Book Zero

It is very obvious for the readers of Iliad by Homer, that there is a more profound explanation how the battle between Achaea and Troy began. The explanation that the war started because Paris took Helen from Menelaus is merely a shallow one. Though Menelaus was very angry because of this, he still had uncertainties about going to war with the Trojans. It was only Agamemnon who was very eager to join the battle. Agamemnon had been very interested in taking control every city and suborning everyone under his will. To say there was a ground for starting a war with Troy, he convinced Menelaus that he should retaliate for the abduction of his wife, and then he summoned all other Greek tribal kings to fight against Troy. On the other hand, the greatest warrior from Pthia Achilles, after being dishonored by Agamemnon, never had the interest in joining the battle against the Trojans.

CHAPTER ZERO

In the Trojan War, the offensive side was the Achaeans, and not the Trojans. While the Trojans try to keep secure their territory, the Achaeans continue attacking them by sending troops. They had only one objective, and that was to penetrate the walls of Troy. If you are the King of Troy, you should have no other option but to defend your city from an enemy who is also a potential autocrat. The only solution, therefore, was to fight their predicament in completely eradicating the Greeks from the land of Troy. That could only happen if the Trojans had a battalion strong enough to push the enemies away from their territories.

My chapter zero may seem very monotonous or a little uninteresting to read, because it actually makes the story a little less complicated. I believe that it was just how our life should be – simple. In the case of Achilles, I realized that in certain circumstances, our moral obligation is more important than the governmental law (the things which Agamemnon commands them to do). Collaborating with your country's war opponent may not seem alright for some, but we are not forgetting that happiness is derived from the same root as happenstance, haphazard, and hapless. There are a lot of consequences when you choose to go by the higher moral law, but sometimes we must have the courage to stand up on our own principles. That is where real happiness cultivates perhaps.

PS: All for Troy! I am glad that I read The Iliad.

Patroclus

Patroclus was a man who cared for his country and its people, which was evident when he pursued a combat in Troy. He truly admired and recognized his beloved friend – Achilles’ greatness when it comes in battling, that is why he held that when he uses Achilles’ famous armor while leading the Myrmidons, he would somehow be able frighten the Trojans. Patroclus, just like his friend Achilles, was also good in battle. He proved this when he killed a number of Trojan leaders in the war. Wearing Achilles’ helmet and armor, no one sensed that it was Patroclus. His movements, appearance – everyone in the battle really thought he was Achilles during that time that was why many were shocked when Hector took off the helmet of his newly slain victim. Hector, on the other hand, looked very disappointed when he found out that it was not Achilles but Patroclus. Hector expected that he had destroyed the greatest army of the Achaian tribe. He, too, could not believe how Patroclus had gone there in Troy, wearing Achilles’ suit of armor, running the risk of being the enemies’ objective and killed.

Patroclus was one courageous and skillful man. Truly, he had the strength and ability just as much as Achilles. He could have even killed Hector if the deities did not convene against him and plan his death. Anyone can say that he committed a fatal error when he disobeyed Achilles' command of retreating from the battle when once the ships are geared up, but he only did that because he wanted to prove something. He was a man who was ready to sacrifice even his own life for the sake of the feat of his country. The concern of his fellow warriors during his death was astonishing – from the handling of his corpse to his burial, and everyone really felt the loss of someone very kind and deeply beloved. This event in the book was a testimony that he was a great fellow.

Troy Versus Iliad

In the book Iliad by Homer, the confrontation between Hector and Aias transpired upon the will of the deities Apollo and Athena. Athena could not stand seeing the Danaans falling in the battle; however, Apollo would not allow Athena to cause another foul play in favor of the Danaans. Apollo came to see Athena by the oak tree, and there he expressed his intention. The deities resolved to stop the war on that day. For the sake of it, they coaxed Hector to challenge any potent champion in the Achaian party to fight him in a single formal battle. The Achaians had made a discussion first, until Aias stood up to face Hector. There had been an exchange of words between Hector and Aias before they finally started the fight. Aias almost killed Hector when he fell on his, but Apollo intervened to get Hector on his feet again. Two heralds came to tell both warriors enough as the night has come. Hector and Aias heeded the heralds’ message, and ended up expressing admiration and exchanging gifts for one another.

However, the film Troy showed this scene differently. Some situations in the film were omitted such as the involvement of the deities Apollo and Athena, and the challenge made by Hector. The coming of two heralds and the exchange of gifts and admirations were not also presented. In the movie, Hector was mounted on horse when he approached Aias. Many were also fighting at the same time; unlike in the book, the armies stopped and watched Hector and Aias in a duel. In the movie Hector killed Aias; while in the book, they only stopped fighting because of nightfall.

As I know, Troy is only an adaptation from the book, but it does not mean that the film should really be consistent with the book. I believe that the writer of the film has all the right to present the Trojan War in a different perspective, away from the mythical side of the book. Perhaps, he just wanted the battle to be realistic, without the deities participating and manipulating the situations. In real life, you do not see gods and goddesses taking people out of their troubles, granting them exceptional strength and determination, nor warriors fighting everyday not killing each other. The movie is probably closer to what really happened in the Trojan War.

On the whole, both book and film were only products of what we call oral tradition, a story passed on to generations after generations, a story which is likely to change. It has been so many years since the Trojan War and its story may have evolved, but the story presented in the movie Troy will always be a portion of the traditional cycle of the epic-myth Iliad.

If I were Homer, I would not care if they made a different adaptation of the story I have written, especially Troy. Besides, filmmakers nowadays would not only base their movie on a single book. Filmmakers should also source from other materials like history books.

The Apple of Discord and Menelaos

In the book Iliad, I perceive King Menelaos, brother of King Agamemnon and son of Atreus, as a self-sacrificing and valiant lad. When Prince Alexandros abducted his wife Helen, Menelaos did not have any second thought to recuperate her. To stand up for the love of his life, he, together with Agamemnon, raised a fleet and chased after Alexandros all the way to Troy. He fought bravely any battle, wholly decisive to punish the captor.

The contemptibly imprudent Alexandros had never thought that his irrational audacity by capturing Menelaos’ woman would result in majestic siege and waging of wars. It was not peculiar to see Alexandros slinking back into the ranks while his heart was sinking after he saw Menelaos in his fine suit of armor. Hector believed that Alexandros was handsome, but a man without fortitude, and people often saw him as a contemptible public pest for being the cause of war in the City of Troy. Because of this, he was induced to settle the conflict in a duel, at which Menelaos also agreed to.

Helen’s compassion for her husband was apparent during the fight. She longed for her husband of the old days, for home and family. The duel had been almost a glorious victory for the strong fighter Menelaos, but Aphrodite disrupted by taking Alexandros in a mist to Helen’s chamber ruining the duel before the decision happens. Helen scolded Alexandros for boasting once the he was a better man in a fair fight. While Athena incapacitated Menelaos by having him shot by an arrow of Pandarus, which roused the hostilities among the Achaians and Trojans once more.

I could compare Menelaos with the leading figure in Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo – Crisostomo Ibarra who courageously struggled to retaliate against his country’s enemies even if he knew that it would take him long to accomplish it.

As Menelaos hoped to get Helen back, Crisostomo Ibarra also purposed to take up and save Maria Clara, his beloved woman, from the abuse and cruelty of the Spanish colonialists.

These zealous and altruistic men, Menelaos and Ibarra, were truly an epitome of cleverness and heroism.

References:
The Iliad, Homer, WHD Rouse
ECAST World Literature, Serrano & Lapid