The Achilles Workout – Scourge of Troy

The Trojan War began, as many ancient conflicts did, over a woman. Helen of Sparta, said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, left her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta, for Paris, prince of Troy. Whether she went willingly or was taken remains disputed, but the insult to Menelaus was clear.

His brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, called the Greek kings to arms, raising a coalition of warriors to sail east and reclaim Helen. The campaign brought together legendary figures — Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax, and Nestor — under Agamemnon’s banner.

The war was fought between the united Achaean (Greek) states and the wealthy city of Troy, located in modern-day Turkey, around the 12th or 13th century BCE.

Behind the mortal conflict lay divine interference. According to legend, Zeus sought to reduce the human population and did so by setting in motion a divine quarrel. At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Achilles’ parents), the goddess Eris cast a golden apple inscribed “To the fairest.”

Three goddesses claimed it: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Zeus appointed Paris to judge. Each offered him a bribe — Hera promised power, Athena promised wisdom and victory, and Aphrodite promised the love of the world’s most beautiful woman. Paris chose Aphrodite, earning Helen — and sealing Troy’s fate.

The Greek fleet crossed the Aegean and besieged Troy for ten long years. Homer’s Iliad, written centuries later, covers only a few weeks in the final year of that war. The story begins with a rift among the Greeks: Agamemnon insults Achilles, seizing his captive Briseis.

Furious, Achilles withdraws from battle, leaving the Greeks without their greatest warrior. With their champion gone, the Trojans — led by Prince Hector, son of King Priam — push the Greeks back to their ships.

As the Greeks falter, Patroclus, Achilles’ closest companion, borrows his armour to lead the Myrmidons into battle. The sight of Achilles’ armour rallies the Greeks, but tragedy follows. Hector, aided by Apollo, kills Patroclus in single combat.

Achilles’ grief turns to fury. He returns to the battlefield, cutting through Trojan ranks in a killing rage. He finds Hector before the gates of Troy and slays him in vengeance, refusing to return his body. Achilles drags Hector’s corpse behind his chariot — a display that horrifies gods and men alike.

King Priam, guided by the gods, sneaks into the Greek camp to beg Achilles for his son’s body. Moved by the old king’s courage, Achilles relents and returns Hector’s remains for burial. Soon after, the war shifts toward its infamous conclusion.

The Greeks, unable to breach Troy’s walls, resort to cunning. Odysseus devises the Trojan Horse — a hollow wooden gift concealing Greek soldiers inside. Believing the Greeks had retreated, the Trojans bring it into their city. That night, the Greeks emerge, open the gates, and the city falls. Troy burns, ending a decade of war.

The Iliad ends before Achilles’ death, but later sources complete the story. As he returned to battle after Hector’s funeral, Achilles was struck by an arrow to the heel — his only weak point. Paris, aided once again by Apollo, fired the fatal shot. Achilles died undefeated in combat, but the prophecy had been fulfilled: he had chosen glory over a long life.