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) (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.
