Chapter 55 55

The Greeks besieged the city of Troy, but could not succeed for a long time.So Calchas, the soothsayer and seer, called a council, and he said: "It is useless for you to attack the city in this way. Listen, I saw an omen yesterday: an eagle chasing a dove. The dove flew The eagle hid in the crevice of the rock. The eagle waited for a long time by the rock, but the pigeon couldn’t come out. The eagle hid in the nearby bushes. The stupid pigeon flew out. The eagle immediately pounced on it and used its The claws caught it. We should follow the example of this eagle. The city of Troy should not be attacked by force, but should be outsmarted."

When he had finished speaking, the heroes racked their brains to devise a plan to end this dreadful war as soon as possible, but they could not think of one.Finally, Odysseus came up with a clever plan. "Friends, do you know what to do?" He couldn't help raising his voice, "Let's build a huge wooden horse, and hide as many Greeks as possible in the horse's belly. The rest will leave by boat." On the coast of Troy, retreat to the island of Tenedos. Before departure, the barracks must be completely burned down, so that the Trojans can see the fireworks on the city wall, and boldly go out of the city without warning. At the same time, we let a soldier whom the Trojans do not know, pretend to be The fugitives infiltrated the city and told them that the Greeks were going to kill him and sacrifice him to the gods in order to retreat safely, but he managed to escape. He also said that the Greeks built a huge wooden horse and dedicated it to the Trojans. Pallas Athena, the enemy of the army, hid himself under the belly of a horse, and only crept out when the enemy retreated. The soldier must be able to retell the story to the Trojans, and tell the truth, Keep the Trojans from suspicion. The Trojans will take pity on the poor stranger and take him into the city. There he will try to persuade the Trojans to drag the wooden horse into the city. While our enemy is asleep, he will send us a message The predetermined signal. At this time, the people hiding in the wooden horse climbed out quickly and lit the torches to call the warriors hidden near the island of Tenedos. In this way, we can destroy the city of Troy with sword and fire in one fell swoop."

Odysseus told his plan, and everyone marveled at his clever plan.This ploy suits the vision of the seer Calchas, and he fully approves of it.At the same time, I am happy that this cunning hero can understand his intentions.He called the assembly's attention to the auspicious omen of the eagle and the thunderclap of Zeus' approval, and urged the Greeks to hasten action.But the son of Achilles stood up and protested: "Calchas, a brave warrior must subdue the enemy in the open field. Let the cowardly Trojans fight from the top of the tower! But we do not want to use tricks or tricks." No other way. We must show in open battle that we are strong fighters!"

His words were so full of audacity that even Odysseus had to admire his nobility and integrity.But he retorted: "You are a good son of a noble father. Your words show that you are a brave hero. However, it must be remembered that your father, the half-god hero, failed to break through this A strong castle. You should know that not everything in this world can be achieved by bravery. Therefore, I beg you and all heroes, follow Calchas' advice, listen to my advice, and immediately carry out my plan .” The heroes, except Philoctetes, cheered the proposal of the son of Laertes, but he was on the side of Neoptolemus, and was eager to fight, for his desire to fight had not yet be satisfied.In the end, the two of them almost persuaded all the Danae, but Zeus objected. He angrily showed thunder and lightning, and the thunder shook the earth.Thus, the heroes understand that Zeus agrees with the advice of the seer and Odysseus.Neoptolemus and Philoctetes, in spite of their objections, had to submit to Providence.

So the Greeks all withdrew to the warships, where they lay down to sleep and rest well before starting to work. In the middle of the night, Athena gave a dream to the Greek hero Epous, instructing him to make a giant horse out of rough wood, and promised to help him to complete the work as soon as possible.Knowing that it was the goddess Athena, Epous jumped up from the bed happily, remembering the goddess' orders. At dawn, he told everyone about the goddess' dream.As soon as the Greeks heard this, they immediately came to Mount Aida to cut down tall and strong pine trees.The timber was soon brought to the shores of the Heldipon.Many young men helped Epeus to work together.Some saw wood, and some cut branches and leaves.Epous built the wooden horse himself. He first made the horse's feet, cut the horse's belly, and made an arched horse's back on top of the horse's belly.Then the horse's chest and neck were placed, and the horse's neck was also fitted with a delicate mane, which seemed to be blowing in the wind, and the horse's head and tail were covered with fine down.The horse's ears are erected, and the round horse's eyes are piercing.In short, the whole horse is like a living horse.With the help of Athena, he completed the task in three days.Everyone marveled at his masterpiece of art.They even believed that the horse would neigh and gallop at any moment.Epous raised his hands towards the sky and prayed in front of all the soldiers: "Great goddess Polas Athena! Please listen to my prayer, and please protect me and your wooden horse!" All the Greeks also Pray with him.

At the same time, the Trojans closed the city gates and hid in the city.The gods on the holy mountain of Olympus are divided into two factions just because they have different views on the fate of Troy. One faction protects the Greeks and the other faction opposes them.They came down to the world and lined up on the Scamander River, but they were invisible to mortals.The same goes for the gods of the sea, some on one side and some on the other.The fifty sea nymphs, daughters of Nereus and Doris, considered themselves relatives of Achilles and therefore sided with the Greeks.The other sea gods sided with the Trojans, and they set off huge waves to attack the warships and wooden horses.They would have destroyed them all, if Fortune allowed it.

The battle of the gods has begun.Ares charged Athena.This was a signal to the other gods, and immediately the gods all started fighting, each refusing to give in.Their golden armor clashed and clanged; the earth trembled beneath their feet.Their shouts of killing spread all the way to the underworld.The Titans in the Tartarus hell were also terrified.The gods chose this moment to fight because Zeus had gone out to the Sea of ​​Oceanus and the cave of Tethys.He is the ancestor of all gods, and he dominates everything. No matter how far away he is, he knows everything that happened in Troy.Zeus immediately knew that the gods were fighting, so he immediately got on the thunder chariot, urged his wings to chase the wind horse, and Iris drove the chariot back to the holy mountain of Olympus.He quickly sent lightning to the gods on the ground.The gods were taken aback and immediately stopped fighting.Themis, the goddess of justice, was the only deity who did not take part in the battle.She descended among the gods and announced to them that Zeus had decided that all the gods should immediately lay down their arms, or else they would be utterly destroyed.The gods were afraid of the All-Father, so they had no choice but to suppress the anger in their hearts, and left the battlefield indignantly.

At this time, in the camp of the Greeks, the wooden horse was ready.Odysseus stood up to speak at the meeting. "Leaders of the Dane'a, now is the time to show real strength and courage. For now we have to go into the belly of the horse, hide in it for a period of sunless days, and welcome the bright future, please believe me, It takes more courage to get into the belly of a horse than to fight against the enemy! Therefore only the bravest man can do it! The rest can go first to the island of Tenedos by boat. Only one brave and clever man is left near the wooden horse. man, he will do as I say. Who will take up the burden?"

Everyone hesitated, but no one dared to stand up.Finally, the Greek Sinon stepped forward.He said: "I will take up this task. Let the Trojans torture me, let them burn me alive, I have made up my mind!" His words were cheered by everyone.But some people said: "Who is this young man? We have never heard his name. He has never done anything special! He must be possessed, and the devil is either trying to destroy the Trojans or us." Nestor stood up and encouraged him, saying, "Now we need more courage, because the gods have given us the means to end the ten-year war. Let us quickly get into the wooden horse. It is as if I were going to embark on the Argonaut ship of Jason. If King Pelias did not let me go on board at that time, I would have participated in that expedition."

As the old man said, he wanted to jump into the horse's belly first through the wooden door.At this time, Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, wanted him to give him this honor, and the old man led the others to the island of Tenedos.Nestor was persuaded with difficulty.So Neoptolemus, fully armed, was the first to step into the spacious and dark belly of the horse.Behind him are Menelaus, Diomedes, Stheneros and Odysseus.Then came Philoctetes, Ajax, Idomeneus, Myrionas, Padalelios, Eurymachus, Antimachus, Agapanore, and many others Heroes, they are tightly packed in the horse's belly.Finally, there is Epeus, the maker of the wooden horse.He entered the horse's belly, pulled the ladder into the horse's belly, closed the wooden door, and bolted it from the inside.The heroes sat silently in the horse's belly, not knowing what fate awaited them.

The rest of the Greeks obeyed the orders of Agamemnon and Nestor, set fire to the tents and camps, and then embarked and set sail for the island of Tenedos.When they reached Tenedos they dropped anchor and waited eagerly for the signal of the predetermined firelight in the distance. The Trojans soon discovered that the coast was full of smoke. They watched carefully from the top of the city and found that the Greek warship had left.The Trojans were very happy and flocked to the seashore in droves.Of course, they were still wary and did not take off their armor.They found a huge wooden horse in the square where the enemy camped.They gathered around it, looking at it in amazement, for it was a marvelous work of art.The soldiers argued, and some advocated moving it into the city and putting it on the castle as a souvenir of victory.Some people did not believe this inexplicable gift left by the Greeks, and advocated pushing it into the sea or burning it with fire. At this time, the Greek heroes hiding in the belly of the horse were terrified when they heard this. At this time, Apollo's Trojan priest Laocoon came out from the crowd. Before he got to the wooden horse, he discouraged everyone and said: "Unfortunate souls, what devil has captivated you? Do you really think that the Greeks are gone, that the gifts of the Daneans contain no tricks? Don't you know what kind of man Odysseus is? There must be danger hidden in the belly of the horse. Otherwise, it must be a war machine, and the enemy who ambushes near us will use it to attack us. In short, whatever it is, you must not trust the Greeks!" Taking a spear from the warrior standing by, he thrust it into the belly of the horse.The spear was stabbed in the horse's belly and trembled, and there was an echo from inside, hollow, like a sound coming from a hollow.But the hearts of the Trojans are numb, and their ears are deaf. Suddenly, several shepherds found Xinong hiding under the belly of the wooden horse.They dragged him out, took him as a prisoner, and brought him to King Priam.The soldiers of Troy, who had been watching the Trojan horse, gathered together to see the captive.Sinon perfectly plays the role Odysseus entrusts to him.He stood there pitifully, stretching out his arms to the sky, crying and begging: "My God, where can I go, where can I take a boat? The Greeks will drive me out, and the Trojans will kill me." Mine!" The shepherds who first caught him were moved by his words.He then told them how he had been sacrificed and how he escaped at the last moment. "I cannot go back to my native land," he went on, "and it is entirely up to you whether you will pay me with kindness and generosity, or that you will kill me like my fellow countrymen. It's up to you to decide!" He made up this story so cleverly that the Trojans were so moved that even King Priam believed him, and said some comforting words to him, and allowed him to stay in the city, only to tell him about the horse. What is the matter with the wooden horse, because when he talked about the wooden horse just now, he was also very devout and awed.Xinong immediately raised his hands and pretended to pray. "By gods, I have sacrificed to you as a sacrifice, O altar and sword that threatens my life, and you bear witness to me that I am severed from my fellow countrymen. Therefore I now It is hardly a sin to reveal their secrets! During the war the Daneans have pinned their hopes on the aid of the goddess Pallas Athena. Ever since her statue was stolen at Troy , things turned bad. You Trojans may not know that it was our cunning Greeks who did it. The goddess was very angry, and she withdrew her kind aid to the Daneans. Then the prophet Calchas said, We should go back by boat immediately and listen to the command of the gods in our hometown. He said that because the gods have not returned to their original places, we cannot hope to win the war. Due to the advice of the prophets, the Danai people finally decided to return home. Before leaving And they built this gigantic wooden horse, as a gift to the goddess, to appease her, according to the prophet's advice. Calchas demanded that the horse be made so tall that you Trojans could not drag it through the gates, Put it in the city. Because the wooden horse is dragged into the city, Athena will protect you instead of the Greeks. On the contrary, if you damage the wooden horse, which is what the Danae want, then you will surely suffer The Daneans intend to return as soon as they have heard the will of the gods in Argos, and are ready to restore the statue of the goddess after taking your city." The lie was so well woven that Priam and the Trojans believed it.In fact, Athena was always concerned about the fate of her friends.Since Laocoon's warning, they have all been anxious about their fate.But a miracle helped the heroes escape their doom.Here's the thing: After the priest of Poseidon died, Laocoon, the priest of Apollo, also took up his duties, so he sacrificed a big bull to the sea god by the sea.Then from the direction of Tenedos came two serpents, and they crossed the mirror-like sea to the shore.They protrude from the surface of the sea with blood-red flesh crowned snake heads, and the snake's body swings in the water, stirring up waves.They swam ashore, spitting and squeaking, and their flaming snake eyes shone with terrible light.The Trojans who were still around the wooden horse turned pale with fright, turned around and fled.But the two snakes meandered to the altar of Poseidon.Laocoon and his two sons were busy offering sacrifices there. The poisonous snake entangled the two children and bit their tender muscles with their fangs. The children roared in pain, and their father Laocoon drew out his sword and rushed over.But the snake also entangled him.The bull he had just killed with the ax ran from the altar bloody, mooing, and dropped the ax from its neck.Poor Laocoon and his two sons were finally bitten to death by poisonous snakes.The two poisonous snakes swam to the temple of Athena, coiled and hid at the feet of the goddess. The Trojans saw this horrific event as punishment for priests who suspected the Trojan horse.Some hurried back to the city, and made a big hole in the wall, and others put axles under the horse's feet, and twisted thick ropes, which were used to put them around the horse's neck.So, they worked hard together and successfully dragged the wooden horse back to the city.The boys and girls happily followed, singing the hymns of the festival.When the wooden horse passed the high threshold of the city gate, it was blocked four times, but finally rolled over.Every time it jolted, there was a sound of metal crashing in the horse's belly.But the Trojans still didn't hear, they cheered and dragged the huge wooden horse to the acropolis.Among the happy crowd, only the prophetess Cassandra drooped her head and her eyes were dull. She was a person bestowed by the gods with the ability to predict, and she made no mistakes every time.She watched the celestial phenomena and natural objects and found many ominous omens. The strange thing is that people didn't believe her.Now she also saw the danger, and a premonition drove her out of the palace.Her hair was loose, and there were burning sparks in her eyes.She swayed through the streets and alleys, shouting along the way: "Trojans, don't you know that our road leads to the underworld of Hades? I saw the city full of blood and fire, and I saw the god of death coming from the city." Out of the belly of the wooden horse! You are still cheering and sending it to our acropolis. Why don’t you believe me? Even if I say a million words, you still don’t believe me. Because of Helen, the Goddess of Nemesis decided to ask You revenge, you have become their sacrifices and captives." But the Trojans just laughed and mocked her.