Myths are not stories that are untrue
rather they are tales that don't fit neatly into the historical record...
which serve as a foundation to a culture
For ten long years
The Achaeans and the Trojans had been locked in a stalemate
As the Gods above debate who should win
(Story time)
For over a week, funeral pyres
have illuminated the beaches of the Achaean camp
burning day and night. The atmosphere is grim
and bleak. Plague. Suffering.
Death. Despair. First, it infected the dogs and the horses. But then Apollo
God of plagues, turned his divine wrath on the men
And now, hundreds lay dead
Meanwhile, upon Mount Olympus, Hera looks on concerned
She supports the Achaean side of the conflict and
can't just sit idly by with so many dying
She has to do SOMETHING. So, she puts
a thought in Achilles' mind
Hera: Call an assembly and figure out
how to stop the plague.
The fate of the entire nation
depends on it.
(intro scene)
(Intro scene)
Desperate for answers and hoping for a cure
The Achaean soldiers and kings answer Achilles' summon
There, Achilles asks
his comrades if there are any seers or priests
among them who can find out WHY Apollo is angry
and tell them how they can fix this.
A man stands up. Among the Achaean, he is renowned for interpreting
the will of the Gods through the flight of birds. And HE says
He knows why Apollo's angry, but uhh
Certain, POWERFUL people might
get ANGRY if he said something
So he wants to be sure that he will
be protected from any consequences. Should he speak up.
Achilles catches his meaning and swears to protect him
even if, you know, for the sake of argument
someone like Agamemnon himself, maybe
were to get upset. The Bird-seer then explains that
Chryseis was the daughter of Apollo's beloved priest
and that Agamemnon had dishonored the God by kidnapping her
and refused to accept ransom for her return
The only way to end the plague, he says
is to return Chryseis home. Now without any ransom at all
Relieved that their suffering will finally end
The Achaeans support the plan, BUT
AGAMEMNON isn't feeling it
He points a finger at the seer and says that he never prophesies anything
good about him. It's always evil. This, and dishonor that!
Plus, he explains in a huff. He doesn't WANT
to give up Chryseis. He likes her better than his wife
Thinks she's prettier, nicer and more talented
Oh, and BTW. HE's the king
He will not just sit around and let Achilles have a prize
while he goes without one
So then, he proposes a deal. He'll send Cryseus packing but he will take Briseis
Achilles' prize instead
Hearing this plan, Achilles then calls Agamemnon's bluff and raises
Achilles: OH, Heck no
I'm not gonna be giving up MY prize, okay
I earned her. Just give up the girl. I mean
you said it yourself. YOU'RE the king.
It's your responsibility
Agamemnon grows red in the face
Agamemnon: I'll give up the girl
but there is NO WAY I'll let YOU keep
a prize while I don't have one
I deserve a prize
Achilles, now fuming, couldn't help but laugh
Achilles: Ha ha ha. Deserve? HA HA. That's rich
because we do all the work and you just sit around camp
all day, ''collecting prizes''
Agamemnon: okay. Alright. You're just challenging me because
you're jealous. Well you're not BETTER than me
I am the king and I do what i want.
and what I want is to send Chryseis back
and take Briseis away from you
deal with it
Rage and anguish overcame Achilles and he was moments away from striking
Agamemnon down where he stood.
But then Athena, who saw what was cooking, rushed down to intervene
Freezing time to have a little chat with Achilles. She told him
to calm down and not be rash
If he can endure humiliation now and cut
Agamemnon down with his words, RATHER than his blade,
He will be rewarded three fold in the future
PLUS, the Gods had plans for Agamemnon
Time then unfroze, and figuring
it wasn't the worst plan to have the Gods hold a favor
rather than resort to violence, Achilles unleashed
such a tirade of insults against Agamemnon
that the entire camp was left totally speechless
Achilles: FINE
If you really want it to be that way
Then I'll just take MY ships and MY armies
And go home. Because i'm tired
of spending MY time HOWLING in riches
FOR A LAZY, DOG-FACED, COWARDLY KING !
Agamemnon : GO AHEAD AND RUN
YOU'RE ONLY AS POWERFUL AS YOU ARE BECAUSE
THE GODS GIVE YOU SPECIAL TREATMENT ANYWAY
Agamemnon: Run all the way home if it makes you happy
but know that before you do
I WILL take Breseis away from you.
And everyone else will know better than to ever
CHALLENGE ME !
And once the parading had completed, he stormed out in a huff and went back to his camp
With the matter "settled", Odyseus packs up Chryseis
to send her home
And Achilles, Still sulking, remembers Athena's words
If he just puts up with this now, he'll win in the end
But even so, as the guards take Briseis away
Achilles cries and begins to pray to his mother,
the sea nymph, Thetis
She coalesces from the sea foam and mist before her weeping son
and asks him what is wrong
He fills her in on the details and then begs her
to appeal to the King of the Gods (Zeus). You know. Since her and Zeus are
such ''old' friends'', and ask him
to make the Achaeans suffer a great loss to the Trojans as punishment for
humiliating Achilles and taking away his prize
Thetis then goes to Zeus and asks for this favour.
But he is hesitant. Because, you see.
He doesn't wanna go against his wife, Hera, who had supported the Achaean side
of the war. Ever since Paris slided her
And they already fight so often in front of the OTHER Gods, he doesn't
wanna any fuel to that fire
On the other hand, Thetis is an old ''friend'' and you know.
I mean Achilles is almost like a son to him
So reluctantly, Zeus agrees. Though he knows
Hera will be furious when she finds out
And as the armies and the besieged Trojans
slept on Earth that night and the Gods slept high above
Zeus lay awake, trying to think how he might bring honor
to Achilles while dishonoring the Achaeans.
Then suddenly. Inspiration strikes him
He sends Agamemnon a dream, which says that
the Gods are no longer divided and have now decided
that the Achaeans will win the war
So if they attack the Trojans in full force,
the Gods will be with them and they will be victorious
Agamemnon awakes with a start and rejoices
He knows the dreams come from the gods
and if they have his back, then he doesn't even NEED Achilles to win
Excitedly, he then hatches a plan
So crazy, it just might work
And the next morning, as the goddess Dawn brushed
away the twilight with her rosy fingers
Agamemnon orders the Achaean forces
to prepare for war
And we'll tell you all about how that particular dream
plan turned out next time (Fin)
Legendary thanks to Ahmed Ziad Turk, Alicia Bramble
Casey Muscha, Dominic Valenciana, Gunnar Clovis,
Kyle Murgatroyd, and Orels1 for helping to make this show
possible.