Part 20 (2/2)

The oracles, silent so long, now announced that Troy could never be taken without the poisoned arrows of Hercules, then in the keeping of Philoctetes (p. 238). This hero had started with the expedition, but had been put ash.o.r.e on the Island of Lemnos on account of a wound in his foot, which had become so offensive that none of the s.h.i.+p's company could endure his presence on board.

Ten long years had already elapsed since then, and, although a party of Greeks immediately set out in search of him, they had but little hope of finding him alive. They nevertheless wended their way to the cave where they had deposited him, where, to their unbounded surprise, they still found him. The wound had not healed, but he had managed to exist by killing such game as came within reach of his hand.

”Exposed to the inclement skies, Deserted and forlorn he lies; No friend or fellow-mourner there, To soothe his sorrows, and divide his care; Or seek the healing plant, of power to 'suage His aching wound, and mitigate its rage.”

Sophocles (Francklin's tr.).

Incensed by the Greeks' former cruel desertion, no entreaty could now induce Philoctetes to accompany the messengers to Troy, until Hercules appeared to him in a dream, and bade him go without delay, for there he would find Machaon (p. 64), AEsculapius' son, who was to heal his wound.

[Sidenote: Death of Paris and Oenone.]

The dream was realized. Philoctetes, whole once more, joined the Greek host, and caused great dismay in the enemy's ranks with his poisoned arrows. One of his deadly missiles even struck Paris, and, as the poison entered his veins, it caused him grievous suffering. Paris then remembered that his first love, Oenone, who knew all remedies and the best modes of applying them, had once told him to send for her should he ever be wounded. He therefore sent for Oenone; but she, justly offended by the base desertion and long neglect of her lover, refused her aid, and let him die in torture. When he was dead, Oenone repented of this decision; and when the flames of his funeral pyre rose around him, she rushed into their midst, and was burned to death on his corpse.

”But when she gain'd the broader vale and saw The ring of faces redden'd by the flames Infolding that dark body which had lain Of old in her embrace, paused--and then ask'd Falteringly, 'Who lies on yonder pyre?' But every man was mute for reverence. Then moving quickly forward till the heat Smote on her brow, she lifted up a voice Of shrill command, 'Who burns upon the pyre?' Whereon their oldest and their boldest said, 'He, whom thou would'st not heal!' and all at once The morning light of happy marriage broke, Thro' all the clouded years of widowhood, And m.u.f.fling up her comely head, and crying 'Husband!' she leapt upon the funeral pile, And mixt herself with him and past in fire.”

Tennyson.

[Sidenote: The Palladium.]

Two of Priam's sons had already expired, and yet Troy had not fallen into the hands of the Greeks, who now heard another prophecy, to the effect that Troy could never be taken as long as the Palladium--a sacred statue of Minerva, said to have fallen from heaven--remained within its walls (p. 60). So Ulysses and Diomedes in disguise effected an entrance into the city one night, and after many difficulties succeeded in escaping with the precious image.

[Sidenote: The wooden horse.]

Men and chiefs, impatient of further delay, now joyfully hailed Ulysses' proposal to take the city by stratagem. They therefore secretly built a colossal wooden horse, within whose hollow sides a number of brave warriors might lie concealed. The main army feigned weariness of the endless enterprise, and embarked, leaving the horse as a pretended offering to Minerva; while Sinon, a shrewd slave, remained to persuade the Trojans to drag the horse within their gates and keep him there, a lasting monument of their hard-won triumph.

To the unbounded joy of the long-besieged Trojans, the Greek fleet then sailed away, until the Island of Tenedos hid the s.h.i.+ps from view. All the inhabitants of Troy poured out of the city to view the wooden horse, and question Sinon, who pretended to have great cause of complaint against the Greeks, and strongly advised them to secure their last offering to Minerva.

The Trojans hailed this idea with rapture; but Laoc.o.o.n, a Trojan priest, implored them to leave the horse alone, lest they should bring untold evil upon their heads.

”'Wretched countrymen,' he cries, 'What monstrous madness blinds your eyes?

Perchance--who knows?--these planks of deal A Grecian ambuscade conceal, Or 'tis a pile to o'erlook the town, And pour from high invaders down, Or fraud lurks somewhere to destroy: Mistrust, mistrust it, men of Troy!'”

Virgil (Conington's tr.).

[Sidenote: Death of Laoc.o.o.n.]

Deaf to all warnings and entreaties, they dragged the colossal image into the very heart of their city, tearing down a portion of their ramparts to allow its pa.s.sage, while Laoc.o.o.n hastened down to the sh.o.r.e to offer sacrifice to the G.o.ds. As he stood there by the improvised altar, with one of his sons on either side to a.s.sist him in his office, two huge serpents came out of the sea, coiled themselves around him and his sons, and crushed and bit them to death.

”Unswerving they Toward Laoc.o.o.n hold their way; First round his two young sons they wreathe, And grind their limbs with savage teeth: Then, as with arms he comes to aid, The wretched father they invade And twine in giant folds: twice round His stalwart waist their spires are wound, Twice round his neck, while over all Their heads and crests tower high and tall. He strains his strength their knots to tear, While gore and slime his fillets smear, And to the unregardful skies Sends up his agonizing cries.”

Virgil (Conington's tr.).

[Ill.u.s.tration: LAOc.o.o.n. (Vatican, Rome.)]

The awestruck witnesses of this terrible scene, of course, declared that the G.o.ds resented his interference concerning the wooden horse, and had justly punished the sacrilegious hand which had dared strike it with a spear, merely to demonstrate, that, being hollow, it might contain an armed band. Ever since then, Laoc.o.o.n and his sons' struggle with the serpents has been a favorite subject for poets and artists.

[Sidenote: Fall of Troy.]

In the mean while, the Greeks had been hiding behind Tenedos; but when night came on, they returned to the site of their ten-years' encampment, and were let into the city by Sinon, who also released their companions from their prison within the wooden horse. Although taken by surprise, the city guards made desperate attempts to repel the Greeks; but it was now too late, for the enemy had already broken into houses and palaces, and were killing, pillaging, and burning all in their way.

”The melancholy years, The miserable melancholy years, Crept onward till the midnight terror came, And by the glare of burning streets I saw Palace and temple reel in ruin and fall, And the long-baffled legions, bursting in Through gate and bastion, blunted sword and spear With unresisted slaughter.”

Lewis Morris.

The royal family, even, was not exempt from the general ma.s.sacre; and the aged Priam, who lived to see his last son perish before his eyes, finally found relief in death.

[Sidenote: Return of the Greeks.]

Their object accomplished, the Greeks immediately sailed for home, their vessels heavily laden with plunder and slaves. But the homeward journey was not as joyful as might have been expected; and many, after escaping from the enemy's hands, perished in the waves, or found death lying in wait for them by their own fireside.

Menelaus, with his wife Helen, who, in spite of the added ten years, retained all her youthful beauty, were detained in Egypt by contrary winds, sent to punish them for omitting the usual sacrifice to the G.o.ds. He at last consulted Proteus, who revealed how the wrath of the G.o.ds could best be allayed, and how favorable winds could be secured to waft him home.

As for Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks, he returned to Argos only to be murdered by his wife Clytaemnestra and her paramour AEgisthus.

”'AEgisthus, bent upon my death, Plotted against me with my guilty wife, And bade me to his house, and slew me there, Even at the banquet.'”

Homer (Bryant's tr.).

Then, mortally afraid lest Orestes, Agamemnon's son, should avenge his father's death, AEgisthus prepared to slay him too; but Electra, the boy's sister, discovering this intention, helped him to escape, and placed him under the fatherly protection of Strophius, King of Phocis, whose son, Pylades, became his inseparable friend. In fact, their devotion to each other was so great, that it has become proverbial in every tongue.

Electra had not forgotten her father's base murder, although years had elapsed since it occurred; and when Orestes had attained manhood, she bade him come and punish those who had committed the crime. Orestes came, slew AEgisthus and Clytaemnestra, and then, terrified at what he had done, took flight, but only to be pursued by the Furies and Nemesis, G.o.ddess of revenge, sent by the G.o.ds to punish him for taking justice into his own hands.

Arrived at Delphi, Orestes consulted the oracle, and learned that his crime would be forgiven if he brought a statue of Diana in Tauris back to Greece. The young prince hastened thither, accompanied by the ever-faithful Pylades, who never left his side; and there, in a temple, he found his long-lost sister Iphigenia, who helped him obtain the image he sought, and accompanied him back to his native land, where Nemesis left him forever.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES.

The Greek chiefs, on their return from Troy, were, as we have seen, all more or less visited by the wrath of the G.o.ds; but none of them endured as many hards.h.i.+ps as Ulysses (Odysseus), King of Ithaca, the hero of Homer's world-renowned epic the Odyssey. During ten long years he roamed the seas, driven away from his native land by adverse winds, sailing about from place to place, losing his s.h.i.+ps and companions, until at last the G.o.ds allowed him to return home. His marvelous adventures and numerous mishaps during these ten years form the theme of the Odyssey, which is about as follows.

[Sidenote: Siege of Ismarus.]

After leaving Troy in ruins, Ulysses embarked with his men and spoils, and, favored by a good wind, soon came within sight of Ismarus, the home of the worthy and wealthy Ciconians. To increase the riches he was carrying home, he proposed to his army to land and storm the city,--a proposal which was enthusiastically received and immediately carried out.

But when the men collected near the fleet, instead of embarking as Ulysses urged them to do, they began to drink the rich wine, to roast oxen whole, and to indulge in games and revelry. While they were thus employed and entirely off their guard, the neighbors and allies of the Ciconians came upon them unawares, and put many to death.

The Greeks, although taken by surprise, fought bravely; but it was only when the sun was fast sinking, that they finally embarked, and left the fatal Ciconian sh.o.r.es.

”Onward we sailed, lamenting bitterly Our comrades slain, yet happy to escape From death ourselves.”

Homer (Bryant's tr.).

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