. Odysseus blinding Polyphemus on an amphora in the Archaeological Museum in Eleusis ![]()
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