The Trojan War by Dr. Turtle

Zeus Arranges a Marriage

Jan 1, 1000

Zeus wants to marry Thetis, a sea goddess, but a prophesy says that her son will have greater power than his father. So Zeus decides Thetis should marry a mortal, who could not have a very powerful son.

Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

Jan 2, 1000

Thetis (a sea goddess) marries Peleus (a mortal). Eris (goddess of Discord) isn't invited. Eris is mad and shows up anyway and throws a golden apple on the table and says that it is for whichever goddess is the fairest. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite fight over the apple.

Paris Chooses the Fairest Goddess

Jan 3, 1000

Zeus says that Paris should choose as he is the most beautiful man. Hera promises Paris power, Athena promises him wealth, and Aphrodite promises him the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris chooses Aphrodite, and is promised Helen as a wife.

Achilles is born

Jan 4, 1000

Peleus and Thetis have a child, Achilles. Peleus holds him by the ankle and dips him into the River Styx to make him immortal, but because she is holding him by the ankle it stays mortal. He can only die if he is wounded in the ankle. He is raised by the centaur Chiron, who teaches him how to be a great warrior.

King Menelaus Wins Helen

Jan 5, 1000

Helen is so beautiful that many men want her for a wife. They agree to draw lots and swear an oath of loyalty to whoever wins her, that they will protect his right to have her. Menelaus wins and marries Helen.

Paris Abducts Helen

Jan 6, 1000

Paris sails to Sparta to findHelen, who is married to Menelaus. Paris abducts Helen and sails back to Troy with her.

Menelaus Calls for Allies

Jan 7, 1000

Menelaus calls all Helen's old suitors, who had all agreed to defend his right to Helen. Some of them don't want to fight. Odysseus pretends to be crazy. Achilles hides. King Cinyras of Cypras promises 50 ships but only one is full sized (the others are clay toys). Agamemnon assembles a fleet of 1000 ships.

Agamemnon sacrifices Iphigenia

Jan 8, 1000

The goddess Artemis is angry at Agamemnon for some reason and calms the seas so that the fleet can't sail away. The seer Calchas tells Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, and the wind will come up. Agamemnon lures Iphigenia by telling her she is going to marry Achilles. He sacrifices her instead.

Menelaus sails for Troy

Jan 9, 1000

After Iphigenia is sacrificed, the wind comes up and the fleet of 1000 ships sails for Troy. The fleet gets lost on the way and attack a different city in Mysia, thinking that Helen is there. During the fighting, Achilles wounds King Telephus, who can only be healed by the man who wounded him. He tells Achilles how to reach Troy.

Odysseus and Menelaus negotiate with Priam

Jan 10, 1000

The Greek fleet lands at Troy and Odysseus and Menelaus try to convince King Priam to return Helen. They are unsuccessful and declare war on Troy.

Siege of Troy Begins

Jan 11, 1000

The battle of the Greeks against the Trojans begins and becomes a 10 year siege. During the battle, Achilles, Ajax and other Greek heroes are slain. So is Prince Hector of Troy. The Greeks are unsuccessful in penetrating the mighty walls of Troy.

Agamemnon steals Achilles' War Bride

Jan 12, 1000

Agamemnon and Achilles are given war brides. Agamemnon's war bride, Chryseis, is the daughter of a priest of Apollo. Apollo puts a plague on the Greek soldiers, and the seer Calchas says that Agamemnon has to give Chryseis back. Agamemnon steals Achilles' war bride, Breseis, instead. Achilles is furious and refuses to fight anymore with his Myrmidons (ant-men).

Hector kills Patroclus

Jan 13, 1000

Achilles is angry at Agamemnon and doesn't want to fight, but his friend Patroclus wears Achilles' armor and leads Achilles Myrmidons into battle. Hector kiills Patroclus (who is actually a Trojan) because he thinks Patroclus is Achilles. Achilles is angry and finally agrees to fight against the Trojans.

Achilles kills Hector

Jan 14, 1000

Achilles meets Prince Hector of Troy on the battlefield outside Troy and stabs and kills him. Then he dishonours Hector's body by dragging it around in the dust for days, because Hector killed his friend Patroclus. King Priam finally convinces Achilles to give up the body.

Achilles is Killed.

Jan 15, 1000

Apollo is angry that Achilles and his men disrespected his temple outside the gates of Troy. Paris fires an arrow at Achilles from the top of the city wall, but Apollo guides the arrow so that it hits Achilles in the heel, which is the only mortal spot on his body. Achilles dies and is honored as a hero by the Greeks.

Odysseus Builds a Wooden Horse

Jan 16, 1000

After 10 years, Odysseus finally gets the idea to build a hollow wooden horse and hide soldiers inside. The Trojans worship horses, so the Greeks offer the wooden horse as a gift and pretend to leave. They sail around the bay and hide their ships.

Cassandra warns the Trojans

Jan 17, 1000

The Trojan prophet Cassandra warns about the horse and the burning of Troy that she sees in a vision. No one believes her, and they end up chaining her in the dungeon to keep her quiet.

Troy is Sacked

Jan 18, 1000

The Trojans bring the horse inside the city walls, and during the night the Greek soldiers inside come out and open the gate to the Greeks outside. The Greeks burn Troy to the ground and kill nearly everyone in the city.

Trojans are Sacrificed

Jan 19, 1000

Hector's son Astyanax and the Trojan princess Polyxena are sacrificed by the Greeks.

Menelaus Remarries Helen

Jan 20, 1000

Menelaus can't kill Helen like he planned and so he takes her captive back to Sparta and remarries her.

The Greeks Sail for Home

Jan 21, 1000

The Greeks sail for home, but the gods are angry because of all the destruction. The gods punish the Greeks by blowing up storms or calming winds so they can't sail. Only Nestor makes it safely home because he didn't do much looting. Odysseus' journey home to Ithaca (the Oddyssey) takes 10 years.