A TRIAL

Sci-fi mythological humorous short story

PREFACE

When winter began to give way to spring, and the fresh smells of the first grass blades and buds on branches appeared in the air, Persephone, as usual, went to stay with her mother, and her husband, the ruler of the underground kingdom of the dead Hades, wanting to dispel the longing for his wife, turned to his brother,

“Listen, Zeus, do you want to have some fun? People are sometimes so stupid that I would gladly replace them with another race. What do you think of this idea?”

Zeus wrinkled his brow in thought,

“What other race do you imply?”

“I don’t know myself. Just an idea.”

“It idea looks raw to me. First, what about the mind? If people have little of it, then other creatures have even less of it. And, secondly, before replacing one race with another, isn’t it worth first testing whether or not new creatures without souls will be better than the old race?”

“All right, let’s do it this way,” Hades suggested. “You choose a suitable species, and I will borrow the souls of dead people from my shadows and infuse them into your creatures…”

“That’s better!”

“Of course, after a new death they will return to my underground kingdom, and for each soul on credit I will ask for two shadows of return.”

“I don’t care much about your “shadow” economy,” the Thunderer dismissed the calculations. “I’m much more interested in the test itself.”

“Choose the best from your creations: strong, brave, resilient, persistent, hardworking, faithful… Are there such creatures at all? I even find it funny! I describe some ideal beings, like gods.”

“Ha-ha-ha, are the gods ideal? Divine joke, Hades! But even though you are an expert on the afterlife, you are little familiar with living nature. There are such creatures!”

“And who are they? Wolves? Lions? Elephants?”

“You’re wrong! These are ants. And they have all the mentioned qualities.”

“Well,” Hades rejoiced, “then let’s try.”

“By the way, I have an order for servants, warriors, townspeople,” Zeus admitted. “Just recently, my jealous wife got wind that I’ve got a son Aeacus from the beautiful nymph Aegina, and he was growing up on the island of Aegina.”

“Love adventures again?! Aren’t you fed of it yet?”

“You, who are childless, cannot understand this. Talk to Hermes, he is the god of fertility. And also consult Asclepius, the god of medicine. It seems to me that you should treat not only infertility…”

“Come on!” Hades grinned. “Calmness and balance are much more necessary for a wise ruler than the play of unbridled passions.”

“In my opinion, you yourself suggested that I have some fun. No? Or is this just another ploy of yours to get more souls into your underworld? You are a soul lover! You know that I won’t allow anyone to cheat with me?! I can chain you and throw you into Tartarus!”

The knuckles of Zeus’s right fist, clutching his battle lightning, turned slightly white. Hades noticed this subtle change in color and hastened to retreat,

“What are you doing, bro? Don’t take my words seriously. You know that the whole family loves and respects you. Do as you see fit, and we will support you in everything! Sorry, I interrupted you, you started talking about Aegina.”

“Right!” Zeus immediately switched from an empty squabble to problems in the family. “So, this jealous Hera sent a pestilence to all the islanders and destroyed the unfortunate innocent people. Now there is no one to take care of my son and his mother and protect them in case of danger. And they are asking for help! I’ll make new people out of ants, swarms of which are crawling on the island. I will call the commander Myrmidon, and his soldiers Myrmidons. Come on, count the souls, Hades. Let’s start the transformation! These will be unprecedented soldiers – fierce and loyal, ready to give their lives for their master at the first call, to carry out any of his orders, and besides – hardworking and caring, like nurses and nannies – ants are no strangers to that! Let’s see how much will they supplant people in, say… three generations? What memory will remain of them? Nice project, I like it! I just shouldn’t forget to add more vivid details into the script. Olympians, go!”

MYRMIDON

Myrmidon stretched in bed, tensing the muscles of his back and chest and finally coming to his senses.

“What weird dreams you are seeing sometimes!” he thought, recalling with surprise his night dreams. It’s as if he is an ant, and his main task is to protect the ant colony and take care of its queen.

He jumped up from the narrow camp bed and quickly washed his face. Late last night, a taxis – a regiment of a thousand soldiers under the command of Myrmidon landed on the island of Aegina with a secret mission received directly from Olympus,

“Take under the protection of the inhabitants of the Aegina Palace and take care of their comfort and safety! Carry out quarantine measures and burn the corpses! Continue to act according to the instructions of Queen Aegina and the heir!”

“These prophetic dreams are a sign of the gods who want me and my soldiers to work tirelessly, like ants, for the benefit of the queen and her family,” Myrmidon concluded and hurried to the palace to introduce himself.

The palace of the Kingdom of Aegina looked modest. It was a structure the size of a large villa of a wealthy Athenian, but it was distinguished from the surrounding buildings by numerous decorations, carvings and statues in the niches of the facade. Simple columns of the Doric order supported the pediment above the entrance, which was not guarded by anyone.

The slaps of military sandals echoed loudly on the marble slabs of the empty halls of the palace. Suddenly, the doors of one of the rooms opened, and a young beauty in a golden wreath came out to meet the commander and his officers, holding the hand of a baby who looked like her. The beauty of the woman and the crown told the Myrmidon that this was his new queen.

“The Myrmidon fighting regiment greets Queen Aegina and Prince Aeacus!” Myrmidon barked, and his retinue saluted three times.

For a moment, the heart of the seasoned warrior beat faster at the sight of the wondrous beauty of the young queen, but the voice of conscience whispered to him,

“You are fulfilling your duty, and not arranging your personal life. Forget about feelings and remember only about your service!”

He always remembered about her. About the beautiful queen. And, of course, about his service too. A sense of duty was embedded in every part of his body, and his soul followed nature. He demanded the same loyalty and unquestioning obedience to orders from his soldiers. And they attacked the task at hand as if it were an enemy: they burned the bodies of the dead and mountains of garbage, hunted out the rats, restored the destroyed buildings, and added extensions to the palace. Peasants and artisans began to flock to the city, attracted by cheap housing – life gradually improved. And Myrmidon found peace and peace of mind in tireless service.

But, nevertheless, one day it happened. What he had desired and feared for years. Aegina called him to her chambers. It was late. Everyone in the palace had already gone to bed. The commander, faithful to his duty, entered the queen’s bedchamber and was stupefied. Aegina stood naked, looking down.

“Am I not nice to you?” she asked quietly.

“Don’t even doubt it, queen!” he groaned, falling to his knees, “I’m all yours! Both soul and body! And if my feelings are sinful, may the gods punish me!”

This night was the brightest in the life of the military leader. No emotion of battle could compare with his heartfelt feelings. But, alas, either he was too impressionable, or he felt his nature, which he did not understand with a mind that had only comprehended the science of war. Be that as it may, the soldier’s relationship with the queen, even in the flight of their souls, ended sadly: the next morning Spiridon and Hippolytus, the commander’s assistants, discovered his cold body. The Myrmidon was laying on a new carved bed worthy of a strategist. On his face was the calm smile of one who had fulfilled his duty.

AEACUS THE COLLECTOR OF IDEAS

The cool halls of the royal palace on Aegina hid its inhabitants from the bright sun. The shutters on the windows were closed, and a slight draft of air made it easier to endure the summer heat.

“Cerberus take it!” thought the elderly king Aeacus. “No matter what a person does, no matter how hard he tries to streamline, improve, cleanse his life of filth, the gods send him more and more new trials. And what kind of a person he will come out of them (and if he will) is not destined to know.”

This applied to everyone around him, and, while still a boy, Aeacus decided to remember all events, ideas and decisions made, even if they seemed unnecessary or wrong to anyone. After all, everything changes in life: what is unnecessary acquires value over time, and what is false becomes true.

The years of childhood have long been erased from his memory, but Aeacus forever remembered the fear of an epidemic on the island and the fear of losing his only loved one – his mother. He prayed to Zeus for help. And the heavenly father heard his son’s requests and sent servants and soldiers in beautiful brown and bronze uniforms to take care of him and protect him from enemies, visible and invisible.

Since then, Aeacus’s life has changed dramatically. He was looked after, taught, protected. And he decided to repay everyone’s kindness, and first of all his father.

At that time, it was not yet customary to build large sanctuaries to the gods, but Aeacus realized that the idea was not so useless. He erected the first temple of Zeus, austere and beautiful, often prayed in it and often received petitioners there. Some grumbled, saying that it was not right for a king to equate himself with God, but they did it silently, to themselves – they were afraid to anger the lord of fate Zeus, as the king was his son. And Aeacus was not afraid, feeling that he was right.

One day Zeus revealed a family conspiracy against himself. He severely punished the participants. He hung his wife Hera on golden chains between heaven and earth, and sent his brother Poseidon and his son Apollo to hard labor – to carry huge stones and build the fortress wall of Troy, a border city in Asia Minor.

Young Aeacus, of his own free will, went to help his relatives in the construction of fortifications. This idea of ​​helping his loved ones seemed true and necessary to him, although his wife, the daughter of the wise centaur Chiron, whispered to him,

“Why do you need to interfere with the orders of Zeus? There is no point in publicly showing sympathy for those punished!”

But Aeacus believed that his father would understand him, and his father-in-law would support him.

Then he himself became a father – Peleus and Telamon grew up as heroes. And then Aeacus decided that while they were small and safe, he could go with his half-brother, the god of wine Dionysus, on a campaign to India.

Aeacus built a large city-camp of Dia, from where the army set out on a campaign. True, here he was overtaken by a new love! Apparently, the idea of a mistress turned out to be not so unnecessary in the life of the pious Aeacus. In a word, the sea nymph gave birth to his son Phocus, gentle and affectionate, like a baby seal.

The campaign turned out to be grueling. They carried culture to the tribes of a vast continent. Aeacus liked the ideas of enlightening peoples. It was necessary to work a lot, adapt the laws of Olympus to local customs. It seemed like this was a Sisyphean task, but no! Aeacus, an expert in jurisprudence, found many similarities between the canons of such different civilizations.

Three years of hardships of camp life (Dionysus often made everyone around him drunk) and diseases (vaccinations were not yet practiced then) claimed the lives of many soldiers, including the Myrmidons of Aeacus, who were especially bad at handling humidity and heat. In the end, Dionysus ordered to turn back…

And at home they had to build a city and temples again, clarify laws, and mint silver coins for the first time in Hellas. So what, if political opponents smashed this idea to smithereens? It seemed worthwhile to Aeacus! And the children grew up, and now a new misfortune came to the house of the aging king – the mother persuaded her sons to eliminate their half-brother Phocus, just in case. The king-judge thought for a long time and decided that the idea of a fair law lies in its equal treatment of everyone, even his own children. He expelled his beloved sons from the kingdom, giving each a detachment of loyal Myrmidon soldiers. Why did he need soldiers? They fulfilled their duty in Aegina…

Aeacus’s earthly life ended, but it was not in vain that he collected human ideas, even if seemingly unnecessary to anyone. After all, over time, their significance changes, and who, if not the wise old king, should know about this.

The Olympians appreciated the earthly efforts and justice of Aeacus, appointing him one of the three judges in the kingdom of Hades. Since then, three wise elders have been sitting on a bench at the crossroads of three roads to places of bliss, torment and doubt and deciding where the souls should take their final path.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF PELEUS

The eldest sons of King Aeacus of Aegina were named Peleus and Telamon. Both were athletes and strongmen from a young age, and their father couldn’t get enough of them.

One day Jason set out on a sea voyage to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. The first-class heroes of Greece signed up for his team, and among them Peleus and Telamon, who sat as rowers on the bow oars. Judging by the importance of the front oars for turns and maneuvers, it is clear that the brothers were not just strongmen, but in addition to traditional athletics and wrestling, they were engaged in rowing. In any case, all the Argonauts who returned in triumph were called seafarers-navigators.

Dangerous adventures hardened the brothers – they bravely fought in the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs (more precisely, it was a drunken brawl at a wedding, but very bloody and cruel). At the same wedding, the brothers learned that the groom’s father killed his father-in-law in his youth and… was later forgiven and cleansed of filth. Perhaps this story surfaced in memory of each brother, when their own mother whispered to them,

“How long will you tolerate this bastard Phocus at your father’s court? Look, you’ll give him your father’s throne!”

And so, during the next competition in discus and javelin throwing, one of the brothers threw a projectile at the head of the unfortunate Phocus, and the other broke his spine with a throw of a sports javelin.

Can you imagine what it was like for the wise Aeacus to lose the affectionate Phocus (nicknamed Baby Seal) and judge his beloved firstborns? But he was adamant in finding the truth. The fought in his soul was between a prosecutor, insisting on a preliminary conspiracy and premeditated murder, and a defender, demanding acquittal in an accident. As a result, Aeacus sentenced his sons to exile from their homeland for negligence and carelessness. But he gave each man a detachment of Myrmidons (after all, they were his sons, whom he loved).

From that moment on, the brothers’ paths diverged. Telamon went to his mother’s childless relative, who cleansed him of murder and eventually gave up his throne.

Peleus with his squad of fearless Myrmidons headed to the city where his elder friend, a former Argonaut, reigned. The king favorably received Peleus, cleared him of murder and married him to his daughter Antigone. Celebrating this, Peleus and his father-in-law went hunting, where the king… died from a spear thrown by Peleus.

Now Peleus needed a new cleansing, which was promised to him by another Argonaut, King Acastus. At first everything went well, but Acastus’s wife accused the guest of trying raping her. Peleus, of course, denied everything, but Acastus’s wife said such things about him that poor Antigone hanged herself, and King Acastus decided to act out “an incident in the forest.” Ostensibly for reconciliation, he took Peleus to Mount Pelion to hunt and, having stolen the hero’s weapon, escaped. And there lived wild centaurs. It would have been bad for the former Argonaut in the mountains. The centaurs did not forget how Peleus cut them to pieces at the wedding of the king of the Lapiths.

But… we, of course, remember that one of Peleus’s grandfathers was Zeus himself, who could not interfere in every fight in Hellas, but the other grandfather was the centaur Chiron! It was he who saved his grandson from reprisals.

While the sons of Aeacus were playing tricks and getting kingdoms for themselves, Zeus fell in love once again. This time – to the sea nymph Thetis from the very good family of the god of the depths Nereus. Nothing would have prevented the Thunderer from once again becoming the father of a hero, but the titan Prometheus, tired of feeding the eagle with his liver, predicted to Zeus that Thetis would give birth to a son who would outshine his father in glory. Zeus was very pleased that he avoided sex related troubles.

He instructed Hercules to kill the eagle, already addicted to the titan’s liver, and free Prometheus. But so that Zeus’s word would not be broken, he ordered a piece of rock to be riveted to Prometheus’s finger. And all the mortal men immediately picked up the fashion of wearing rings with stones!

And what should Zeus have done with Thetis? Having refused to have a son from her, he decided to have a great-grandson from her and betrothed the nymph to his grandson Peleus, on the condition that he would be able to win her in wrestling.

Do not think that it was easy and simple, because the nymph, in addition to superhuman strength, demonstrated transformations into a lioness, into a snake and into pyrotechnic effects. Still, Peleus did not believe in miracles and did not allow nymph to pin him down, but on the contrary, he put Thetis down. As a result, he got a bride and a gift from the gods – wonderful armor.

A magnificent wedding was celebrated in the cave of Chiron on Mount Pelion, where the grandfather recently saved his grandson. Despite the absence of a banquet hall, the inhabitants of all Olympus flocked to the mountain! And only one harmful goddess of discord, Eris, was accidentally (or deliberately) forgotten to invite. And she, wasn’t be a fool, took a “golden apple” from the gardens of the Hesperides (a rare and expensive orange in Hellas) and, carving the word “To the Most Beautiful” on it, threw it on the table of the main goddesses. What started here!

Hera, Athena and Aphrodite began to fight for the title of “Mrs. Olympus,” and Paris, the son of the King of Troy, was appointed judge. In short, Aphrodite won the orange by promising Paris the beautiful Helen in exchange for the highest score. All this later led to the Trojan War, in which Peleus, Telamon, and their children participated. So who was born to Peleus and surpassed his father in glory? The main warrior of the Achaeans, the hero of the Trojan War – Achilles!

While he was growing up and being raised by Chiron, Peleus settled scores with old offenders (Acastus and his wife), conquered their lands and eventually went to a great war. War is not a tournament or entertainment. Although he did not die, he lost his son. Having learned that he had no defender, and the Myrmidons remained at the walls of Troy, Acastus’s relatives recaptured their possessions.

And so, after the war, Peleus decided to move in with his wife, hoping that the nymph would make him immortal.

He was waiting for his grandson’s ship to set sail. But it was delayed.

“Am I not a seafarer-navigator?” Peleus thought, hired a boat and sailed to meet his wife himself. His talisman, a gift from his grandfather Chiron – an old ash spear trembled in his hand… Alas, sailing for Peleus turned out to be the last in this world… For the meeting took place already in that world.

HIPPOLYTUS

Let’s continue the story about the Myrmidons and go back in time…

The earlier morning illuminated the green slopes of Mount Pelion. It’s the best time to corral animals for hunt as it is easy for dogs to pick up a fresh scent.

Peleus came out of the hastily built hut where he and Acastus had spent the night. He needs to be careful while hunting. Who knows how the king really feels about the story of the alleged attack on his wife, as well as the story of the accidental death of Peleus’s father-in-law while hunting.

“Gossip! There are gossip and slander all around!”

But that’s why the hero was the son of the wise king Aeacus, to be able to weigh and think about the situation in advance. And he ordered a detachment of Myrmidons to follow the hunters to Mount Pelion in a while. Hippolytus and his guards will arrive under the guise of delivering a letter from Antigone.

“On the other hand, what could happen to me? The laws of hospitality will not allow Acastus to attack me, he will disgrace himself throughout Hellas, and he is not strong enough to cope with me,” Peleus reasoned, looking around.

However, neither the king nor the dogs were seen or heard. Then he whistled and shouted – the dogs did not respond. He returned to the hut for his weapons and did not find them.

Acastus’s insidious plan began to emerge in his head…

The guest will begin to wander in the forest, and wild animals will attack him.

But then Peleus was struck as if by lightning: what animals? There are wild centaurs! He remembered that this place was their abode, and someone of the centaurs would recognize him as a participant in the massacre at the wedding of the king of the Lapiths. At first, a fight broke out between drunken centaurs and the Lapiths, but after the centaurs tried to kidnap the bride Hippodamia, the groom’s friends –Theseus, Peleus and other heroes entered the battle and, together with the Lapiths, severely beat the centaurs. And some of them even had their noses and ears cut off.

“They’re going to cut something off for me too!” Peleus thought, sensing something bad.

And, as if to confirm his thoughts, the clatter of hooves and illegible guttural cries were heard in the distance. Without waiting for the centaurs to appear, Peleus ran as fast as he could up the mountain. There, behind the peak, a steep rocky descent began to the Aegean Sea. It will be difficult for heavy centaurs to catch up with him on the rocks. But the voices and screams were quickly approaching. The stone had already whistled over Peleus’s head, when suddenly the figure of a centaur appeared in front and above him in the clearing.

“How did they manage to surround me?” Peleus was amazed. “But they won’t scare me! Oh, how I’ll cripple this scum!”

“Peleus, I’m greeting you!” suddenly a beautifully delivered voice rang out, and a centaur he knew approached the man, excited by the chase.

“Wow, this is Chiron, my grandfather,” Peleus recognized him.

“Grandpa you’ve scared me!”

“What are you doing here, baby? Even though you have matured greatly, wandering around our forests unarmed is the height of carelessness! Especially for someone who recently fought vengeful centaurs.

“Acastus brought me to hunt, and he ran away with my weapon…”

“Here, take this spear. It is not the most powerful, but it is made of ash, which protects against diseases and, predicting trouble, trembles in the hand.”

At that moment, several centaurs armed with spears appeared in the clearing. They frowned at Chiron, who placed a fatherly hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Give him to us!” said their leader. “This man mutilated several of our people and must answer for it.”

“It was a fair battle that you yourself started by kidnapping Hippodamia. Peleus is not only my grandson, but also my guest. I won’t give him to you!”

“Okay, don’t break the laws of hospitality. Take him to your cave. But remember, when you run out of water, he will crawl out, and we will take him dead or alive!”

Slowly backing away, Chiron and Peleus retreated to the centaur’s cave.

“Ignorant creatures and boors! They have no idea that the cave contains water, food supplies and weapons. They will have to wait a long time. But… we could use some help! Is there anyone to start worrying about you?”

“Yes, wise teacher! My guards must be looking for me already. How do I let them know I’m here?”

“We will light a fire and begin to fry the meat. The smoke and delicious smell will bring your scouts here.”

Soon the fire blazed in front of the entrance. Deer meet was fried on it.

“Even though you all are rude, but at my cave everyone is a guest! Here’s a wineskin for you, drink to our health,” Chiron said to his wild fellow tribesmen.

The centaurs happily opened the wineskin and even began to fight over who would get the most wine.

And Chiron took the lyre and, plucking the strings, began to tell his grandson about the campaign of Dionysus to India, in which son-in-law Aeacus and father-in-law Chiron truly became friends.

Peleus thought, “What a pity that I did not study science and art from Chiron.”

And then he appealed to centaur grandfather, “I want to beg you, my kind and smart grandfather, that namely you are teaching my son if I’ll have one. Have you agree?”

Before they had finished their meal, the sounds of the aulos, an ancient flute, were heard, inspiring the soldiers. The centaurs threw away the unfinished wineskin and took up a perimeter defense. But the Myrmidons surrounded them, pointing spears at them, aiming arrows, drawing swords. Chiron and his grandson took refuge in the depths of the cave.

“Hippolytus, I’m here!” Peleus shouted. The centaurs are holding me captive.”

“Surrender and release my master immediately, otherwise you will die!” Hippolytus commanded the centaurs.

“You scared me not! Everyone whose name begins with Hippo are traitors to the horse breed, we despise such people along with the Lapiths! Death to Hippodamia, death to Hippolytus, death to the Lapiths!”

The battle has begun. Arrows whistled, spears flew, bronze swords flashed – the fighters entered into single combat. The centaurs did not resist for long. They were swept away by an attack from the Myrmidons. But they also suffered losses. Hippolytus, covered with blood, lay on the ground.

“I’m sorry Peleus,” he said. “We were detained twice. I brought you real Antigone’s letter. She wrote it herself, delaying our departure. And on the way we met King Acastus. He said that you intend to go to Colchis again, and you no longer need warriors in your service. Therefore, Acastus offered us to join his army for a lot of money.

“And you …?”

“Of course we refused. Myrmidons do not change masters.”

With these words he breathed his last.

And Peleus unrolled the papyrus scroll and read Antigone’s words,

“I can’t relive all those intimate scenes with you and Acastus’s wife that she described to me in details. I’m leaving. See you in the kingdom of Hades.”

ACHILLES – THE SHEPHERD OF THE MYRMIDONS

The last part of our trilogy is the story of Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis.

Thetis tried to make her son immortal in every way obvious to her. She either dipped the child in underground waters or placed him in the flame of the sacred fire, until Peleus caught her doing this. He suspected mental illness, took the child and demanded custody. Thetis went to her father, and little Achilles was raised by Peleus’s friend, Phoenix, and Peleus’s grandfather, the wise centaur Chiron, who promised this to his grandson.

During the Trojan War, Thetis (like a crazy mother) tried to protect Achilles from being drafted into the army. She dressed him in a woman’s dress and hid him among the daughters of a king, familiar to her.

But the cunning Odysseus, under the guise of a merchant, offered the girls fabrics, jewelry, cosmetics and a set of combat knives. What do you think the boy, disguised as a girl, chose? It was then that she was grabbed by her gender deviations and sent to the war front.

The father gave Achilles his wedding gift. Do you remember it? The armor forged in the forge of Hephaestus.

Achilles was followed by the entire army of Myrmidons, led by the old faithful Spiridon. With their fighting nature they felt that they had never had such a heroic head in their lives, and they rushed after him in every operation, like a ferocious pack after a leader.

But Achilles was not the leader of the Achaean army at all. The head was King Agamemnon, and disputes repeatedly arose between the hero and the commander. Sometimes this led to losses in the Greek army.

The Trojans always took advantage of the discord between the Greeks and attacked them whenever they did not see the brown-bronze Myrmidons in their ranks. One day they reached the Greek flotilla, and even set couple of ships on fire.

Spiridon and Phoenix begged Achilles to lead a counterattack, Agamemnon promised him rich gifts and a concubine, but Achilles was adamant. When the petitioners sadly left him, he secretly gave his armor to his close friend Patroclus.

“Save the ships and return. Don’t go to Troy walls, beware of Hector!” he admonished his friend.

Spiridon, who had known Achilles since childhood, noticed that he jumped onto his chariot somehow not Ach…, but military duty led the Myrmidon behind the leader in familiar armor.

That day, the Myrmidons crushed many of the Trojans – they saved the Greek fleet, but Patroclus forgot himself in the armor of Achilles, led the Myrmidons to the walls of Troy and died at the hands of Hector.

In vain Spiridon tried to protect Patroclus; the hero’s fate was sealed. The dying Spiridon sent bad news to Achilles, who roared like a lion and rushed into battle unarmed. The mere sight of the distraught hero scared off the Trojans. Achilles carried the naked body of Patroclus from the battlefield in his arms (Hector got the armor of dead man).

But the next day it was Hector’s turn, and the divine armor did not help him. During the night, Hephaestus, at the request of Thetis, forged a new weapon for Achilles, even better than the previous one, and the duel resumed. The heroes fought for a long time until Hector realized that he was giving way. Then he ran, but Achilles overtook him and killed him.

After the funeral and the resumption of hostilities, Achilles killed many more Trojan heroes, the Ethiopian prince and the queen of the Amazons, but the arrow of Paris found his weak spot – the heel, and … the great hero was gone.

When the leader of the herd falls into the abyss, the herd follows him. So the Myrmidons died one after another in battles – both for the body of Achilles and for the city captured with the help of a wooden horse…

But the legendary Achilles forever remained their favorite shepherd both in battles and in the underground kingdom of Hades.

CONCLUSION

And spring has come again. Persephone again went on vacation to her mother.

“Alone again! Alone again!” Hades hummed cheerfully to himself, when suddenly the palace began to shine and his brother Zeus appeared.

“I hope I didn’t interfere?” he asked.

Hades wanted to lie that Zeus had disturbed his sadness for his departed wife, but he remembered in time that there is a terrible Tartarus, under his underground kingdom of the dead, where any god can get to by the will of Zeus.

“What are you, what are you! At my age, it’s not appropriate to be sad when a wife goes to her mother, and not mother-in-law visiting her daughter! I’m very glad to see you. Do you want a beer?”

“Oh, well done! This is what the treatment of Asclepius means! I don’t want beer, it’s not time yet. Better pour me a glass of Ambrosia.”

“Did you come to chat or on business?”

“Firstly, we need to sum up the results of our Myrmidons project.”

“I have no complaints, all the souls of the dead returned and brought new ones – interest-bearing lending was completed.”

“I think it was over fulfilled, that’s how they fought! But for us, the project failed: there was no better species to replace humans,” Zeus summed up.

“This only speaks in favor of your creation of people,” said Hades.

“Do not flatter! I wanted to object to you: why praise these murderers, adulterers and liars? But an important thought came to my mind – any deviations from the norm give impetus to the development of society.

But those who are modest, hardworking and honest remain ants, no matter how they look. Just don’t conclude from my words that I support everything bad. No! Vice versa! But I was once again convinced that in order to form something new, contradictions with the old are needed. This is Dialectics!”

“And now – secondly! By the way, also about dialectics. I want to show off with my new intimate romance,” Zeus smiled mysteriously. “You won’t believe it! Nymph Araucana lives in Chile!”

“Where is it?” Hades was surprised at the unexpected opportunity to expand his underground possessions.

“Chile is a country on a giant island in the ocean that is still unknown to us. The god Zen-Zen is worshiped there.”

Now Hades was completely defeated.

“Who else is this?” he whispered with mystical horror.

Zeus put his hands on his hips, raised his head proudly and announced,

“It’s me! That’s what they call me.”

Then he decided to share his new ideas with his brother,

“I’m thinking of starting a new project. Send the Spartans to the shores of uh… What should I call this huge continent, where the word “little” is unknown?”

“Maybe Macho? Mucha? Muchacha?” Hades suggested.

“No! I’ll call it as it is “Many”. The negation of no or not is “A” and a few is “merica” (μερίκα). So the name comes to – America! How do you like it?”

But Zeus already saw the shining eyes of Hides approving his new trial.