It was the wedding of Thetis and Peleus that truly kickstarted the titanic bloodshed that was the

Trojan
war. Eris, the goddess of discord and strife, was uninvited to the wedding for self-explanatory rationales.
Out of spite, she chucked a golden apple with a note that read: "To the fairest of them all". 3 goddesses,
namely Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, advanced to seize the apple. As one goddess tried to grapple the
apple over the other, a dilemma was brewing.

Zeus, father of Aphrodite and Athena and unfaithful companion of Hera, contrived a scheme that would
alleviate overpopulation and the neuralgia from preferring one goddess over the other. He bequeathed
the predicament to Paris, a young Trojan prince, and not a place in France. The goddesses then
attempted to bribe the young prince in exchange for the golden apple.

"I will give you power!" came the mighty voice of Hera.

"Provided that the apple lands in my possession, I shall impart my wisdom upon you." said Athena
stoically.

"For that apple, the most pulchritudinous woman shall be yours." enticingly said Aphrodite.

Paris correctly chose Aphrodite as he desired the companionship of a beauteous woman. After the
woman was abducted, all was bliss and love. However, these short-lived moments of affection would be
marred by a decade long war.

It just so happens that the most prepossessing woman was Helen, spouse of the Spartan king Menelaus.
Despite Menelaus being unable to keep his pants to his wife, he still wanted his wife back. After
consulting his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, the duo rallied armies throughout Greece to
reclaim the wife of a disloyal bovine. Thousands of soldiers willing to die for kings they've never met;
thousands of disposable heroes laid to rest for a man's pettiness.

Of the many warriors caught in the slipstream of war were Achilles, Odysseus, and Ajax. Achilles is
considered the greatest warrior of the Greeks, Achilles was virtually invincible due to his divine
parentage. His rage and eventual withdrawal from the war had a significant impact on the conflict.
Odysseus was a cunning and resourceful Greek hero, known for his intelligence and strategic thinking.
He was a key figure in the Trojan War. Ajax was a formidable warrior known for his strength and
bravery. He was a skilled fighter but also known for his arrogance and hot temper.
When the Greeks made landfall on Troy, they were besieged by Troy's army led by Hector, Paris's elder
brother and heir to the Trojan throne. After the Greeks retreat, Paris challenges Menelaus to a duel,
only for Paris to be wounded by Menelaus. As Paris crawls to his elder brother, Menelaus taunts him
and attempts to kill the young prince. Hector reaches for his sword and impales the hag, killing him.
With the Greeks losing a king, they are left with a weak morale, which the Trojans would use to ambush
the Greeks. Amidst the conflict, Achilles rushes to battle with his men and challenges Hector.

*slash*

With that, Hector kills Achilles. But it wasn't Achilles, it was Patroclus, Achilles's cousin, who was posing
as the great leader of the Myrmidons.

Upon discovering his cousin's death, Achilles seeks Hector to avenge his cousin. Achilles stood alone,
while Hector stood in front of the gates of Troy with his beloved family watching above. A great battle
ensued, the best of the best against each other.

*Shhlck*

Achilles plunges his spear into Hector's throat, killing the assailant that murdered his cousin. With
Hector's wife widowed and his child fatherless, Achilles ties Hector's corpse to his chariot and drags it
around for all to see. Apollo and Aphrodite then protect Hector's corpse from decomposition and
mutilation.

Later that night, Priam, king of Troy, sneaks up and confronts Achilles to reclaim Hector's corpse. he
lifted the lids of his chests, and took out twelve goodly vestments. He took also twelve cloaks of single
fold, twelve rugs, twelve fair mantles, and an equal number of shirts. He weighed out ten talents of gold,
and brought moreover two burnished tripods, four cauldrons, and a very beautiful cup which the
Thracians had given him when he had gone to them on an embassy. All this was of no value compared to
the body of the noble son he lost. In a moment of humanity, Achilles returns Hector's corpse out of pity
and fabricates a pact that ensures no Greek nor Trojan shall fight for the next 12 days. As Hector burns
on the funeral pyre, we, the readers, are reminded that 3220 years ago was an era in which men stared
at death and death smiled back. Though it may have been three millennia ago, the premise that young
men die of wars started by old men stays the same. Heroes, till this day, are still disposable as ever.

Written by Euan Degamo.