19 - The Fall of Troy

All day the Trojans celebrated. But at nighttime, Sinon signaled the leaders inside the horse. The leaders killed and killed and destroyed the city of Troy. But Odysseus went to Helen and killed Deiphobus. Menelaus went around, looking for Helen and then Odysseus saved Helen’s life. Finally the war was over and the Greeks went home.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 18 - Summary

18 - The Wooden Horse

Athene gave Odysseus an idea to build a big wooden horse in which men could hide, and everyone helped make it. Finally they chose a man called Sinon to act as a foolish man. Then all the leaders got into the horse. A Trojan priest warned against the horse, but after Sinon told his “story” all the Trojans cheered and believed him. Suddenly two serpents came up and killed two people. Everyone was scared but they forgot about it when they remembered the horse.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 17 - Summary

17 - Poisoned Arrow

Calchas said that the Greeks needed Philoctetes who lived on the island of Lemnos. When he came, he taught the Greeks how to make poisoned arrows. He went outside and shot Paris, and soon Paris was dying. Paris was carried to Oenone, his previous lover (before Helen) who had healing powers, but she refused to help him because of Helen. When she changed her mind, Paris was already dead, so Oenone committed suicide.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 16 - Summary

16 - The Death of Achilles

The Ethiopians came to help Troy. King Memnon slew a lot of people, including Nestor’s son. Then he injured Achilles’s arm, but Achilles killed Memnon. Finally Paris shot Achilles from faraway and he died, and his ashes were put with Patroclus’s ashes just like he said. At the end of the funeral games Thetis said the best one would get Achilles’s armor. Odysseus won and Ajax was being mind controlled so he went and killed himself.
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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 15 - Summary

15 - Warrior Women

Penthesilea and her Amazon spearmaidens arrived to the aid of Troy and immediately charged the Greeks. The Trojans were winning when Ajax and Achilles came in and killed all of the maidens. Finally Achilles slew the Amazon Queen and her horse.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 14 - Summary

14 - The Luck of Troy

Odysseus pretended he was a beggar and he got kicked out of the Greek camp, because he kept bullying all the Greek leaders by spreading false rumors. Then Helen found the “beggar” and cleaned him up, revealing his true identity. Odysseus left because he was in Troy now and he went to sleep in Athena’s temple. He put magic potion on the ground and the priestess drank it and went to sleep and Odysseus stole the Luck of Troy.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 13 - Summary

13 - Ransom for Hector

The gods told Thetis to tell her son that he should give back Hector’s body. King Priam put a lot of ransom in a cart and traded it for Hector’s body. Then Andromache, Hecuba, and Helen cried for Hector. Finally they took nine or ten days to build a pyre, and on the eleventh day they buried him.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 12 - Summary

12 - Funeral Games

Hector’s friends sobbed for him, because he was worse than dead. Achilles built a funeral pyre for Patroclus and poured the remains into a special cup, saying that when HE died his remains ought to be put in there too. Then there was chariot racing, boxing, wrestling, foot racing, and spear fighting. Then Achilles dragged Hector’s body behind his chariot for 12 days.
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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 11 - Summary

11 - Vengeance for Patroclus

When Achilles heard that Patroclus died, he wanted to battle right away. But Thetis said he had no armor and he would get armor tomorrow, so he waited. Hector was not afraid when he was waiting for Achilles, but when Achilles came he was very scared so he ran and ran. Then he was not afraid anymore and threw a spear at Achilles and missed. Achilles killed him and then tortured his body.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 10 - Summary

10 - The Armor of Achilles

Achilles let Patroclus borrow his war gear and lead the Myrmidons in his place pretending to be his lord. After Patroclus left, Achilles prayed to Zeus and offered wine. Then Patroclus had a great victory. Suddenly, Apollo secretly took off his helmet, and seeing that it wasn’t Achilles, the Trojans killed him. While he was near death, Patroclus predicted that Hector will be killed by Achilles soon.
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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 9 - Summary

9 - Battle for the Ships

The Trojans separated into five groups to try to break into the Greek camp but Hector’s group had a bad omen in the form of a red snake. Soon Hector got a big rock and smashed the gate with help from Zeus. Then Ajax, with help from Poseidon, injured Hector badly with another big rock. Zeus sent Apollo to make Hector even more powerful than he was before, and when he awoke he started burning the Greek ships.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 8 - Summary

8 - Red Rain

The Greeks woke up in a good mood even though there was red rain, which was a bad omen. In battle, Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus were all wounded and then their chief healer Machaon got wounded. Nestor told Patroclus that there should be a replacement for Achilles.


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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 7 - Summary

7 - The Horses of King Rhesus

Odysseus and Diomedes went to spy on the Trojans, but then they saw an enemy spy named Dolon. The Greeks listened to his information and then killed him. Then they secretly went to the Thracian {an ally of Troy} camp, where they killed the King and his 12 bodyguards, and then stole the best horses. Since the King was dead, the Thracians would probably go home and stop helping the Trojans.


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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 6 - Summary

6 - The High King’s Embassy

Paris and Hector went to battle, and now war was really going strong. Athene stopped the fighting for the day by letting Hector and Ajax (a Greek) challenge each other. After fighting they gave each other gifts, to show their respect to each other. The Greeks strengthened their camp, but on the next battle-day they were still defeated. The High King suggested going home, but wise old Nestor, a soothsayer, said they only need Achilles back. An embassy was sent to meet Achilles, but he said that he wouldn’t come back.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 5 - Summary

5 - The Women of Troy

Pandarus (a Trojan) wounded Menelaus to break the truce, and when the Greeks started to win the Trojans sacrificed to Athene so that they might have a chance of winning. Hector lectured Paris to go fight, and said goodbye to his wife, saying that he probably wouldn’t see her or their son ever again. Then Hector and Paris went back to war.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 4 - Summary

4 - Single Combat
The High King tested the temper of the army by telling them that they should go home. The army took him seriously, and they were glad to go home, but Odysseus said that if they gave up now they would have wasted the ten years in Troy, so then they got ready for battle. Trojans were happy that Achilles was not among the Greeks, so they came out of their city to fight, led by Paris, who challenged any Greek to come and battle him. Menelaus came forward, and Paris was scared. But Hector made Paris angry and reckless, so Paris and Menelaus agreed on a fight to the death. However, Aphrodite kept meddling, so that both were unharmed in the end.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 3 - Summary

3 - Quarrel with the High King

The Greeks went to Troy and battled Trojan warriors with a victory and then built a camp. For nine years there was hardly any way, but the Greeks raided nearby villages, and once they took two girls for slaves, one for Achilles and one for the High King Menelaus. But because one of the girls was a daughter of a priest, Apollo made the camp ill. Achilles had a huge quarrel with the High King over the girls and eventually he said he wouldn’t fight for the Greeks anymore.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 2 - Summary

2 - Ship-Gathering

Menelaus called all the other Kings of Greece to his aid to revenge Paris for eloping with his daughter Helen. Meanwhile, Achilles was smuggled to the Isle of Scyros, dressed like a girl, for Thetis feared for his safety. However, Achilles revealed himself and he went to battle with a fleet of 50 ships given by his father.

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Black Ships Before Troy - Chapter 1 - Summary

1 - The Golden Apple

When Prince Paris of Troy was born, he was put into the woods because it had been foretold that he would burn down Troy. He was found and raised by a herdsman, and one day Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite asked him to choose who was fairest. Since Aphrodite promised him great love, he chose her, and Aphrodite arranged for the Queen to find her long-lost son, and let him live with her. There, he learned of the greatest beauty in the world, and traveled to find her. Then they ran away together.

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