On War and Love

There was a man, Tantalus, who was favored by the Gods, and tried to deceive they. He gave the order of cooking his own son and serve he to the gods on a dinner.

The Gods punished Tantalus by sending him to underworld. There, enchained to a Tree, he suffered eternal thirst and hunger. When he wanted to grab an apple from the tree, branches raised far from his hand. When he wanted to drink some water, the river fled from his mouth.

One of his descendants was Atreus, whom fought against his brother, Aegistus, for the throne of Miccenae. And the sons of Atreus were Agamemnon and Menelaus. After the death of Atreus, Agamemnon, the eldest son, inherited the crown and was recognized by the other Greek kings as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Menelaus, was crowned King of Sparta, after his wedding whit Helen, daughter of Tindareus (actually daughter of Zeus and sister of Polux, but that is another story).

Agamemnon wanted to unify all Greek tribes in one Kingdom, in order to deploying a great fleet and control The Egeian Sea, for launching his troops against other great Empires, such as Bizancio or Troy, and protect his country against the Hittitae. But Menelaus wanted to rule his kingdom peacefully and had no desire to go to war. Alas, the Gods, above all desires of the Mortals, had promised the hand of Helen, the most beautiful and gorgeous woman in the world, to Paris Alexander, who had discovered that he was not just a poor Shepherd, but the rightful son of Priamus King of Troy. He was sent to Sparta to make peace with Menelaus, but instead, he and Helen fell in love one each other, and escaped from Sparta towards Troy.

When Menelaus discovered the truth, he payed a visit to his brother, and they started the preparations for war. A thousand vessels, fifty thousand men, including Ajax, Achilles, Nestor and Odiseus, gathered in the Greek coast, and waiting for the war... But the wind was not good. Day after day, night after night, and the sea was calm as it was death. Finally, Agamemnon consulted Tiberyas, the sorcerer, and he said to him that Artemis, Goddes of Hunting, was angry with The King, and demanded a terrible sacrifice. The most beloved of his daughters, Hifigenia, had to be sacrificed.

Whit his heart broken, but knowing this was his great opportunity, Agamemnon did as the Goddess demanded, and killed his Daughter. Suddenly, the wind was strong, the vessels could sail, and the war of Troy could begin.