The Trojan War

King Priam was very sad to hear of Hector's death. He begged for the return of his son's body. What harm could there be in doing that? Achilles said to himself. So he brought Hector's body to the city gate of Troy. He did not know that Paris was waiting for him at the gate.

Achilles lifted Hector's body from the chariot. Just then, Paris shot an arrow at Achilles. The arrow hit Achilles in his right heel. This, of course, was his weak spot. The arrow killed him right away.

The Wooden HorseAfter Achilles died, another great hero rose up in the Greek army. His name was Odysseus (oh-DISS-e-us). He was king of Ithaca, but he fought like everyone else. "There is only one way we can win over the Trojans," said Odysseus. "We must get past the gate and into the city."

"But how?" the other men wondered. "We can't get in the gate. And we can't break down the wall."

Odysseus asked Athena, the goddess of wisdom, what they should do.

Athena told him a poem:

Could is should,

Should is would,

Would is wood, of course.

What began with an apple

Must end with a horse.

What could this mean? Odysseus wondered. He knew about the golden apple that had started the Trojan War. But what was this about a horse? Then it came to him. He must build a wooden horse!

Odysseus worked out a plan. He and his men built a huge wooden horse. It was so big that 20 men could fit inside it. There was a trap door in the belly of the horse. There were wheels under its feet.

The next morning, the Trojans looked over their wall. There were no Greeks in sight. Where could they be? The Trojans believed the war must be over. They believed the Greeks had given up and gone home.

Then the Trojans saw the wooden horse outside the gate. They believed the Greeks were leaving them a gift of peace.

"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts," King Priam's helper said. "They could be playing a trick."

But King Priam opened the gate. A group of men rolled the horse into the city. There it sat as the Trojans went to sleep. They slept well, believing they had won the war and peace had come at last.

But in the middle of the night, the trap door in the horse opened. Out came the 20 Greeks. Among them were Odysseus and Menelaus. They all ran toward the city gate and opened it wide.

The rest of the Greek army had not really gone home. They had sailed in their boats, just out of sight of Troy.

During the night they sailed back and waited on land. When the gate opened, the army rushed into Troy.

The Trojans did not have a chance. The Greeks killed everyone in sight. Then they set the city on fire. Soon, there was nothing left of Troy.

Some say Paris was killed in this last battle of the war. Others say he got away and lived out the rest of his days with another name in another land.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, came to Troy. She had helped start the war. Now she helped Menelaus get his wife, Helen, out of Troy. The two of them went back to Sparta. For the rest of their days, they lived a happy life as king and queen.

After 10 years, the Trojan War was over. Odysseus and the rest of the Greek army began their long trip home.