The return of the Greeks to their homeland

Greeks captured rich booty in Troy, she rewarded them for all the troubles that they experienced during the ten-year siege. A lot of gold and silver, a lot of utensils and countless beautiful captives were taken away by the Greeks on ships.

When the Greek ships landed on the opposite shore of the Hellespont, the shadow of the great Achilles appeared to them. The hero demanded to sacrifice his beautiful daughter Priam Polyxena, who was once assigned to him into a wife. Agamemnon didn't want to give it to Polixenes. I begged him and Kassandra to spare his sister. But Odysseus insisted on this sacrifice, recalling what great services Achilles rendered to the Greeks during the siege of Troy. And Polixena herself was ready to go under the sacrificial knife. She knew that this would be her deliverance from heavy slavery in a foreign land. Polixena calmly went to the altar, near which Neoptolem was waiting for her with a sacrificial knife. She did not let the young man who was supposed to lead her to her death touch her. Polyxena did not want to descend as a slave into the kingdom of Hades. She herself went to the altar, she herself bared her breasts. With a sigh of sorrow, Neoptolem plunged his sword into Polyxena's chest, and hot blood stained the altar built in honor of Achilles.

After the toga was sacrificed to Polyxena, the Greeks set off on a long journey to their homeland. They experienced many troubles during this journey. Many heroes died without seeing their homeland,

Even during the destruction of Troy, the angry Athena-Pallas caused a great strife between the Greeks and the sons of Atreya . Menelaus wanted to sail immediately to Greece, but Agamemnon demanded that the Greeks remain in Troas until Athena was propitiated by the sacrifices. Agamemnon did not know that nothing could soften his wrath of the goddess. The brothers argued all day long. The next morning, part of the Greek ships, having captured their share of the rich booty, left the Troad. Nestor, Diomed, Neoptolemus, Idomeneo and Philoctetes. A little later, Menelaus also sailed; he caught up with Nestor and Diomedes on the island of Lesbos. Odysseus also left Troas, but on Tenedos he quarreled with his companions and returned back to Agamemnon in Troas. From Lesbos, the heroes gathered there set sail for the island of Euboea. On Euboea, near the cape dedicated to the god Hephaestus, they sacrificed to Poseidon and sailed on . Four days later Diomedes arrived at Argos, and Nestor at Pylos. Idomeneo, Philoctetes and Neoptolemus also happily returned to their homeland. Menelaus had to endure many hardships. Near Cape Sunia, the eastern tip of Attica, the god Apollo struck down the helmsman Menelaus, Frontis with his arrow >. Menelaus landed on the shore, performed magnificent funeral rites in honor of Frontis, and only after that went on. As his ships sailed around the dangerous Cape Malea, the southwestern tip of Laconia, Zeus sent a great storm. Huge waves, like mountains, came across the sea. Part of the ships of Menelaus was blown away by a storm to Crete, where they crashed on the rocks; only with great difficulty the Greeks who were on them were saved. The rest of the ships, on which Menelaus was also, rushed across the sea for a long time and finally reached the coast of Egypt. For seven long years Menelaus wandered among foreign peoples. It was among the Sidonians, among the Ethiopians and many other peoples. He visited Cyprus, Phoenicia and distant Libya, whose peoples were famous for their innumerable herds. Menelaus received many rich gifts, he collected enormous wealth. In Egypt, Foon, Polydamna, gave a beautiful Elena is a wonderful medicine made from the juice of a magical plant. Anyone who took this medicine in wine forgot the most difficult grief. Finally, on the way back from Egypt, Menelaus landed on the island of Pharos. On this island, Menelaus waited twenty days for a fair wind. The island was deserted, supplies were running low. Everyone was in danger of starvation. Menelaus and his companions were saved by the goddess Idofeya, the daughter of the sea god Protea. Appearing to Menelaus, she taught him to take possession of Proteus and force him to reveal the will of the gods. Early in the morning, as soon as the goddess of dawn Eos took off into the sky, Menelaus with three strong and courageous companions went to the seashore. Idothea was waiting there with four seal skins. Put these skins of Idotheus on MenelI and his companions, and in order not to torment them with the stench of skins, smeared their noses with ambrosia. Without moving, Menelaus and his companions lay on the seashore. Finally, Proteus swam out with a herd of seals. He counted the seals, calmly lay down on the sand and fell asleep. With a cry, Menelaus rushed with his companions to Proteus. A stubborn struggle began. Proteus turned into a lion, a snake, a panther, a boar, water and a tree, but Menelaus and his companions held him tightly. Finally, the elder resigned himself, took on his former image and asked Menelaus what he wanted to know from him. Menelaus asked the sea elder which of the gods was angry with him and did not send him a fair wind. Proteus ordered Menelaus to return to Egypt and sacrifice a hecatomb to the gods there, then only the gods would have mercy on him and give him a happy return to his homeland. The prophetic Proteus predicted to Menelaus the fate of him and his wife Helen, he revealed to Menelaus and what awaits each of the heroes during their journey from Troy. Fulfilled the orders of Proteus Menelaus. He returned to Egypt and offered sacrifices to the gods; the gods sent him a fair wind, and he safely returned to his native Sparta, where he lived happily for a long time. After the death of Menelaus and his wife, the beautiful Elena, they were transferred to the islands of the blessed, where they live forever, not knowing sorrows.

I will be sent to experience many dangers on the way to my homeland and King Agamemnon. Happily, he and his companions managed to reach the shores of Euboea. Here, at the very Cape Gereysky, a great storm arose; she was sent by the goddess Athena, who was angry with the Greeks. She was especially angry with the son of Oileus, Ajax. Many ships perished, crashing against the rocks. Ajax's ship also crashed. He would have died in the waves of the sea, if the great shaker of the earth, the god of the sea Poseidon, had not taken pity on him. He ordered the waves to throw Ajax onto the Heroic rock. Save Ajax. But here he ruined himself with his arrogance. With insane pride he exclaimed that he had saved himself, without the help of the gods, even against their will. God Poseidon heard the bold words of the one who was saved by himself. In terrible anger, he waved his trident and hit it on the rock on which Ajax stood. The rock split in two. Half of it fell into the sea with a terrible roar and dragged Ajax with it. So he died in the torch, from which Poseidon had just rescued him. The ships of Agamemnon barely escaped the storm and finally arrived at their native shores. But not to joy, Agamemnon returned to his Mycenae rich in gold. There awaited his death at the hands of his unfaithful wife Klytemnestra.