The Iliad - Prelude to War - Greek - Extra Mythology - Part 1

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 long ago in ancient Greece there were two great nations akia where mighty ships cut across the wine-dark sea and philosopher Kings reign and Sparta land of stoic warriors and the finest craftsmen the world has ever known for countless years both nations existed in harmony though tragedy awaited them for high above on Mount Olympus the gods were making their own plans Zeus king of the gods had come into power by killing his father Cronos and if you remember our previous episode it was also prophesized that Zeus would then be overthrown by one of his own sons thus when he fell in love with the seen emptiness though he desperately wanted to marry her and have children Heba grudgingly arranged to have her marry Ilyas human king of the mermaid Anse instead of him the wedding ceremony was a wonder to behold as all of the marvellous gods attended in their resplendent glory Hermes Herald of the gods Hara Zeus his wife and goddess of marriage Apollo god of the Sun Athena grey-eyed goddess of war and wisdom and beautiful Aphrodite goddess of erotic love these and many more came to celebrate the happy day but when Eris goddess of chaos arrived she bore a special gift a golden apple inscribed with the phrase - the fairest Hera Athena and Aphrodite all claimed that they deserved the Apple and began fighting bitterly over who deserved it most all the while nobody at the wedding was willing to favor one of them for fear of angering the others to settle the matter Zeus ordered all of them to appear before Paris Prince of Troy and let him decide who the goddesses descended from Mount Olympus and presented themselves before the prince but each was so beautiful in her own way that Paris could not decide either so bribery it was Hara offered him political and military Athena offered to make him the strongest and wisest warrior alive and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world Paris chose Aphrodite's offer she gleefully claimed the Golden Apple as her own and the deities returned to Olympus though Hera and Athena were furious and began planning their revenge straightaway but that would not come for several years and in the meantime all seemed well in both the mortal and divine realms and Thetis bore a son naming the child Achilles half mortal and half divine Achilles grew up healthy and strong and though he was still young he quickly took his place among the greatest of all warriors not half brad also the time had come for Paris to collect the favor Aphrodite owed him he yearned for the love of the most beautiful woman in the world Helen daughter of the king of Sparta but it was not a simple matter of matchmaking because you see Helen was so intelligent lovely kind and talented that she had dozens and dozens of suitors from every household in the land and the king was afraid to choose any one of them out of fear that the others would retaliate in anger one of the suitors intelligent Odysseus proposed the solution since none of them would get to marry Helen as long as the king feared them then they should all agree to defend the marriage of Helen no matter who was chosen and then simply draw straws that way the king would not have to insult anyone by rejecting them and the lucky man was Menelaus brother to the great King Agamemnon of my seniya he was not just set to marry Helen but also to one day inherit the throne of Sparta but don't forget the gods had made their own plans after the wedding while Menelaus was celebrating his life as a newly Wed Paris made his way to Sparta to claim what Aphrodite had promised him when he approached the palace and Helen laid eyes on him Aphrodite struck them both with such a powerful longing for each other that they eloped together to Troy that very instant but this of course was not happily ever after hundreds of men had sworn to defend Helens marriage and Menelaus was not going to wave goodbye to love power and glory so he went out to the great walled city of Troy and tried in vain reason with Paris but alas love looks not with the eyes but with the mind when no amount of diplomacy or bribery could convince the lovers to part Menelaus had no choice but to call on all of the suitors to honor their oath and defend his marriage his brother Agamemnon sent messengers to all of the kings and princes of akia and the message said one simple thing prepare your ships and ready for battle for there was not a noble household that hadn't sent a suitor to vie for Helens hand and thus all bound by the pact the entire nation was going to war so a thousand ships set sail from every corner of Greece forming the greatest fleet the world had ever seen and they all made for Troy after a week at sea the achaeans finally set foot on trojan shores Paris's army awaits them in force with eager young warriors like Achilles standing alongside veterans all united by their foul spears fly shield shatter the battle on the beach is short and the Achaeans forced the Trojans to retreat into their walled city and there they wait and wait and wait the Achaeans hold the beach but the Trojans are untouchable in their high walled city week's turned to months months turned to years and after nearly a decade of stalemate neither side can claim victory all the while the Achaeans built new lives far from home in their camp on the beach their ships an ever-present specter on the Trojan horizon and the Trojans for their part adjust to life under siege while Paris and Helen remain deeply in love despite the hardship growing more Restless every day in their stalemate VI qian's bide their time by raiding nearby towns for supplies and war trophies on one such day Achilles who had grown up to be the strongest of the Achaean warriors led a raid and kidnapped two women as war prizes crisis and Briseis Agamemnon commander of the army claimed crisis as his price and Achilles as leader of the raid claimed brisëis as his own but this was a huge mistake you know beyond the reasons you would imagine it is for crisis father was a priest of the god Apollo and when he learned that his daughter had been taken he turn to the gods and begged them for help Apollo sympathetic to the prayers of his devoted follower being the god of both the Sun and of sickness struck via Qian camp with a horrible plague in retribution every day more Achaeans died on that foreign soil until achilles had had enough and he called an assembly that would alter the course of history and thus the pride of Agamemnon the vanity of Aphrodite the lust of Paris and the rage of Achilles would bring untold suffering into the world thanks so much to Ahmed Zayat Turk Alesia bramble Casey Mutua Dominic Valenciana Gunnar Clovis Kyle Murgatroyd mulege gallery and Oreos won for being legendary patrons [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Extra History

Views: 546,898

Keywords: extra credits, extra credits mythology, extra mythology, video essay, greek myth, greek mythology, matt krol, greek myths, the iliad, odysseus, achilles, Troy, The Trojan War, greek gods, greek mythology stories animated, animation, education, iliad, homer, mythology, jac mindelan, classic mythology, ancient greek gods, ancient greek myths, paris, menelaus, judgement of paris, aphrodite, athena, hera

Id: 5CnzGXZjwNs

Length: 7min 47sec (467 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 03 2020