HELEN: The Wine Dark Sea

"Go and speak with King Priam and ask for his wisdom on the matter."

He kissed her before he left to do so, but she doubted her former husband would accept anything less than her or her body to declare a permanent truce. She paced as she waited for her impetuous young husband and following his example, she cleared her mind of any thought.

* * *

At dawn, King Priam sent a herald to announce Paris's proposal. The Greeks stood around him listening intently as he spoke. He offered Menelaus riches to end the war and then added a suggestion from Priam that they suspend the war to burn the bodies of all the dead.

Agamemnon surveyed those standing nearby and saw not even a flicker of interest among the warriors for accepting Paris's offer. Menelaus came to stand beside him and shook his head. "Tell him no. It's Helen I want, my beloved wife, not the cold hardness of gold."

"The Trojans must have become desperate," Agamemnon whispered. "Victory will soon be ours." He stepped forward to address the herald and his troops. "Tell your king we refuse to exchange gold for Helen, but we will allow time for burial of the dead."

The herald saluted with a low bow and raced back to the citadel with his news, and the grim lab

or of building pyres and burning the dead began. Some soldiers gathered timber while others were ordered to collect the dead. Bodies had to be washed for many of the slain to be recognized, and men on both sides cried for their lost friends. It was a long and sad day.

The Greeks heaped earth upon the ashes of their fallen and continued the massive mound to create a rampart to protect their ships. The camp's new defense wall had gates and a wooden tower. A deep trench lined with sharp stakes in front added further protection. Satisfied they had enhanced their position, they fell weary onto their beds.

* * *

Zeus was not pleased his clever plan to aid the Trojans had not ended well, and he blamed the other gods for interfering in the war. "Leave the Greeks and Trojans alone, and don't think I won't expel you from Mount Olympus if you ignore my wishes."

Athena alone dared speak to the king of the gods, and she sidled up to him. "Couldn't we give them a little advice?" she asked, in a sweetly innocent voice.

Zeus stared at them all, his gaze as threatening as the thunderbolts he threw with such abandon. "Advice and nothing more. Is it understood?"

"Of course, husband," Hera responded, as though she was always an agreeable wife, and the other gods nodded their assent.

Thinking the matter done, Zeus hitched his marvelous flying horses to his golden chariot and flew to Mount Ida where he would have the best view of the day's battle. He had brought along his gigantic golden scales and dropped a sentence of death on each side pan. He held the scale lightly, bringing the two pans into perfect balance and the Greek's side dropped while the Trojan's side rose. Delighted the fates had blessed his dear city of Troy, he sent a blinding flash of lightning into the midst of the Greek forces. Terrified, the troops scattered and dashed for cover.

Overjoyed at their frantic dismay, Hektor called to his troops to charge and they pushed the Greek army back to their barricades. When darkness fell, Hektor rode in his chariot encouraging the Trojans to make camp on the plain where they would be ready to attack at dawn. "Warriors of Troy, have your food and wine, and tomorrow we'll drive the Greek devils into Poseidon's sea!" His men greeted him with loud cheers, and he thanked Zeus for his blessings.

* * *

As Agamemnon roamed through his camp, he saw only averted glances from his demoralized men. He blamed Zeus for the dire nature of their circumstances. "Zeus promised me in a dream that Troy would fall in flames. Clearly it was a false dream meant to cost us lives. If it is the will of the gods, then we must sail home while we still can."

A dispirited low murmuring greeted that sad pronouncement. Diomedes, a great warrior rose to object. "Go if you must, but I'll stay and fight with those who possess the courage to remain with me. We are Greeks, and we never retreat!"

Praise for Diomedes spread through the crowd, but Lord Nestor rose to speak of another path. "We must have our greatest warrior fighting with us again to turn the tide of the war. Make peace with Achilles, Agamemnon. He has been blessed by the gods with invincible powers, and we need him with us now for our cause to succeed."

Agamemnon hated to admit he had been wrong, and it cost him a huge slice of his pride to agree. "If I must, I'll make peace with Achilles. He'll need compensation, gold bars, splendid stallions, and I'll return his girl, Briseis, and provide other pretty slaves too. I'll even give him one of my daughters in marriage. Is that enough?"

Nestor rubbed his hands together. "He can't refuse such splendid gifts, Great King. Send his friends Ajax and Odysseus to offer them. Achilles will honor their presence."

The two mighty warriors sent up a prayer to Poseidon, lord of the sea, and made their way along the beach to Achilles' camp. They found him strumming his lyre, entertaining his friend Patroclus with songs of fabled heroes. The great centaur, Chiron, had tutored him well, and Achilles had a gift for music.

He welcomed his friends, offered them wine and a supper of venison and other meats roasted on skewers, and listened closely as they made what Agamemnon had considered a generous offer. He nodded thoughtfully and finished his wine before he answered. "I'm happy to see you both, dear friends, but I despise Agamemnon, and this awful war all for his profit. I have no quarrel with the Trojans and there is nothing Agamemnon could offer me that would move me to fight with him again.

"Mighty Zeus will protect Troy, for he loves the city. Go back and tell Agamemnon and all the Greeks to sail their black ships for home. They should save their own lives rather than help him lust after the glory of killing others."

Odysseus hung his head as they returned to their camp. "Achilles' anger runs deeper than any of us realized."

Ajax turned to look back over his shoulder. "Agamemnon should have known better than to humiliate our finest warrior in the first place. Don't blame Achilles for hating him."

"Blame profits no one," Odysseus stressed. "It's brave warriors we'll need tomorrow."

Agamemnon stared at the ground as Ajax and Odysseus reported their failure to win Achilles' promise to return to battle, but Diomedes was quick to offer advice.

"Be done with Achilles, and lead the troops yourself, Agamemnon. Show the Trojans how fierce a Greek war lord can be."