The sun rose up over the ocean as the horns blew in unison.
Achilles arose from his sleep, which seemed like a restless night given
the urgency of the day. The Greeks would be bringing the battle against the
Trojans, led by the great warrior Achilles.
Many doubted Achilles’ ability when compared to Hector, the greatest prince of Troy, even
though the Greek hero was one of the most skilled warriors known to man. The only person who truly believed
in Achilles was Patroclus, Achilles’ best ally and friend.
Achilles suited up with his armor and grabbed his bow, as he
was about to set out to find his friend.
“Achilles!” Patroclus called. “How was your rest last
nightfall? Great adversaries await us within the Trojan walls. Hopefully you
are ready.”
“Ah, Patroclus, as usual you jump straight into conversation
about war.” Achilles exhaled. “When will you greet me one morning with talk of
peaceful things, such as the weather or food?”
Patroclus shrugged. “There will be plenty more mornings to
discuss those trivial matters, but the day is too grand for that now. Let us go
gather the cavalry. We have a city to conquer!”
Achilles followed Patroclus out of his tent with the prayer that Patroclus' optimism in battle would prove true.
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(Zeus, Nike, and Athena -- Jennifer Leung)
Source: Flickr |
Zeus and Athena watched over the battlefield as the war
transpired. Athena looked over to Zeus, knowing that he would be yearning to intervene in the battle as he usually did.
“Athena, you know I cannot let Achilles beat Hector,” Zeus
said.
“No, you must not intervene with this war. Let what is
meant to be, be,” begged Athena.
“Fine. Hector is too fierce an opponent for Achilles to
overcome. Surely, the Trojans will win the battle.”
⏩
Many hours passed as the war waged on. The once golden sand on the battlefield was now red, covered in both Greek and Trojan blood. All around were bodies of fallen soldiers with arrows and spears protruding from their bodies. Many of which were not yet dead, but lying and waiting for the darkness to take them. Surrounded by the sounds of pain from injured soldiers and grief from the comrades who watched their closest allies perish.
Finally, as Achilles
neared the Trojan walls, he met eyes with Hector. He checked his quiver to make
sure he had arrows left and gripped his bow fiercely, ready to find out what
fate would bring.
Although many other skirmishes were going on within the war,
everyone began to slow their actions, looking in awe upon the two great
warriors. Soldiers from all around cleared the area around Achilles and Hector.
Patroclus stepped up behind Achilles, ready to help him take
Hector down.
“No, Patroclus, I must do this on my own. If I am to perish
today, I will do so with respect on the battlefield.” Achilles motioned
Patroclus to stand back.
Time stood still while every eye looked on anxiously awaiting the first strike.
Hector brought up his shield in anticipation of Achilles' arrow and was just quick enough, as the golden arrowhead met the middle of the shield. Hector knew he needed to get closer to Achilles to gain the advantage.
Achilles fired relentlessly as Hector dashed left and right, hoping to catch a piece of his skin.
Hector reached his intended destination at the foot of Achilles, seemingly unscathed. Achilles switched his strategy to defend against his opponent's quick strikes. Hector was bearing down on Achilles, within seconds of defeating him, but then his left leg gave out as he planted to swing his sword for the finishing blow. Hector crashed to the ground with shock covering his face.
As he looked down to find what could have caused his downfall, he said, "What have you done to me? No one man can defeat me in battle."
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(Achilles -- floratheexplora)
Source: Flickr |
Every soldier looked to Hector's ankle to see the arrow protruding through his Achilles tendon.
"You were a great adversary, Hector, but you underestimated my abilities," Achilles stated.
As he finished his sentence, Hector struck out at Achilles with his sword in his final attempt to win the fight. Achilles was too quick and dodged the blow while thrusting an arrow into Hector's stomach.
Achilles had done the seemingly impossible by killing Hector. Both the Trojan and Greek warriors were shocked by what had happened. All except Patroclus, who smiled, knowing all along his friend was worthy of more respect.
The war was all but over at that point. With their leading general killed, the Trojans felt no need to fight longer, for they would lose either way.
Later that night, as Achilles lay in his tent, Patroclus entered ready to feast and drink with the hero.
Knowing what Patroclus was about to ask, Achilles put his hand up and said, "Not tonight, my friend, we will feast tomorrow, but tonight I rest."
Patroclus did not bother arguing and turned to walk out.
While shifting out of the tent Patroclus murmured, "I will wake you in the morning, with talk of the weather."
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Author's Note: Because the story was quite long, I focused more on the main feud between Achilles and Hector. Since it was such a pivotal moment in the actual reading, I decided that I wanted to surround that concept with my own tweaks. In the original story, Hector was made to be the underdog against Achilles. I wanted to reverse that just to make it as though Hector were the better fighter. I thought the original story was predictable in the way Homer had the better fighter win (not that mine was so unpredictable). Homer also let the gods intervene in the battles more than I had expected, so I wanted to alter that. Hermes and Athena were both influential in the deaths of Patroclus and Hector in the original. Athene deceived Hector by making him think he had his brother to fight with him. Hermes flipped Patroclus' chariot when he was on a killing spree in the battlefield. Without the gods interfering, it would show a true test between the warriors. Although I kept the same overall concept with who won the fight, I changed the sequence of the fight, especially with the way Hector died. Homer just had Achilles kill him without specifying a particular body part. Usually, Achilles' weakness is his Achilles heel, but I decided to make that strength for him in the fight. In the original story, Achilles drug Hector's body around after he killed him. I wanted Achilles' to be more merciful, so I cut that out of my story. In the original, the warriors continue the fight even after Hector dies, but I wanted to change it because it was so morally demoralizing for them to see their greatest fighter die. The images I chose were to help the reader imagine the views of the gods talking, and also the sight on the battlefield.
Bibliography: Homer's Iliad retold by A. J. Church
