(Greek Mythology) The Abyss
Chapter 103
The Trojan War, sparked by a golden apple, was permeated with an inescapable sense of absurdity from beginning to end.
In other words, everyone in the party had a screw loose. (~￣▽￣)~
As a boy who naturally attracts bloodshed, Paris unsurprisingly caused a major stir upon his first visit to the city.
The incident began when King Priam held a funeral tournament for a deceased relative. Since the bull, the prize for the tournament, was Paris's favorite, he was determined to win it.
In the end, Paris triumphed, defeating all his opponents. However, King Priam's son, Deiphobus, enraged by his defeat, attempted to kill Paris, and Paris was thus hunted down all the way to the altar.
Summary: A Bull's Bloodshed 2333
Before the impending tragedy of fratricide, Paris luckily encountered Cassandra, Priam's daughter. Cassandra possessed prophetic abilities, and thus immediately recognized the shepherd before her as her long-abandoned brother.
Then came the incredible twist: the king and queen, upon learning this, joyfully embraced their long-lost son, happily reuniting with him.
Yes, that's right, they cheerfully forgot the prophecy that Paris would destroy Troy.
Simply insane memory and bizarre thought processes; I'm speechless.
Okay, consider this foreshadowing for later events; we must understand, we must understand. [Affirmative nod.jpg]
Soon after, Paris was sent to Greece by his father on a mission.
When Priam was young, his sister Hesione was abducted by the Greeks, and years later, he decided to send his son Paris to bring her back.
However, to his utter surprise, Paris not only failed to bring Hesion back, but also plundered the Spartan king's wealth and kidnapped Queen Helen, provoking an attack from the Greek coalition.
Light a row of candles for King Priam, who unfortunately gave birth to a troublesome son.
Priam: My heart is breaking right now (д)!!!
Having made a promise, Aphrodite, of course, wouldn't break it. She used her divine power to make Helen fall in love with Paris. Therefore, although Helen was kidnapped by Paris, she ultimately married him willingly.
Afterwards, Aphrodite left Olympus, intending to live in the Temple of Love from now on, determined not to get involved in the Trojan mess.
As a pretty face but a weakling, the consequences of getting involved... See the original Aphrodite, whose wrist was pierced by a human and who was knocked down by Athena's punch.
Aphrodite stated that she had no masochistic tendencies.
Furthermore, regardless of what she did in private, the first generation of gods always maintained neutrality on the surface. Since she had married Eros, Aphrodite naturally had to remain neutral as well. After all, while the Trojan War was merely a human war, it was ultimately a contest between gods. A goddess of love and beauty with only beauty was unimportant, but the wife of Eros, the god of love and desire, represented a completely different meaning.
As for what would happen to Paris, who had obtained Helen…
He chose to marry the most beautiful woman among mortals; what does it have to do with me? [indifferent.jpg] —by the detached Aphrodite
A man would be furious if his wife were kidnapped, and Menelaus, the Spartan king, was no exception. Therefore, he soon efficiently organized a Greek coalition to march on Troy.
Logically, the protagonists of the Trojan War should have been the kidnapper Paris and the victim Menelaus, but the reality was quite different. The sheer number of prominent heroes, sages, and prophets almost overshadowed the two protagonists, making them seem like mere background figures—a rather pitiful situation.
Among them, the most prominent was Achilles, yes, the unfortunate child who was dipped upside down in the River Styx by his own mother.
As a prophesied figure, Achilles' presence was undeniably strong, at least in the Trojan War, surpassing even Paris, another prophesied figure. From the preparations to the end of the war, he was everywhere, either making his own appearance or having others take his place to steal the spotlight. Even after his death, the image of a grandmother and grandson (gods) representing a good Greek mother and a good Greek son remained, constantly reminding everyone of Achilles' existence. One can't help but feel immense admiration.
Achilles's strong presence is for a simple reason: while many demigods participated in the Trojan War, unfortunately, not every demigod's mother or father possessed the same strong (and strange) influence over their child as the sea goddess Thetis.
After all, it's normal for a mother to take action upon hearing a prophecy that her son will die in war, but dressing her young son as a girl and giving him away to be raised by someone else is quite unusual.
#Calculate the psychological trauma Achilles suffered being forced to dress as a woman#
#What can save you, my gender identity#
Well, it turns out Achilles's gender identity doesn't need saving, but King Lycomedes's heart might indeed need saving.
Oh, by the way, Lycomedes is the unfortunate king entrusted with (not really) the son by the sea goddess.
Thinking Achilles was a girl, Lycomedes let him live and play with his daughters, only to find out that his daughter Idamia and Achilles were in love without Lycomed's knowledge—a truly heartbreaking situation.
One can easily imagine Lycomedes's devastation when Odysseus tried to persuade Achilles to join the war, and he finally learned the truth.
Lycomedes: Utterly dumbfounded Σ( ° △°|||)︴
Of course, that's not the main point. The real story is yet to come, but before that, we must mention another person: King Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek coalition.
He was quite the daredevil, especially when it came to courting disaster.
First, he shot and killed the deer offered to the goddess Artemis, boasting that even Artemis herself might not be a better shot than him. This successfully angered Artemis, who ultimately had to sacrifice her daughter to appease her wrath.
Then, true to his life motto of "life is about courting death," he not only refused Chryses, the priest of Apollo, when he begged for the ransom of his daughter, but also spoke rudely to him. As a result, Apollo, at the priest's request, sent down a plague that affected the entire Greek coalition.
He angered two gods in a row, and both were chief gods at that. It's hard to know what to say about him.
Of course, it's also possible that Agamemnon had a fit of obsessive-compulsive disorder; after angering one of the twins, he felt he had to anger the other to feel better. —by A Seriously Nonsensical Ramblings
Ahem, well, congratulations to Agamemnon on graduating from the "Academy of Courting Death" with excellent grades! Hooray!ヽ(▽)ノ
#On How to Die in Creative Ways#
#Agamemnon's Daily History of Die-Seeking Teaches You How to Die#
#Look, that Agamemnon who never stops courting death#