The immortal gods slept serenely on bright Olympus. Both the Greek camp and the great Troy were immersed in deep sleep. But Zeus the Thunderer did not close his eyes to sleep - he was thinking about how to take revenge for the insult to Achilles. Finally, the cloud suppressor Zeus decided to send a false dream to Agamemnon. He called the god of sleep and sent him to the camp of the Greeks to Agamemnon, telling him:
- Rush on swift wings, deceptive dream, and appear before Agamemnon. Tell him to lead the Greeks into battle. Tell him that today he will take possession of the great Troy, since Hera begged all the gods not to help the Trojans. Troy now faces destruction.
The god of sleep quickly rushed to earth, and taking the form of the elder Nestor, whom Agamemnon so revered, appeared to him in a dream and told him everything that the great thunderer had commanded. Agamemnon woke up, but it still seemed to him that the words he had heard in his sleep were still being heard. The king of Mycenae stood up and quickly dressed himself in rich clothes, took the golden scepter in his hand and went to where the Greek ships were pulled ashore. At this time, the dawn had already flared up brightly, foreshadowing the rise of the great sun god Helios into the sky. Agamemnon called the heralds and ordered them to call all the soldiers to a public meeting. The mighty king of Mycenae gathered all the leaders to the ship of the elder Nestor and told them what dream Zeus the Thunderer had sent him.
The leaders decided to prepare for battle. But before leading troops into the field under the walls of Troy, Agamemnon wanted to test them; he decided to invite the people's assembly to return to their homeland. While the leaders were conferring, the warriors were going to the meeting. Countless crowds of warriors gathered like swarms of bees flying out of mountain caves. The people's assembly was worried. With difficulty, the heralds established silence so that the kings, the pets of Zeus, could address the people. Finally, crowds of people settled in and silence reigned. Agamemnon was the first to address the people, rising from his place with a scepter in his hands. He spoke about the hardships of war, about the fact that the Greeks fought fruitlessly at Troy; that they would obviously not be able to take the impregnable Troy and would have to return back to their homeland with nothing. Apparently, the gods themselves want the Greeks to return to their homeland. This is what Agamemnon said. The Greeks listened to Agamemnon's speech. The whole people shook, like the sea, when the winds of Noth and Eurus, having flown in, raise high waves on it. Everyone rushed to the ships with loud screams. The earth trembled from the stomping of running crowds of warriors rushing towards the ships. Clouds of dust rose. Screams rang out throughout the camp. Everyone is in a hurry to launch ships as soon as possible, everyone is eager to sail to their homeland.
The screams of the soldiers reached the great Olympus. Hera, fearing that the Greeks would abandon the siege of Troy, sent Pallas Athena to their camp to stop them. Like a storm, Athena rushed to the camp of the Greeks from Olympus. There she appeared to Odysseus and told him.
“Noble son of Laertes, have you really all decided to flee from here to your homeland?” Will you really leave the beautiful Helen here for the joy of Priam and all the Trojans? Go quickly and convince everyone not to leave Troy! Hearing the menacing voice of the goddess, Odysseus ran, throwing off his cloak, towards the ships. Taking the scepter, a sign of supreme power, from Agamemnon, who met him, he began to convince everyone, both leaders and ordinary warriors, not to launch ships and called everyone back to the people's assembly. Odysseus struck with his scepter those warriors who were especially noisy and in a hurry to quickly leave the shores of Troy. Again everyone rushed to where the people usually gathered. Crowds of people walked with loud shouts, like the waves of an incessantly roaring sea, which beat against the rocky shore with a thunderous noise. Finally, everyone again took their places and fell silent. Only Thersites continued to scream. Thersites constantly allowed himself to boldly oppose the kings. He especially hated Odysseus and the great son of Thetis, Achilles. Now Thersites shouted shrilly and reviled Agamemnon. He shouted that Agamemnon had received enough booty and slaves, he had enough rich ransoms for noble Trojans who were taken captive by ordinary soldiers. Thersites called on everyone to hurry quickly to their homeland, and advised Agamemnon to be left alone near Troy. Let the son of Atreus find out whether the soldiers helped him in battle, whether or not they were faithful servants. He reviled Thersites Agamemnon as best he could. He also reproached him for insulting Achilles, but Achilles also called Thersites cowardly. The cunning Odysseus also heard this cry of Thersites. He approached Thersites and exclaimed menacingly:
“Don’t you dare, fool, to vilify the kings, don’t you dare talk about returning to your homeland!” Who knows how the work we started will end. Listen and remember that I will do what I say! If I once again hear you, a madman, blaspheme King Agamemnon, then it would be better if they cut off my head from my mighty shoulders, let them not call me the father of Telemachus, unless I seize you, tear off all your clothes and, having beaten you, do not drive you out of the people’s assembly to the ships, crying in pain.
So Odysseus shouted menacingly. He waved his scepter and hit Thersites on the back. From the pain, tears rolled down from Thersites' eyes. A crimson stripe swelled on his back from the blow. He himself, trembling with fear, wrinkled his face and wiped away the rolling tears with his hand. Everyone laughed loudly, looking at Thersites, and said:
- Odysseus accomplished many glorious deeds both in council and in battle, but this is the most glorious of his exploits. How he curbed the screamer! Now he will no longer dare to insult the kings beloved by Zeus.
Odysseus addressed the people with a speech, and Pallas Athena stood next to him, taking on the appearance of a messenger. Odysseus convinced the Greeks not to leave the siege of Troy, he said that if they returned to their homeland without taking Troy, they would cover both Agamemnon and themselves with shame. Will they, like weak children or widowed women, leave for their homeland out of cowardice? Have they really forgotten Calchas’s predictions that they must wait? Has everyone really forgotten the sign that Zeus sent in Aulis? After all, only in the tenth year of the siege were the Greeks destined to take Troy. With his speech, Odysseus again inspired everyone with a thirst for exploits. The Greeks greeted Odysseus's speech with loud shouts, and the surrounding area responded to these shouts with loud echoes. But then the divine elder Nestor stood up, and everything became quiet again. And Nestor advised to stay and fight the Trojans. During the battle, he advised to build troops by tribes and clans, so that the tribe would be helped by the tribe, and the clan by the clan. Then it will be clear which of the leaders or members of the tribe is timid and which is courageous. Then it will be clear why Troy has not yet been taken - either at the behest of the immortal gods or because the leaders do not know the art of war. Agamemnon agreed to this. He ordered the soldiers to go to dinner, and then prepare for a bloody battle, in which no one would be given rest for a single moment, and woe to anyone who remains with the ships and avoids the battle: he will be thrown into prey for dogs and birds of prey.
All the warriors exclaimed loudly, as loudly as the sea roars in a strong storm, when the wind drives waves high as mountains. The people's assembly quickly dispersed. Everyone hurried to the tents. The fires began to smoke throughout the camp. The Greeks fortified themselves with food before the battle. Everyone made a sacrifice to God and prayed to save him during the bloody battle. Agamemnon made a sacrifice to Zeus. He slain a fat bull at the altar, around which the most famous heroes of the Greeks stood, and prayed to Zeus to give him victory; prayed to help him capture impregnable Troy and the palace of King Priam before night fell on the ground; He prayed to let him throw Hector into the dust, piercing his armor with a spear. But the great Zeus the Thunderer did not heed the prayers of Agamemnon; he prepared many failures for the king of Mycenae on that day. When the sacrifice was made and the sacrificial feast was over, Elder Nestor began to hurry the leaders to lead the troops to the battlefield.
The leaders hurried to their squads. The messengers began to call the soldiers in a loud voice. The leaders formed squads into battle formation and led them to the walls of Troy. The earth groaned from the trampling of warriors and horses. The troops occupied the entire Scamander valley [4]. All the troops were eager to fight the Trojans. Pallas Athena rushed wildly among the troops. She excited warriors to fight, inspiring them with unshakable courage. The leaders rode in chariots in front of the troops. King Agamemnon, like the thunderer Zeus, surpassed all of them with his formidable appearance. The soldiers marched orderly, row after row, towards the walls of Troy.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru