Chapter 3 3
When Priam was a boy, Hercules captured Troy, killed Laomedon, took Hesione, and gave her to his friend Telamon as his wife.Although Hesione became the queen who ruled Salamis, Priam and his family still felt insulted by the robbery.One day, when the court was discussing this matter, King Priam missed his sister very much.At this time his son Paris stood up and said that if he was allowed to lead a fleet and sail to Greece, then with the help of the gods, he would be able to take back his father's sister by force from the enemy.He speaks with confidence, because he has not forgotten the promise made to him by Aphrodite, the goddess of love.Paris narrated to his father and brothers the adventures that day while grazing.Priam had no doubts that his son Paris was protected by the gods.
Another son of Priam, Helenus, was proficient in divination and was a prophet. He stood up and said a series of prophecies: If his brother Paris brought back a woman from Greece, the Greeks would chase her. Troy, level the city, and kill the king and all his sons.
This prophecy aroused everyone's discussion.The youngest son, Troilus, is a vigorous young man. He has no scruples to express his disbelief in such prophecies, and even laughs at his brother's cowardice, and advises everyone not to be frightened by such prophecies and lose their minds.While the others were brooding and weighing the pros and cons, Priam boldly supported his son Paris' proposal.
The king summoned the citizens and announced that he had sent envoys to Greece in the past under the leadership of Anthenavos to demand that the Greeks apologize for the robbery of their sister Hesione and return her to their homeland.At that time Antenavos was humiliated and driven back.Now he wanted his son Paris to lead a mighty army, to do by force what ceremonies could not.Anthenavos supported this suggestion, and he stood up and recalled the insult he had suffered as an envoy in Greece at that time, accusing the Greeks of being madmen of peace and cowards of war.His speech aroused the anger of the people against the Greeks, who unanimously demanded war.
But Priam was a wise king.He does not want to make rash and premature decisions, but asks everyone to speak freely and express their opinions.At this moment, an aged Trojan named Pentos stood out from the crowd.When he was a child, he heard his father Othyrs say that if a prince from the Laomedon family brought back a wife from Greece in the future, all the Trojans would face disaster.It is said that his father took a hint from the oracle. "Therefore," said the old man in conclusion, "we must not be deluded by the glory of battle. Friends, let us live in peace and tranquility, and not risk our lives on war. In the end, perhaps even liberty will be lost too."
There was a murmur from the crowd, and everyone expressed their dissatisfaction with this proposal, and they all asked King Priam to ignore the threatening words of an old man, and to boldly carry out what he had decided in his heart.
Priam ordered the ships to be built, and the workshops were set up on Mount Ada.At the same time he sent his son Hector to Phlicia, and Paris and Deiphobus to the neighboring country of Percinia, to win the support and alliance of these kingdoms.Troy's young adults enlisted in the army.Before long, a powerful army was formed.The king appointed his son Paris as commander-in-chief of the army, and appointed his brother Deiphobus, Polydamas son of Pentos, and Aeneas as generals.The mighty warships set off, sailing towards the Greek island of Sisira.Paris wanted to land there first.On the way, they encountered the fleet of King Menelaus of Sparta.He was going to Poros to visit the wise king Nestor.When he saw the mighty warships approaching, he was full of admiration.And the Trojans were also amazed to see his richly decorated ship, and they knew that it must be the ship of a prominent Greek prince.But the two sides did not know each other, so the two fleets passed each other on the sea.Troy's warships arrived safely in Sisera.Paris wanted to land from here to Sparta, and was going to negotiate with Zeus's twin sons, Castor and Pollux, and demand the return of his aunt Hesione.If the Greeks refused to hand over Hesione, Paris was prepared to sail directly to the Gulf of Salamis to take back the queen by force.
Before leaving for Sparta, Paris intended to offer sacrifices at the temples of Aphrodite, the moon, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.At this time, the residents of the island also spread the news of the arrival of a powerful warship to Sparta.Because Menelaus was away on a visit, the political affairs were presided over by Queen Helen.Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, sister of Castor and Polydeukes, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world at that time.She was taken away by Theseus when she was a girl, and was later retaken by her two brothers.Later she grew up in the palace of her stepfather King Tyndarius of Sparta.The girl's beauty attracted a large number of people who proposed marriage.The king worried that if he chose one of them as his son-in-law, he would offend many other suitors.Later, the wise King Odysseus of Ithaca suggested that he make all the suitors swear that in the future, they will form an alliance with the son-in-law who is lucky enough to choose, and jointly oppose those who hold a grudge because they were not selected and try to harm the king.Tyndarius accepted his proposal, and he made all the suitors swear in public.Later, he chose Atreus' son, Agamemnon's brother, King Menelaus of Argos as his son-in-law, and succeeded him as king.Helen bore him a daughter, Hermione.When Paris came to Greece, Hermione was just a baby in a cradle.
The beautiful queen Helen lives alone in the palace while her husband is away, and her life is very monotonous and dull, and she feels very lonely.Then she heard that a foreign prince was about to come to Sisira with a powerful ship of war, and with feminine curiosity she wanted to see the prince and his armed retinue.So she set off for the island of Sysera, to make a solemn sacrifice in the temple of Artemis.Paris had just finished offering sacrifices when she entered the temple.When he saw the dignified queen walk in, he was indescribably amazed, and the hands that were raised up to pray to the sky couldn't help but drop down.He could hardly contain himself, for he felt as if he saw Aphrodite again, the goddess of love whom he had seen when he was grazing the pastures.He had long heard that Helen was beautiful, and he felt that the woman sent to him by the Goddess of Love was much more beautiful than the legendary beauty Helen.He originally thought that the beauty promised to him by the goddess of love must be a virgin, but he never thought that she would be someone else's wife.Now, the queen of Sparta stood in front of him, she was comparable to the goddess of love, and he suddenly understood that this was the beauty given to him by the goddess of love, and he wanted her wholeheartedly.The father's entrustment and the plan of the expedition were thrown into the sky in an instant.He felt that the purpose of leading the expedition with thousands of soldiers was to get Helen.While Paris was meditating silently, Helen was also looking at this handsome prince from Asia.He has long hair, wears an oriental shining golden silk robe, and has a burly figure and is very attractive.Immediately, the image of her husband disappeared from her consciousness, and in its place was this young and heroic foreigner, who was deeply seared in her heart.
After the sacrifice was over, Helen returned to the Spartan palace. She tried her best to erase the image of the foreign prince from her heart, forcing herself to miss her husband Menelaus who was still staying in Pylos.But soon Paris came to Sparta with several entourages and entered the palace.Queen Helen warmly received the visiting prince according to the courtesy.Prince Paris speaks in a gentle manner, his words are beautiful, and his eyes are burning with passion. He also plays the qin very well, and the sound of the qin is so beautiful that Helen is so intoxicated that she can't control herself.
When Paris saw Helen's heart fluttering, he forgot his father's entrustment and the mission of this trip, and only had the charming promise of the goddess of love in his heart.He summoned the armed soldiers who had come with him to Sparta, and persuaded them to help him by promising them anything.Then he led them into the palace, plundered the wealth of the Greek king, and took beautiful Helen.Helen was resisting on the surface, but she was not unwilling to go with him in her heart.
When Paris sailed across the Aegean Sea with his booty, the sea suddenly calmed down.In front of the ship carrying Paris and Helen, the waves parted of their own accord, and the old Nereus, the sea god, protruded from the water with his head crowned with reeds, dripping from his beard and hair.Ships are like being nailed to the water.Nereus loudly announced a dire prophecy to them: "Ominous birds fly before your ships! The Greeks are coming after you with an army, and they will break up your sinful union and destroy the ancient empire of Priam!" Alas, how many lives the Dardanians will pay for you! Pallas Athena has put on the helmet and clings to the shield! This bloody battle will last for many years, and only the wrath of a hero can stop your city Destruction! Once the appointed time comes, the houses of the Trojans will be burned to ashes by the Greeks!"
The old Poseidon dived into the sea after speaking the prophecy.When Paris heard this prophecy, he was terrified.After a while, a cheerful tailwind blew on the sea again.Helen lay in his arms, and he immediately forgot all about this dire prophecy.Later the warship came to Klarna Island, and they anchored in front of the island and landed.Helen, the wife of the thoughtless and fickle Menelaus, voluntarily married Pallas.They held a grand wedding, immersed in the joy of newlyweds, both of them forgot about their family and their country.Relying on the treasures they brought, they lived a life of luxury and luxury on the island.Years passed before they sailed back to Troy.