The Greek camp was not far from the beach and was a sheltered place on high ground.
At this time, the camp was still very lively, and the soldiers went to cut down trees around the camp and build trenches and fences around the camp.
Rows of tents were erected, chariots were pulled ashore by soldiers and arranged in neat rows. Bags of food were brought ashore and stacked in the tents.
Soldiers dug trenches, craftsmen built watchtowers, and the camp gradually took shape.
Smaller ships at sea were towed ashore when the tide was high, and stones were used to cushion the bottoms of the ships to prevent the bottoms from getting wet and rotting.
A group of soldiers felled and gathered wood, built a wooden bed, gathered firewood, and piled it into a pyre. The wooden bed was placed on the pyre, and the body of Parotesilaus was placed on it.
A small altar has been built against the pyre. There is a pedestal in the center of the altar, and the statue of Zeus is placed on the pedestal.
Compared with the confidence they felt when they landed, the morale of the Greek coalition forces was a bit low.
The heroes and princes gathered in a circle, silently watching Parotesilaos lying quietly on the pyre. At this time, he was as quiet and peaceful as if he was asleep, but everyone knew that he would never be there again. It's impossible to wake up.
His brother Padalkos even said with tears in his eyes: "Father, how can I explain to you?"
The king of Philak had two sons, Padalkes and Parotesilaus. Parotesilaus was also a serious prince. He also had a lovely fiancée, Laodamia, who was A The daughter of the Argonaut Acastus, she sadly bid him farewell and sent him off to fight, now that she would never see her fiancé again.
The princes were a little bit sad. They originally thought that with so many people, Troy would be able to attack them in one go. After all, Hercules led dozens of ships to capture and plunder Troy—and now a prince died on the first day!
The priests who accompanied the army placed the sacrifices on the altar, took water from the jars and sprinkled the altar and the sacrifices. They also built a pyre around it and sprinkled water on Palotesilaos.
The priest silently prayed to Zeus, hoping that he would watch over the soul of Parotesilaus.
Agamemnon fell to his knees, raised his hands, and prayed loudly.
"Ah, dear Parotesilaus, your departure makes me so sad. I hope that the great Zeus can take your soul back to heaven. I will wash away your shame and let the despicable Trojans They pay a price for what they did today.”
After the prayer, someone lit the pyre with a torch, and the body was swallowed up by the raging fire along with the pyre.
The fire was extinguished, leaving only a pile of ashes on the spot. Someone packed the ashes in a porcelain jar and buried the ashes under a leafy elm tree in the bay.
The funeral was simple and solemn, with everyone forming a circle and moving slowly around the elm tree, remembering and reminiscing about Palotesilaos.
While the funeral was going on, no one noticed Odysseus sneaking away. When he arrived at a camp, a servant came in and bowed: "Master, according to your instructions, I quietly took advantage of the attention being focused on the funeral. A sum of gold was buried in Palamedes' tent."
Odysseus glanced slightly, threw a piece of gold, and said: "Well done, you can pack up your gifts and go back home today, saying that you want to report that your family is safe."
"Yes, Master." The servant happily accepted and retreated.
Odysseus had a gloomy face and called another warrior. This warrior didn't know all this and listened to the king saying: "I have a servant who stole gold while I wasn't paying attention. This is a family scandal. You can do it." I will kill him secretly and throw him into the sea, and I will give you the gold.”
"Yes, honorable king." The warrior was filled with indignation. The servant had stolen the gold and should be killed. He chased him out and soon heard a scream.
After Odysseus finished all this, he quietly returned to the funeral to remember Palotesilaus together, and no one noticed anything unusual.
The solemn funeral finally ended, everyone dispersed and returned to their tents. The soldiers stood guard and patrolled, each performing their duties, and everything returned to normal.
Odysseus returned to the camp and wrote another letter to Palamedes in the name of King Priam. The letter talked about the gold and thanked Palamedes for promoting Mene. The duel between Laius and Paris.
Looking at the letter that he had prepared himself, Odysseus had a smile on his face. He checked it carefully and found that there was no problem. He left the camp and hurried towards Agamemnon's camp.
Agamemnon's tent is in the center of the entire camp. The tent is the largest, most luxurious and comfortable in the entire camp. There is a thick wool blanket inside the tent. Agamemnon has just returned from the funeral and is lying on his back. On the wool blanket, I was thinking about the changes in the entire war situation.
Odysseus hurriedly opened the curtain of the tent, and as soon as he entered, he shouted urgently: "Great commander, look, what is this?"
As he said this, he handed over the letter. Agamemnon had not yet reacted while thinking, but seeing Odysseus' eagerness, he solemnly accepted the letter.
After just opening the folded letter and reading it for a while, Agamemnon's expression changed drastically, and he asked angrily: "Odysseus, where did you get this letter from?"
"Great Commander, when I went to look for Palamedes, I happened to find him in the camp while he was not there."
Agamemnon's hands trembled with anger, and he roared: "Hurry and summon all the princes and heroes to my camp, and also call Palamedes to me."
The herald received the order and went down.
After a while, princes and heroes rushed to Agamemnon's camp one after another. Agamemnon handed them the parchment letter. Everyone looked at it and their expressions changed.
Padalkes, whose brother had just died, and Menelaus, who was injured, were even more furious, and shouted: "It turns out there was a traitor, and we failed. Even if he is the son of King Nauplius, he will definitely be dead." Gonna kill him."
At this time, Palamedes entered the tent and saw the angry Greek princes and heroes.
Agamemnon handed the letter to Palamedes, who had just walked in. After he read it for a while, he said, "What do you think?"
"This is completely slander and frame-up." Palamedes read the letter and shouted loudly, knowing in his heart that someone was going to kill him.
"Since you said it was slander and frame-up, that's very good. I will appoint a few people to form a jury to examine you now. If there is no such thing, I will certainly clear your name."
"Commander Agamemnon, just ask someone to investigate. I, Palamedes, am innocent." Palamedes said.
"Odysseus, I will appoint you to be the chief judge of this trial. All princes are jurors. When you examine Prince Palamedes, you must find out the matter clearly." Agamemnon said.
"Great Commander, thank you very much for trusting me. I will definitely investigate Prince Palamedes' matter carefully and strive to restore his innocence."
After that, Odysseus ordered a search of Palamedes' residence, and to everyone's surprise, a large amount of gold was dug out of Palamedes' camp.
When the prince of the jury saw this, he shouted loudly: "The traitor should die."
Odysseus glanced around and saw some princes bowing their heads and saying nothing, some princes being filled with indignation, and some princes remaining calm, and felt happy in his heart.
"My plan is very simple. Many princes may not see the problem, but Palamedes has offended many people, and no one is willing to speak for him."
"Above all, Palamedes, no god spoke for him."
This is also an important reason why Odysseus framed Palamedes. If someone else had spoken with God's will, this plan might not have succeeded.
"Moreover, the first battle was somewhat unfavorable, which hurt morale. We also need a scapegoat. This is why our commander Agamemnon supports us."
The jury then sentenced Palamedes to death with Agamemnon's approval.
"Hateful Palamedes, your mistakes have caused Greece to suffer huge losses. I now sentence you to death on behalf of the coalition forces."
Odysseus said: "Palmedes, for the sake of being a prince, we can kill you with stones instead of swords."
Palamedes saw the conspiracy, but he was unable to provide strong evidence that he was innocent and that someone was framed. However, there was "conclusive evidence" about his betrayal. In any case, he could not defend himself.
When he was led to the place of execution, he knew that the only one who could save him now was the gods, so he raised his hands and said: "O Greeks, you will kill a learned and innocent nightingale with the most beautiful song."
All the princes present laughed at this strange defense. In their opinion, what Palamedes said was as weak and pale as if he had not said it.
In fact, Palamedes said this to the gods. He knew that as long as one god was willing to help, he could survive.
"Execution." Odysseus felt numb after hearing this. Although he knew that no god would help him, what if a god suddenly had a whim
Immediately, he gave an order, and rocks rained down on Palamedes on the field.
Palamedes was desperate, and he shouted loudly: "Rejoice, O Truth, for you have finally died in front of me."
When he shouted loudly, Odysseus listened and sneered: "Palmedes, at this point, you still refuse to ask for help from the gods, but shout for the truth."
"Can the truth help you?"
Although he thought this way, he was still afraid of long nights and many dreams, so he smashed a big stone hard and hit Palamedes' head on the spot. He groaned and fell to the ground, blood dripping all over the ground, and he couldn't live anymore.
Agamemnon watched indifferently and waited until the miracle doctor confirmed that Palamedes was dead before ordering Palamedes to be buried.
Palamedes was confirmed as a traitor to Greece and sentenced to death, so he was not eligible to enjoy the same grand funeral as Palotesilaus.
Therefore, he could only be buried and could not enjoy cremation.
Agamemnon also ordered him to be buried because he was a prince, otherwise he would probably be exposed to the wilderness.
The surrounding princes and heroes watched everything silently, and few people showed sympathetic eyes. Even Menelaus, who had some affection for him, no longer had a favorable impression of him because of Odysseus' provocation during the last mission. , some are just hatred.
On Mount Olympus, the gods looked at all this, just as Odysseus thought, with indifferent expressions.
Only Nemesis, the goddess of justice, watching from heaven because of her duty, decided to punish the Greeks and Odysseus for deceiving them into committing crimes, causing them disaster.
"O despicable Greeks, you will be punished for your lost justice, and I will show you that justice is never lacking."
(End of chapter)