ACHILLES PART THREE - THE RUSE
Continued from page two

Thetis knew that if Achilles fought at Troy, he would never return alive. She did her utmost to preserve the life of Achilles, even going so far as to disguise him as a girl and sending him away to Lycomedes, king of Scyros.

There he lived under the name of Cercysera, Aissa, or Pyrrha, it is said. Achilles wanted nothing to do with dressing like a girl but he realized that it was the only way to get close to King Lycomedes's beautiful daughter, with whom he had become infatuated.

This affair with the king's daughter, Diedameia, produced a son named Pyrrhus, later called Neoptolemus.

Thus disguised as a young woman Achilles lived quietly at Scyros until the leaders of the Greek expedition against Troy, who were Odysseus, Nestor and Ajax, arrived unexpectedly at the island and asked to urgently speak to Achilles. They wanted him to join them in the Trojan War.

King Lycomedes, who had no clue that Achilles was living inside his palace, let alone sleeping with his daughter, indignantly insisted that he wasn't there, even offering the men a search of the palace.

The search failed to expose Achilles, so clever Odysseus resorted to trickery. The Greeks had brought a pile of gifts to Scyros, mostly jewels, girdles, fancy embroidered dresses and colorful cloth.

Odysseus asked the ladies of the palace to pick their choice of any gift, but instructed his men to sound a sudden trumpet blast and clash of arms outside the palace.

All the girls had gathered around the gold and finery, ooohing and aaahing, but one girl showed absolutely no interest in the jewels, but instead seemed fascinated by the swords, spears and arms that were part of the gifts.

So when the trumpet blew and the sounds of fighting were heard, as per the instructions of Odysseus, one of the young "girls", the disguised Achilles, instinctively stripped to the waist and grabbed the sword and shield, readying for battle.

Thus was Achilles exposed, and truth be told, he wasn't at all unhappy to be discovered. It was nice lounging around the palace and spending precious time with Deidameia, but the young warrior had been bred for battle.

Achilles promptly agreed to join the Greek expedition, and lead to Troy his army of Myrmidons, which was what his feared and loyal-to-the-death warriors were called. The ploy of Odysseus had worked, and the Greek army was now complete.

Before he left Achilles married his sweetheart, the by then pregnant Deidameia. Commandeering a fleet of fifty or sixty ships, he set sail to join his fellow Greeks at Aulis. He was fifteen years old at the time.

When he arrived at Aulis, the winds were not favorable for the fleet to sail and much time was wasted, making the gathered armies restless. The seer Calchas then lied, using Achilles's name.

He told the Greek leader Agamemnon that the gods would only co-operate if he were to sacrifice to them his daughter, Iphigenia.

The callous King tricked his daughter by telling her to sail to Aulis; supposedly she was to be married to the great Achilles, who naturally was unaware of Agamemnon's scheming.

Just imagine poor Iphigenia's state of mind when she arrived to the island and the devious plan was revealed!

Not only was she not going to marry Greece's most eligible bachelor, but, horror of horrors, instead she would be sacrificed at the altar to appease the gods!

That was just wrong! You're supposed to be married, not buried, at the altar! But the hapless maiden was helpless.

Just as Iphigenia was about to be sacrificed, however, the goddess Artemis took pity on her and substituted a deer in her place, permitting the young innocent to escape.

The winds blew and the Greek fleet was finally able to sail to war.

Achilles was exhilarated - It was Troy or bust, by Jove!

Achilles continues on page four!