CH.0: THE ROOTS OF TROY
CH.0: THE ROOTS OF TROY
Apollo and Poseidon build Troy’s walls, but when Laomedon cheats them, the gods send plague and a sea serpent. Heracles slays the monster, later sacks the city, and leaves Priam as king of a Troy already scarred by divine wrath. In Greece, the "cursed house of Atreus" festers, while in Troy the newborn Paris is prophesied to bring about the city’s doom.
CH.1: THE CYPRIA
CH.1: THE CYPRIA
Discord is sown at the Judgment of Paris, when he awards the golden apple to Aphrodite. Helen is taken from Sparta, and kings across Greece, bound by oath, raise the greatest army of myth to sail for Ilium.
CH.2: THE ILIAD
CH.2: THE ILIAD
In the war’s ninth year, Achilles’ wrath against Agamemnon tears the Greek army apart. Diomedes wounds gods in battle, Odysseus leads daring night raids, and the fighting surges with divine fury. At last Hector falls before Achilles, sealing Troy’s fate in blood and grief.
CH.3: THE AETHIOPIS
CH.3: THE AETHIOPIS
Penthesilea of the Amazons and the warrior king Memnon of Ethiopia come to Troy’s aid, only to fall before Achilles’ spear. Yet even the greatest hero cannot escape destiny, and Achilles himself is struck down by Paris with Apollo’s aid.
CH.4: THE LITTLE ILIAD
CH.4: THE LITTLE ILIAD
Ajax and Odysseus contend for the armor of Achilles, ending in madness and death. Prophecies demand new heroes: Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, is brought to Troy, and Philoctetes returns with the bow of Heracles to slay Paris. At last, under Athena’s guidance, the Greeks build the Wooden Horse, the cunning ruse that will topple Troy.
the sack of troy
CH.5: THE ILIOU PERSIS
CH.5: THE ILIOU PERSIS
By night the Greeks emerge from the horse, sacking Troy in fire and slaughter. Priam is struck down, Cassandra is torn from Athena’s temple, and Polyxena and Astyanax meet cruel fates as Hecuba and the Trojan women lament their city’s ruin. In ashes and chains, the proud city falls silent, its survivors condemned to slavery and sorrow.
homecoming returns
CH.6: THE NOSTOI
CH.6: THE NOSTOI
The victors scatter homeward, but storms, betrayals, and divine wrath haunt their returns. Agamemnon is murdered in his own hall, Menelaus and Helen drift across the seas, and Ajax the Lesser is destroyed by Athena’s fury, leaving only a few to reach their shores.
CH.7: THE ODYSSEY
CH.7: THE ODYSSEY
Odysseus alone wanders for ten years, battling Cyclopes, witches, sirens, and Poseidon’s storms. Through cunning and endurance he reclaims Ithaca, slaying the suitors and restoring his house.
CH.8: THE TELEGONY
CH.8: THE TELEGONY
Peace proves fleeting when Odysseus’ forgotten son Telegonus arrives on Ithaca’s shore. A tragic clash follows, leading Telegonus to bear his father’s body to Circe, where unexpected unions entwine their fates and bring the Trojan cycle to its end.