Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined three of the neglected tales from the Epic Cycle which dealt with the Trojan War. First came Cypria, then after skipping The Iliad because of how well-known it is I moved on to Aethiopis and then most recently I examined Iliad Minor.
SACK OF TROY aka Sack of Ilion is credited to Arktinos of Miletos in the 770’s BCE. The previous epic Iliad Minor wrapped up with the Greek warriors springing out of the Trojan Horse and at last triumphing over King Priam and his Trojans. Sack of Troy rehashes a few story elements, backing up to cover the construction of the Trojan Horse and the Trojans ignoring the prophet Cassandra’s warnings about the Horse. New elements are the arguments the Trojans have about possibly burning the Horse or rolling it off a cliff into the sea before deciding to take it inside the city gates.
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During the celebrations for what the Trojans think is their victory over the Greeks two serpents bit and killed the priest of Apollo named Laocoon and one of his sons. The Trojans called an end to the feast and retired for the evening, their spirits dampened. The Greek soldiers emerged from the Trojan Horse after most of the Trojans were asleep and started slaying the Trojans, taking time out to allow their returned comrades to enter Troy to bring their numbers up.
Much pride was taken over which Greek warrior killed which Trojan and also, given the time period, which Trojan woman or women they took as sex-toys. Taking Trojan women who had been aristocrats was a particular sign of status. To name just a few Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, killed King Priam and Odysseus killed Astyanax (Hector’s son) by throwing him from the top of the city walls to his death. Neoptolemus then seized Astyanax’s wife Andromache. Continue reading
Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria and Aethiopis, two of the neglected Greek epics. Cypria recounted the events leading into The Iliad while Aethiopis picked up the tale of the Trojan War after the death and funeral of Hector at the end of The Iliad. The neglected epic I’m examining today is Iliad Minor, the next in line chronologically. The author is speculated to have been either Lesches, Thestorides, Diodoros, Kinaithon or even Homer himself.
Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria, the neglected Greek epic myth that dealt with the events leading up to the Trojan War all the way up to Achilles leading the Greek forces in establishing a beachhead at Troy. The Trojan forces were then forced to retreat inside the walls of Troy itself, leaving the outside settlements to be sacked by the Greek forces. This led right into the whole Briseis/Chryseis conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon that opened up The Iliad. 
FOUR – A council of the gods is held on Mount Olympus as the goddesses Venus and Juno make their cases for and against Aeneas and his fellow survivors of fallen Troy. Venus argues for them since Aeneas is her son, while Juno retains her position against Aeneas because she wants to prevent the founding of Rome. 
THREE – Aeneas and his fleet of survivors of fallen Troy arrive at Latium in what is now west central Italy. They are made welcome by King Latinus, who offers his daughter Lavinia to Aeneas as a bride per the oracles foreseeing the arrival of strangers possessed of greatness and whose leader he should marry to Lavinia. 
In the past Balladeer’s Blog has examined epic myths from around the world and from many belief systems. Examples include 
In the versions where they are two separate entities Mwindo is a villainous figure while Kabutwa-kenda is the main hero of the epic. Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will be reminded of the Navajo twin gods Nayanazgeni and Thobadzistsini. Nayanazgeni was usually the hero of the epic about the defeat of the evil gods called the Anaye but in the Apache version of the myth his brother Thobadzistsini is the hero and Nayanazgeni is reduced to being a comic relief coward. 
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