Menelaus was a proud warrior king of Spartan and husband to his prized wife, Helen. Helen was considered the most beautiful mortal in the world and was praised not only for her beauty but was also the daughter of Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder, and was the god of gods. Helen’s Husband Menelaus was a very powerful king and would stop at nothing to protect his name, fortune, and fame of being the husband of the most beautiful woman on earth and sun in-law to Zeus, the god of gods.
However, according to legend, Aphrodite the goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure promised Helen to Paris, the son of King Priam and the prince of Troy. Because a God had promised this married woman to Paris, this was justified to betray her husband Menelaus love. Helen was then seduced by Paris and brought to Troy without her husband’s acknowledgment or permission. Furious, his wife has left him for another prince, Menelaus sends his brother Agamemnon to Troy to recover and win back his prized wife. When this offer was refused, a brutal war broke out between the Greeks and Trojans that would last a decade.
Dragged into this love affair were two powerful kingdoms with powerful warriors. On the Greece side was the brother of King Menelaus, Agamemnon a proud and intimidating warrior who led a thousand ships to Troy to recover Helen. This earned her the name “Helen - the face that launched a thousand ships”. Another great warrior and leader on the Greeks side was, Achilles. Achilles was the son of Thetis and Peleus the king of Phthia, a city in Thessaly. Agamemnon (the king’s brother) held his reputation as powerful warrior and war leader very personal and intimidated Achilles to make sure his position of power was not to be threatened. Achilles was easily intimidated by Agamemnon and left the war in Troy to avoid any conflicts.
At Home, Achilles urged and convinced one of his closest friends, Patroclus to go to Troy and fight in honor for Greece. Because Achilles had no intent to cause conflict with the intimidating Agamemnon and had no use for his well-known copper armor, he gives it to Patroclus who takes it to battle in Troy.
On the Troy side, there was Hector. A prince, leader, and great warrior who fought and killed many of the Greeks in defending Troy. One unforgivable day in battle Hector crosses paths with Patroclus disguised in Achilles’ famous armor. Hector battles Patroclus under the false impression that he is fighting the famous warrior, Achilles. After Killing Patroclus, Hector removes the Armor to claim victory on Achilles only to find it was Patroclus he had killed.
Word gets back home to Achilles that his close friend had been killed by Hector. Achilles, upset and distraught is convinced by his mother to go back to Troy and fight for Greece. His mother gives him an ultimatum that will course his path, “Go fight in Troy, you will be remembered and honored for generations. Or stay home, live a fruitful and long life, but will be forgotten by all.” Achilles chooses to go fight in Troy and reclaim his name as a war hero. When arriving to the battles of Troy, Achilles challenges Hector outside the Troy’s gates and kills prince Hector in honor of his friend Patroclus.
Throughout the ten-year Trojan war, Achilles continued to lead Greek soldiers into successful battles. After bloody combats, Achilles would dress his soldier’s wounds topically with Yarrow to promote wound healing, coagulate bleeding, and prevent infections. Yarrow, a flowering plant in the daisy family will become a famous treatment for wound healing during the war by Achilles. To give credit, Achilles’s mentor, the mythological centaur Chiron had taught these treatments to Achilles. He knew the sooner a soldier could heal his wounds and get back to battle, the better chances of winning the war. Because wounds would heal quickly, it would also prevent his soldiers from getting sick and dying from infections. This in turn would show his king and Troy the value in his leadership. The less men Achilles lost in battle compared to other Greek leaders would be substantial. His resilience in his troops would also be intimidating to Troy. Any Troy troop looking to battle Achilles’s men would know few men would die. The sheer intimidation of war resilience would alter their confidence in battle.
To this day, the herb yarrow holds a piece of Achilles in its history. Yarrow’s botanical name is “Achillea Millefolium”, named after its famous Achilles. Today Yarrow has shown to have healthful benefits supporting the digestive system, liver, and gall bladder. A large number of data supports its ability as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities on top of its famous use in wound healing.
Many of us reading this probably already know how this sad story ends (spoiler alert). But for those who don’t keep up with these legends, it doesn’t end well for Achilles. The Greeks claim to retreat Troy and build the Trojans a wooden horse and leave it as a token to Troy. Proud to have won the war, the Trojans joyfully except the gift and bring the horse into the kingdom’s walls. Inside the wooden horse hide Greek soldiers that come out in the night and open the kingdom’s gate to let in the hiding Greek soldiers, who destroy the Trojans and win the war.
Now the legend goes, as a young child, Achilles’s mother dipped him into the mighty river Styx which made him immortal. Therefore, Achilles was untouchable in battles. However, when being dipped into the river, his mother held him upside down by the heal, dipping every part of his body except the heal.
During the attach on Troy after the acceptance of the Trojan horse, Achilles was shot with a poisoned arrow by Paris (Helen’s suitor) in the heal. This was the only place Achilles was not immortal and ultimately led to his death. Helen, the most beautiful woman (whose face launched a thousand ships) ends up back with her original husband, Menelaus. Because Menelaus was married to the daughter of Zeus, he was considered immortal and upon his death continued his life in peace in the afterlife with the gods.
