The Overlooked Heroes of the Trojan War

Did you know that the legendary founder of Rome first appears in Homer's Iliad? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and I'm sure if you think of the Trojan War or the Iliad you think Achilles, Patroclus, maybe Odysseus and Paris. But today we're going to introduce you to some of the other important warriors and figures from the Iliad that you need to know. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. The Trojan War is a legendary conflict that was fought between the Greeks who are also known as the Achaeans and the Trojans who were defending their city of Troy in Anatolia, modern-day Turkey. The tale of the Trojan War survives to us today primarily through the epic poems of Homer, the Iliad which covers only 52 days of the final year of the war and the Odyssey which covers the hero Odysseus's 10-year-long journey home. And although these tales were written down in the 8th century BCE, the heroes and warriors who feature in them are from the Late Bronze Age, circa 1550 to 1200 BCE. Although the tale of the Trojan War and the many characters who fought in it are legendary and figures of myth, the war may have been inspired by a very real conflict between the Mycenaeans and the Hittites during the Late Bronze Age. The Trojan War began after Helen of Sparta, the wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta, was taken from her home by Paris, a prince of Troy, and brought back to his city. Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, gathered troops from all over Greece to storm Troy and retrieve her. The two kings roused heroes from all over, including the famous Achilles and Patroclus, probably the two best-known heroes of the war, who both met their deaths during the siege. There were more heroes and figures that played important roles in the war beyond Achilles and Patroclus, Paris, Helen, Menelaus, and Agamemnon, and today we are going to introduce you to some of them. Let's start with Diomedes, a king of Argos, strong and gifted in combat and a key figure in the Greek assault on Troy and, as a king, contributed 80 ships to the cause. He was trusted by Agamemnon, something not many men could boast about, and would often be set off on missions with the king of Ithaca, Odysseus. Both Odysseus and Diomedes were favored by the goddess of war strategy, Athena, and she protected Diomedes in battle. After being shot in the shoulder with an arrow, Diomedes prayed to Athena. Hear me, daughter of Zeus, whose shield is thunder, tireless one Athena. If you ever stood by my father with all your love amidst the blaze of battle, stand by me. Do me a favor now, Athena. Bring that man into range and let me spear him. His prayers pay off and Athena imbues him with strength and the ability to see the immortals on the battlefield, who were helping both sides of the war. Diomedes was a fearsome fighter who killed many Trojans and almost managed to kill Aeneas, a son of Aphrodite, before his goddess mother whisked him to safety. Although not without Diomedes managing to land a blow to the wrist of the goddess. Not many mortals could claim they injured an immortal, but Diomedes was quickly warned by the god Apollo to stay out of the affairs of the gods. Diomedes was not only a fierce warrior but a brave one too, which is especially evident after he saves Nesta on the battlefield after one of his horses is wounded and then goes on to kill Hector's chariot driver with his faithful friends, the Nellis and Eurymedon, before encouraging the Greeks to fight and leading his men into battle once more. Diomedes was able to raise the morale of the Greeks even after it seemed that Zeus had taken the side of the Trojans and in the dark of night Diomedes and Odysseus killed King Rhesus of the Trojans and 12 of his men before stealing his horses and taking them back to the Greek camp. Diomedes ended up getting wounded by Paris of Troy but remained a voice of wise counsel and couldn't be stopped from winning all of the events he competed in at Patroclus' funeral games. In the Iliad, Nesta the king of Pelos isn't the warrior he once was, but in his older age he is still wise and of good counsel. He uses his earlier battles and experiences to impart wisdom to the young Greek warriors and although he is too old to engage in the battle he still rides his chariot at the front of the troops from Pelos and he is accompanied at Troy by his son Antiochus, a prince of Pelos. Antiochus was a skilled charioteer and was notably very beautiful and swift-footed. He was a valiant fighter but was killed in the war when he sacrificed himself in order to save his father from the Ethiopian king Memnon. His death by the hands of Memnon was avenged by his good friend and comrade Achilles. Ajax the Greater, who is also known as Telamonian Ajax because he is the son of King Telamon, is often seen in battle with his brother Tusa, another warrior of the Trojan War who is known for his skill with a bow. Ajax the Greater is noted as a big guy and a courageous warrior. In the Iliad, Ajax battles against the great hero Hector twice with one of the fights between them lasting the better part of an entire day. Ajax manages to wound the Trojan prince but their duel is called a draw and they exchange gifts as a sign of respect. Later Ajax nearly kills Hector with a huge rock that he throws at him and when they come head to head again Ajax realizes that Hector is being favored by the king of the gods and has to After the death of Patroclus at the hands of Hector, Ajax with the help of Menelaus manages to bring the body of the dead hero back to the Achaean camps but not before the armor was taken from him. And not to confuse you all but there is another Ajax, Ajax the Lesser or Locrian Ajax because he was the son of the king of Locris. Ajax the Lesser led the Locrian warriors against the Trojans. He was known for being the best after Achilles at spear throwing and was also a great warrior. Two of the most overlooked figures in the story of the conflict are women with the first being Briseis. Briseis is the slave girl in the Iliad who is taken by Achilles as a spoil of war. Achilles becomes quite fond of her and when Agamemnon as king demands her as his own Achilles has no choice but to surrender her. He deeply resents the loss however and in retaliation refuses to fight for the Achaeans anymore. He continues to sulk in his tent until Patroclus is killed by Hector and he emerges to avenge his companion's death. The whole drama of the Iliad turns on the abduction of Briseis by Agamemnon and yet she receives less attention in many articles on the topic than she deserves. The second woman highly overlooked is Andromache, Hector's wife. Andromache is depicted as his best friend and the ideal vision of the loyal, trustworthy, brave, and self-sacrificing Greek wife. Andromache defends Troy in her own way and tries to talk Hector out of the one-on-one battle with Achilles in which he's killed. Their son Astyanax is also killed and so Andromache is often referenced as a symbol of the suffering of women in war and the totality of their loss during and after military conflicts. One of the heroes from the Trojan side of the war is actually best known not from the Iliad but from the epic tale from Rome, the Aeneid, and that is Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome. In the Iliad he was a brave soldier who led the Dardanian warriors from Dardania, modern-day Turkey. Aeneas shielded the body of his comrade Pandarus after he was killed and fought against the Greek hero Diomedes but was taken to safety by his mother Aphrodite but not quick enough to shield him from being struck in the thigh with a massive boulder. After being healed Aeneas re-entered the battle. He went toe-to-toe with the great hero Achilles before being saved once again but this time by the god of the sea, Poseidon. Aeneas survived the war and left Troy with some Trojan refugees who eventually made it to what is now Rome. Sarpedon was a Lycian prince who fought on the side of the Trojans and was also the son of the god Zeus. The Lycian soldiers were among the strongest of the Trojan forces and Sarpedon their leader among the greatest defenders of Troy. Sarpedon had the respect of Prince Hector and the other Trojan warriors and was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. During the war Sarpedon killed Telepollimus, the son of the great hero Heracles and even criticized Hector for leaving all of the heavy fighting to the Trojan allies rather than having the Trojans themselves step up and fight. Though godlike in strength and skill Sarpedon eventually met his match when he was felled on the battlefield by Patroclus wearing the armor of Achilles. After he was killed his body was safely removed from the battlefield by Apollo, Hypnos and Thanatos who cleansed the body of the son of Zeus and returned it to be buried in his homeland of Lycia. Can you think of any other underappreciated figures from greek mythology? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content head to our website via the link below. If you like my shirt you can find this design and a bunch more in our shop at worldhistory.store or you can find a link for it down below. Thank you so much for watching and we will see you soon with another video.