The Trojan Horse: An Echo

The Trojan Horse from the film Malta Gladiator Gladiator

                   The Wooden Horse. The Trojan Horse. The Victory Weapon of the Spartans. The only reason why we know who the victor is from 10 year Trojan War. 

                     In the tenth year of the Trojan War, despairing at their inability to take the city by storm, the Greeks resorted to a cunning little stratagem.  The central part of the plan devised by who else but Odysseus included the construction of an enormous wooden horse. Almost everybody knows why it had been built and who lay hidden inside the hollow belly of the statue.  Once the Wooden Horse had been built, Odysseus proceeded to persuade the bravest and the most skillful of the Greek warriors present at Troy to climb, fully armed, into its belly. Some say that there were 23 of them, while others speculate with numbers between 30 and 50. Either way, one thing is for sure, it's one big horse. 

              
               It's bizarre how they didn't suspect such kindness from the enemies. If I were the Troys, I probably would have. We even question random gifts from strangers, how much more if it's from the enemies of 10 year battle. There will always be an ulterior motive. People always want something in return. They just don't randomly do good stuff for people. It's very debatable but for sure, it's not just me. They want to make you feel like you owe them something because in that way, it makes it easier for them to ask you favors. But besides the idea, it's cool how Odysseus thought of such strategy. After all, it is the winning strategy.

            
               The point of such strategy is that, things and people aren't what they seem. There will be a greater or lesser story to everything. Don't trust easily. It will result to such destruction. Don't be a fool the Troys were but be as wise as the Spartans. 

References:

•    Greek Mythology 2019, The Trojan Horse Available from         <https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/The_Trojan_Horse/the_trojan_horse.html. [31 October 2019]
•  Encyclopedia Britannica 2019, Trojan Horse Available from: <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trojan-horse> [31 October 2019]

The Death of Achilles: An Echo

The Death of Achilles by Peter Paul Ruben

           The Death of Achilles really seems like it was calibrated. Achilles was extraordinarily strong, courageous, loyal and everything you'd want to be as a warrior. The only thing that makes him different from the others is his mortality but still, no one thought Achilles could die anytime soon. 

     According to myths and stories composed long after the Iliad, Thetis was extraordinarily concerned about her baby son’s mortality. She did everything she could to make him immortal. She burned him over a fire every night, then dressed his wounds with ambrosial ointment; and she dunked him into the River Styx, whose waters were said to confer the invulnerability of the gods. Of all the things they tried, one seemed to work. The River Styx, the waters who were thought to be the the savior of Achilles' mortality. However, Thetis gripped him tightly by the foot as she dipped him into the river, so tightly that the water never touched his heel. As a result, Achilles was invulnerable everywhere but there.

           When he was 9 years old, a seer predicted that Achilles would die heroically in battle against the Trojans. When Thetis heard about this,  she asked the divine blacksmith Hephaestus to make a sword and shield that would keep him safe. The armor that Hephaestus produced for Achilles did not make him immortal but it was strong enough to keep him safe.

           Achilles still wasn't invincible. In the 9th year of the Trojan War, Achilles died when Paris shot him with an arrow to his heel as what the prophecy said. No matter how much his mother tried not to have her son killed in the war and even decided not to let him join the war but he did and died. The fact that he was shot in heel was really astonishing. Was it purely coincidence or another conspiracy? But either way, Paris was cool for knowing but I'm still not very fond of him though. His selfishness and insensitivity still marked my opinion towards him, though he didn't really have much of a choice when Zeus chose him to choose who is the fairest.

          To this day,people use the phrase “Achilles heel” to describe a powerful person’s fatal weakness. Everyone has an Achilles heel don't they? But besides the point, the death of Achilles still wasn't an event everyone was forseeing. I actually thought that for once, there was a change in the prophecy but that is merely impossible in Greek Mythology. That was definitely an event that surprised and amazed me at the same time. What can we learn from it? Only the fact that everyone has a weakness and someone will always be greater and lesser than us at some things. We have to accept these little mishaps in our making because that is the only way that will make us a strong, incredible and courageous person like Achilles was. 

References:

• History 2019, Achilles Available from: <https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/achilles> [31 October 2019]
• Ancient  Heroes 2016, How Did Achilles Die? Available from: <http://ancientheroes.net/blog/how-did-achilles-die> [31 October 2019]

The Rise of a New King: An Echo

The Birth of Zeus from Alexandros Reneotis

              From the Theogony of Hesiod, one main event kept on happening. The overthrowing of the king. For some reason, they just can't accept that their reign is done. They do everything in their power to stop time or change how the prophecy goes. But a prophecy is a prophecy. The world works in mysterious ways but everything is already written. It may make some twist and turns but all will end up in same position. 

               It all started with Uranus and  his fear of losing his power to his descendants. He cast his children into the depths of the earth but the prophecy said  he will be overthrown so he will. With the help of his own wife, Uranus was gone. From the advice of his Mother, Gaia, Cronus took a sickle and castrated Uranus. But Cronus' fate wasn't really as different as his father. He shared the same fate as his father. Cronus sired several children by Rhea: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, but swallowed them all as soon as they were born, since he had learned that he was destined to be overcome by his own son as he had overthrown his own father. But when Zeus was about to be born, Rhea sought Gaia to devise a plan to save him, so that Cronus would get his retribution for his acts against Uranus and his own children. This, Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete, handing Cronus a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he promptly swallowed.  

             The new king grew up with the help of grandma and ready to take his throne so he did. With just a glass of weird herb to get his siblings out, Zeus, the new king of the gods has risen.

               There were heaps of betrayals that happened in this story. Betrayal of own flesh all because of greed. Greed is powerful and that's why a lot of people are greedy. They want the power and the glory. For what? For bragging rights? For a pedestal? All of this will be gone bu just one second.  It is sorrowful to see how cruel the world can be. It is probably blinding, isn't it? All we see is the things we'll get once we are the end but we forget how many people we hurt in the process. And it's all because we only look out for ourselves.

                 One thing I can say the world now is to empathize, even just a little. Everyone has feeling and we seem to forget that all the time. The world will turn their backs against you if you continue to be be a bitter ghoul. Be a better person. Make a difference in the sad society we live in. 

References: 

• Explore Crete 2017, Zeus was born on Crete Available from: <http://www.explorecrete.com/mythology/zeus-birth.html> [31 October 2019]
• Cretan Beaches 2019, The Birth of Zeus Available from: <https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/history-of-crete/cretan-mythology/the-birth-of-zeus> [31 October 2019]

The Trojan War: An Actuality or Fantasy?

The Trojan War by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

           War is a battle. A battle that we should shun. War causes destruction and destruction isn't what the world needs. Battles are inevitable. Each day we have a battle to face and most likely, that's ourselves. That has caused great destruction among us but it has taught us to be a better and stronger person. Either way, it shouldn't be a reason to start a war.

          Ahhh... The Trojan War, the great war that marked our literature books. The war that has continued to fascinate humans over the centuries.  A war that we'll never forget. The battle of both powerful kingdoms. The battle of the Sparta and Troys. But was it also supposed to mark our history books too or is it just pure imagination from the great Homer, the writer of the Iliad and Odyssey? 

           The story of the Trojan War involves creatures never seen before, people who we never thought of, immortals who we doubt its existence and many more. We have too little proof, too little data, but that we also have too much. The Greek epics, Hittite records, Luwian poetry, and archaeological remains provide evidence not of a single Trojan war but rather of multiple wars that were fought in the area that we identify as Troy. 

         According to the Greek literary evidence, there were at least two Trojan Wars, Heracles’ and Agamemnon’s. And, according to the archaeological evidence, Troy was destroyed twice, if not three times, between 1300 and 1000 BCE. Some of this has long been known; the rest has come to light more recently. Thus, although we cannot definitively point to a specific “Trojan War,” at least not as Homer has described it in the Iliad and the Odyssey, we have instead found several such Trojan wars and several cities at Troy, enough that we can conclude there is a historical kernel of truth of some sort underlying all the stories.

       One question remains in my mind, could this 10 year war all happen just because of a woman? Could all of it been instigated only by the kidnapping of a single person? Because I really doubt it. Could the war perhaps be triggered by some other event? One can argue that the Trojan War would inevitably have taken place, with or without Helen. Some theories say that the presumptive kidnapping of Helen can be seen merely as an excuse to launch a pre-ordained war for control of land, trade, profit, and access to the Black Sea. From all the made-up stories and possibly true ones, how can we tell right? 

        Actuality or fantasy, the Trojan War has taught me one or few things and that is, to be careful, to be wise and I should think twice about every step I make. I have to learn how to control everything that surrounds me because a little mistake can turn into something more. 

       "Big things come in small packages" they say and somehow it's supposed to be a really good and kind thing to say but this statement also applies to this story quite well. A little mistake in picking a gift to wrap has sparked a 10 year battle where people get hurt and expire. I learned to be careful with my actions. To think about my decisions. To extend my empathy and this story also strengthened one of my most valuable principles, YOU SHALL NOT BE INSENSITIVE, even to people you don't know.

         The Trojan War might not be real but it has taught us good and valuable lessons though it also includes some parts that we really have to think twice on. Those parts taught us how to be wise and not to be as crazy as Aphrodite. As we all read, Aphrodite wasn't really everyone's favorite god in this story and that has taught me a lot of things about being a better person. Know what is worthy and what isn't. Taught me to empathize even though it goes against another one of my principles but if it makes me better than Aphrodite, then so be it. War will never be an answer so we shouldn't be a reason to start it. Real or not, all the values were definitely real.

References

• Oxford University Press 2019, The Trojan War: Fact or Fiction Available from: <https://blog.oup.com/2013/05/trojan-war-fact-or-fiction/> [30 October 2019]
• Wikipedia 2019, The Trojan War Available from: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War> [30 October 2019]

The Judgement of Paris: An Echo

Aphrodite and The Golden Apple of Discord from jcogtas

                 A mistake in judgement is fatal. It marks someones feeble heart and fragile mind. The little pearl you saw on the beach earlier is doubting itself thinking that they might not be real but a hoax. As the man of both kind, you shall excel in both aspects if you want to continue feeling good about who you are right now because some details shouldn't go unnoticed from both side of the coin.  The one who judges isn't judging enough to notice that their victim is in pain from the stares and glances they gave the fragile little being inside of the person. They create a martyr because of their judgement towards the person they think who doesn't mind. But every single mistake in judgement you make, you may have wronged someone. 

                Frankly, this picture depicts society quite well. They are willing to say anything in their power just to get something for their own good. They look out for their selves. One word I could use to describe the society we live in today is that they are very insensitive. About everything. Their empathy for the people that surrounds them is at its lowest. And I really find that bitter.

                The Judgment of Paris was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympus such as Aphrodite, Hera and Athena for the prize of a golden apple addressed "To the Fairest." The story began with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis which all the gods had been invited to attend except for Eris, goddess of discord. When Eris appeared at the festivities she was turned away and in her anger cast the golden apple amongst the assembled goddesses addressed "To the Fairest." Three goddesses laid claim to the apple, Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Zeus was asked to mediate and he commanded Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide the issue. The three goddesses appearing before the shepherd prince, each offering him gifts for favour. He chose Aphrodite, swayed by her promise to bestow upon him Helen, the most beautiful woman, for wife.

              As he chose Aphrodite as the fairest of them all, I don't think he chose her because she really was the fairest but he chose her because of the gift. It was bias. Aphrodite wasn't the fairest. It was the gift was the fairest of them all. I has stood out against the royalty Hera offered and the wisdom and skills that Athena offered. The gift won, not Aphrodite. 

             The insensitivity that Aphrodite showed has sparked one of the greatest war in our literature books, the Trojan War. She's not even sorry for taking a woman with a husband and gave it just a random mortal in the other side. Helen was married to the king of Sparta, Menelaus. Paris also showed his selfishness by accepting a gift that already has a holder. That just shows how powerful gifts can be, as well as greed.

           Of all that happened, the war had an frivolous reason. The judgment was the cause and it was petty. I didn't understand how a golden apple could represent one's fairness. Other than that, all wasn't worthy at all. To today's society, this story is the exact depiction of what a little thing can result to something so vast. 



References: 

• Theio Project 2000, Judgement of Paris Available from: <https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/JudgementParis.html> [30 October 2019]
• Gree Legends and Myths 2012, The Judgement of Paris In Greek Mythology Available from: <https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/judgement-of-paris.html> [30 October 2019]