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Troy David Benioff Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so we ask ourselves: will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved? AGAMEMNON: It's a good day for the crows. TRIOPAS: I told you yesterday and I'll tell you again today. Remove your army from my land. AGAMEMNON: I like your land. I think we'll stay. I like your soldiers, too. They fought bravely yesterday. Not well, but bravely. TRIOPAS: They'll never fight for you. AGAMEMNON: That's what the Messenians said, too. And the Arcadians. And the Epeians. They're all fighting for me, now. TRIOPAS: You can't rule the whole world, Agamemnon. It's too big. Even for you. AGAMEMNON: I don't want to watch another massacre. Let's end this war in the old manner. Your best fighter against my best. TRIOPAS: And if my man wins? AGAMEMNON: We'll leave Thessaly for good. I'm a generous man. If mine wins, you keep your throne. But Thessaly falls under my command, to fight with me whenever I call. BOY: Are the stories about you true? They say your mother is an immortal goddess. They say you can't be killed. ACHILLES: I wouldn't be bothering with the shield then, would I? BOY: The Thessalonian you're fighting -- he's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him. ACHILLES: That's why no one will remember your name. ACHILLES: Why don't you fight him yourself? Wouldn't that be a sight, a king who fights his own battles? MENELAUS: Thank the gods we made peace -- I've seen too many of my men struck down with this arm. HECTOR: Never again, I hope. MENELAUS: Only one man works a sword better than you. The son of Peleus the Argonaut. HECTOR: Achilles. MENELAUS: That madman would throw a spear at Zeus himself if the god insulted him. PARIS: I have something for you. Pearls from the sea of Propontis. HELEN: They're beautiful. But I can't wear them. Menelaus would kill us both. PARIS: Don't be afraid of him. HELEN: I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of tomorrow, watching you sail away and knowing you'll never come back. Before you came to Sparta I was a ghost. I walked and I ate and I swam in the sea, but I was a ghost. PARIS: You don't have to fear tomorrow. Come with me. HELEN: Don't play with me, prince of Troy. Don't play. PARIS: If you come we'll never be safe. Men will hunt us and the gods will curse us. But I'll love you. Until the day they burn my body I will love you. HECTOR: You should get to bed. We won't sleep on land again for weeks. PARIS: I have no trouble sleeping on the seas. The sea nymphs sing lullabies to me. HECTOR: And who sang lullabies to you tonight? PARIS: Tonight? Tonight was the fisherman's wife. A lovely creature. HECTOR: I hope you didn't let the fisherman catch you. PARIS: He's more concerned with the fish. HECTOR: You do understand why we're in Sparta? PARIS: For peace. HECTOR: And you do understand that Menelaus, King of Sparta, is a powerful man? And that his brother, Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, commands all the Greek forces? PARIS: What does this have to do with the fisherman's wife? HECTOR: Paris. You're my brother, and I love you. But if you do anything to endanger Troy I'll rip your pretty face from your pretty skull. PARIS: A beautiful morning. Poseidon has blessed our voyage. HECTOR: Sometimes the gods bless you in the morning and curse you in the afternoon. HECTOR: Do you know what you've done? Do you know how many years our father worked for peace? How many brothers and cousins he lost on the battlefield? PARIS: I love her. HECTOR: Say another word and I'll break your arm. This is all a game for you, isn't it? You roam from town to town, bedding merchants' wives and temple maids -- you think you know something about love? What about your father's love? You spat on him when you brought her on this ship. What about love of your country? You'd let Troy burn for this woman. I won't let you start a war for her. PARIS: May I speak? What you say is true. I've wronged you. I've wronged our father. If you want to bring Helen back to Sparta, so be it. But I go with her. HECTOR: To Sparta? They'll kill you. PARIS: Then I'll die fighting. HECTOR: That sounds heroic to you, doesn't it? To die fighting. Tell me, little brother, have you ever killed a man? PARIS: No. HECTOR: Have you ever even seen a man die in combat? PARIS: No. HECTOR: I've killed men, brother. I've watched them dying, I've heard them dying, I've smelled them dying. There's nothing glorious about it, nothing poetic. You think you want to die for love, but you know nothing about dying. You know nothing about love. PARIS: All the same, I go with her. I won't ask you to fight my war. HECTOR: You already have. To Troy. MENELAUS: I want her back. AGAMEMNON: Of course you do. She's a beautiful woman. MENELAUS: I want her back so I can kill her with my own two hands. I won't rest until I've burned Troy to the ground. AGAMEMNON: I thought you wanted peace with Troy. MENELAUS: I should have listened to you. AGAMEMNON: Peace is for the women and the weak. Empires are forged by war. MENELAUS: All my life I've stood by your side, fought your enemies. You're the eldest, you reap the glory -- this is the way of the world. But have I ever complained, brother? Have I ever asked you for anything? AGAMEMNON: Never. You're a man of honor. Everyone in Greece knows this. MENELAUS: The Trojans spat on my honor. An insult to me is an insult to you. AGAMEMNON: And an insult to me is an insult to all Greeks. MENELAUS: Will you go to war with me, brother? AGAMEMNON: I always thought my brother's wife was a foolish woman. But she's proven to be very useful. Nothing unifies a people like a common enemy. NESTOR: The Trojans have never been conquered. Some say they can't be conquered. AGAMEMNON: I haven't tried yet. Old King Priam thinks he's untouchable behind his high walls. He thinks the Sun God will protect him. But the gods only protect the strong. If Troy falls, I control the Aegean. NESTOR: Hector commands the finest army in the east. And Troy is built to withstand a ten-year siege. AGAMEMNON: There won't be a ten-year siege. I'll attack them with the greatest force the world has ever seen. I want all the kings of Greece and all their armies. NESTOR: We need Achilles and his Myrmidons. AGAMEMNON: Achilles can't be controlled. He's as likely to fight us as the Trojans. NESTOR: We don't need to control him. We need to unleash him. The man was born to end lives. AGAMEMNON: Yes, he's a gifted killer, but he follows no king. He threatens everything I've built. Before me Greece was nothing, a province of warlords and cattle raiders. I've brought all the Greek kingdoms together -- with the sword when necessary, with a treaty when possible. I've created a nation out of fire-worshippers and snake-eaters. I build the future, Nestor. Achilles is the past, a man who fights for no flag, a man loyal to no country. NESTOR: Your words are true. But how many battles have we won off the edge of his sword? This will be the greatest war the world has ever seen. We need the greatest warrior. ACHILLES: How many times have I done the savage work for the King of Kings? And when has he ever shown me the respect I've earned? ODYSSEUS: I'm not asking you to fight for him. I'm asking you to fight for the Greeks. ACHILLES: Why? Are the Greeks tired of fighting each other? ODYSSEUS: For now. ACHILLES: The Trojans never did anything to me. ODYSSEUS: They insulted Greece. ACHILLES: They insulted one Greek, a man who couldn't hold on to his wife. What business is that of mine? ODYSSEUS: Your business is war, my friend. ACHILLES: Is it? Am I the whore of the battlefield? Can my sword be bought and sold? I don't want to be remembered as a tyrant's mercenary. PATROCLUS: Is Ajax going to fight in Troy? ODYSSEUS: Of course. You've heard of Ajax, eh? PATROCLUS: They say he can fell an oak tree with one swing of the axe. ACHILLES: Trees don't swing back. ODYSSEUS: Even if your cousin doesn't come, Patroclus, I hope you'll join us. We could use a strong arm like yours. ACHILLES: Play your tricks on me, if you'd like. But leave my cousin out of it. ODYSSEUS: You have your sword, I have my tricks. We play with the toys the gods give us. We sail for Troy in three days. This war will never be forgotten. Nor will the heroes who fight in it. THETIS: If you stay here, with me, with your family, you'll have a long, peaceful life. You'll marry, you'll have children, and your children will have children. They'll love you, and when you're gone they'll remember you. But when your children are dead, and their children after them, your name will be lost. If you go to Troy, no one will earn more glory than you. Men will tell stories of your victories for thousands of years. The world will remember your name. But if you go to Troy, you'll never come home. You'll die there. PRIAM: It's the will of the gods. Everything is in their hands. But I'm surprised you let him bring her. HECTOR: If I'd let him fight Menelaus for her, you'd be burning a son's body instead of welcoming a daughter. PRIAM: We could send peace envoys to Menelaus. HECTOR: You know Menelaus. He'd spear your envoys' heads to his gate. PRIAM: What would you have me do? HECTOR: Put her on a ship and send her home. PRIAM: Women have always loved Paris and he's loved them back. But this is different. Something has changed in him. If we send her back to Menelaus, he'll follow. HECTOR: This is my country. These are my countrymen. I don't want to see them suffer so my brother can have his prize. It's not just the Spartans coming after her. By now Menelaus has gone to Agamemnon, and Agamemnon's wanted to destroy us for years. Once we're out of the way he controls the seas. PRIAM: Enemies have been attacking us for centuries. Our walls still stand. HECTOR: Father. We can't win this war. PRIAM: Apollo watches over us. Even Agamemnon is no match for the gods. HECTOR: How many battalions does the Sun God command? PRIAM: When you were very young you came down with scarlet fever. Your little hands were so hot. The healer said you wouldn't last the night. I went down to Apollo's temple and I prayed until the sun came up. That walk back to the palace was the longest of my life. But I went into your mother's room and you were sleeping in her arms. The fever had broken. I promised that day to dedicate my life to the gods. I will not break my promise. For thirty years I've worked for peace. Thirty years. Paris is a fool sometimes. I know that. But I'll fight a thousand wars before letting him die. HECTOR: Forgive me, father. But you won't be the one fighting. MENELAUS: Whose ship is that? NESTOR: Black sail. Achilles. AGAMEMNON: What is that fool doing? He's going to take the beach of Troy with fifty men? ACHILLES: Where are you going? PATROCLUS: To fight the Trojans. ACHILLES: You're not ready. PATROCLUS: I am ready. You taught me how to fight. ACHILLES: And you're a good student. But you're not a Myrmidon yet. These are the fiercest soldiers in Greece. Each of them has bled for me before. I can't fight the Trojans if I'm worrying about you, cousin. Guard the ship. HECTOR: All my life I've lived by a code, and the code is simple. Honor the gods. Love your woman. And defend your country. Troy is mother to us all. Fight for her! ACHILLES: Myrmidons, we are brothers of the sword. I'd rather fight alongside you than any army of thousands. Do you know what's waiting beyond that beach? Immortality. ACHILLES: You must be very brave or very stupid, to come after me alone. You must be Hector. A private audience with the prince of Troy. I'm flattered. Do you know who I am? HECTOR: These priests weren't armed. ACHILLES: I didn't kill them. Cutting old men's throats -- there's no honor in that. HECTOR: Honor? Children and fools fight for honor. I fight for my country. Fight me. ACHILLES: Why kill you, prince of Troy, with no one here to see you fall? HECTOR: Why did you come here? ACHILLES: They'll be talking about this war for a thousand years. HECTOR: In a thousand years even the dust from our bones will be gone. ACHILLES: Yes, prince. But our names will remain. EUDORUS: The Trojans are dead. ACHILLES: Go home, prince. Drink some wine. Make love to your wife. Tomorrow we'll have our war. HECTOR: You speak of war as if it's a game. But how many wives wait at Troy's gate for husbands they'll never see again? ACHILLES: Perhaps your brother can comfort them. I hear he's good at charming other men's wives. EUDORUS: Why did you let him go? ACHILLES: It's too early in the day for killing princes. AJAX: You're as fearless as a god. ACHILLES: The gods are immortal. What do they have to fear? ACHILLES: If you sailed any slower, the war would be over. ODYSSEUS: I don't mind missing the beginning of the war -- as long as I'm here at the end. ACHILLES: You're safer in this tent than out there. Believe me. BRISEIS: You killed Apollo's priests. ACHILLES: I've killed men in five countries. But never a priest. BRISEIS: Then your men did. The Sun God will have his vengeance. ACHILLES: What's he waiting for? BRISEIS: The right time to strike. ACHILLES: His priests are dead and his acolyte's a captive. I think your god is afraid of me. BRISEIS: Afraid? Apollo is master of the sun. He fears nothing. ACHILLES: Then where is he? EUDORUS: King Agamemnon requests your presence. ACHILLES: Why would I want to look at him when I can look at her? ACHILLES: You don't need to fear me, girl. You're the only Trojan who can say that. ODYSSEUS: War is young men dying and old men talking. You know this. Ignore the politics. ACHILLES: Apparently you've won some great victory. AGAMEMNON: Ah, perhaps you didn't notice. The Trojan beach belonged to Priam in the morning. It belongs to Agamemnon in the afternoon. ACHILLES: You can have the beach. I didn't come here for sand. AGAMEMNON: No, you came because you want your name to last through the ages. A great victory was won today -- but the victory is not yours. Kings did not kneel to Achilles. Kings did not bring homage to Achilles. ACHILLES: The battle was won by soldiers. The soldiers know who fought. AGAMEMNON: History remembers the kings, not the soldiers. Tomorrow we'll batter down the gates of Troy. I'll build monuments to victory on every island of Greece, and carve Agamemnon in the stone. My name will last forever. Your name is written in the sand, for the waves to wash away. ACHILLES: First you need the victory. ACHILLES: Before my time is done, King of Kings, I will look down on your corpse and smile. PRIAM: Glaucus, you've fought with me for forty years. Can we win this war? GLAUCUS: Our walls have never been breached. Our archers are the best in the world. And we have Hector. His men would fight the shades of Tartarus if he commanded. We can win. ARCHEPTOLEMUS: I spoke with two farmers today. They saw an eagle flying with a serpent clutched in its talons. This is a sign from Apollo. We will win a great victory tomorrow. Troy is the eagle. The Greeks -- HECTOR: Bird signs! You want to plan our strategy based on bird signs? PRIAM: Hector. Show respect. When Archeptolemus prophesied four years of drought, we dug deeper wells. The drought came and we had water to drink. The high priest is a servant of the gods. HECTOR: And I'm a servant of Troy. I've always honored the gods, father. You know that. But today I fought with a Greek who desecrated the statue of Apollo. Apollo didn't strike the man down. The gods won't fight this war for us. PRIAM: I've fought many wars in my time. Some were fought for land, some for power, some for glory. I suppose fighting for love makes more sense than all the rest. HECTOR: He has no idea what's happening. ANDROMACHE: Thank the gods. HECTOR: The man who killed Tecton outside Apollo's temple -- I've never seen a spear thrown like that. An impossible throw. EUDORUS: My lord? The army is marching. ACHILLES: Let them march. We stay. EUDORUS: But the men -- the men are ready. ACHILLES: Agamemnon spat on my honor yesterday. I promised that girl her safety and he stole her from me. Let him fight the Trojans today. ACHILLES: When I was very small I saw my father kill a man with his bare hands. There's so much blood in a human body. ACHILLES: At night I see their faces. All the men I've killed. I see them standing on the far bank of the River Styx. They're waiting for me. Some nights I walk among them. When I wake I can still hear their words. They say, "Welcome, brother." Never hate the men you fight. All of us are mortals. All of us, wretched things, tumbled crying from our mother's loins. Only the gods are free from sorrows. ACHILLES: I taught you how to fight. But I never taught you why to fight. PATROCLUS: I fight for you. ACHILLES: And who will you follow when I'm gone? Most soldiers battle for kings they've never met. They do what they're told; they die when they're told to die. PATROCLUS: Soldiers obey. ACHILLES: We don't have much time to walk in the sun, Patroclus. After this life comes the underworld, an eternity telling stories to other shades. Don't tell them you died following some fool's orders. PATROCLUS: And what should I tell them? ACHILLES: Tell them your name. If your life has been worthy, they'll know the rest. AGAMEMNON: I see you're not hiding behind your high walls. Valiant of you. Ill-advised, but valiant. HECTOR: You come here uninvited. Go back to your ships. Go home. AGAMEMNON: We've come too far, Prince Hector. MENELAUS: Prince? These are not princes. What son of a king would accept a man's hospitality, eat his food, drink his wine, and then steal his wife in the middle of the night? PARIS: The sun was shining when your wife left you. AGAMEMNON: I have two wishes. If you grant them, no more of your people need to die. First, give Helen back to my brother. Second, Troy must submit to my command, to fight for me whenever I call. HECTOR: You want me to look upon your army and tremble. Well, I see them. I see fifty thousand men brought here to fight for one man's greed. ODYSSEUS: We need to retreat! AGAMEMNON: My army has never lost a battle. ODYSSEUS: If we don't fall back you won't have an army! LYSANDER: We have them on the run, my prince. HECTOR: We're almost in range of their archers. You saw what our arrows did to them. Have the men gather our fallen. When they're done, send an emissary to the Greeks. They can collect their dead without fear of assault. LYSANDER: Would they have done the same for us? HECTOR: Of course not. That's why Troy is worth defending. ODYSSEUS: You're right. But if we stay, we stay for the right reasons. We stay to protect Greece, not your pride. Your private battle with Achilles is destroying us. AGAMEMNON: Achilles is one man. What good could he -- ODYSSEUS: Hector is one man. Look what he did to us today. AGAMEMNON: Hector fights for his country. Achilles fights only for himself. ODYSSEUS: I don't care about the man's patriotism. I care about his ability to win battles. ACHILLES: Did they hurt you? BRISEIS: What do you think? ACHILLES: I saw you fight them. You have courage. BRISEIS: To fight back when people attack me? A dog has that kind of courage. BRISEIS: Why did you choose this life? ACHILLES: What life? BRISEIS: This... to be a great warrior. ACHILLES: I chose nothing. I was born and this is what I am. BRISEIS: But you must enjoy it. ACHILLES: Does the scorpion feel joy when he stings the beetle? I doubt it. I doubt he feels anything at all. BRISEIS: But you're not a scorpion. You're a man. ACHILLES: And you're a woman in love with a god. Where was Apollo when those men tried to scar you? BRISEIS: Do you enjoy provoking me? ACHILLES: Yes. BRISEIS: What do you want here in Troy? You didn't come for the Spartan queen. ACHILLES: I want what all men want. I just want it more. I'll tell you a secret -- something they didn't teach you in your temple. The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because every moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful for the doomed. ACHILLES: Every mortal dies. Today or fifty years from now, what does it matter in the face of eternity? ACHILLES: Have the men start loading the ship. We're going home. ODYSSEUS: You found the girl? ACHILLES: I found her. ODYSSEUS: Is she hurt? ACHILLES: Not as badly as those who hurt her. ODYSSEUS: Agamemnon... is a proud man. But he knows when he's made a mistake. ACHILLES: The man sends you to make his apologies? He doesn't understand honor. What are you doing in thrall to that pig of a king? ODYSSEUS: The world seems simple to you, my friend. But when you're a king, very few choices are simple. Ithaca cannot afford an enemy like Agamemnon. ACHILLES: Am I supposed to fear him? ODYSSEUS: You don't fear anyone, that's your problem. Fear is useful. Stay, Achilles. You were born for this war. ACHILLES: My life is war. Is that what you think? ODYSSEUS: Am I wrong? ACHILLES: A week ago you were right. But things are less simple today. ODYSSEUS: Women have a way of complicating things. ACHILLES: Of all the kings of Greece, I respect you most. But in this war you're a servant. And I refuse to be a servant any longer. ODYSSEUS: Sometimes you need to serve in order to lead. I hope you understand that one day. HECTOR: Fight for your country. That's the only directive. HECTOR: The Myrmidons did not fight yesterday. There must be dissension among the Greeks. But if we attack their ships, we'll unify them. If they decide to attack, let them. They can't breach our walls. We'll beat them back again. Yesterday the Greeks underestimated us. We should not return the favor today. ACHILLES: You've never worked the fields. Never chopped wood, never carried a milk pail. These are the hands of royalty. My hands are gates to the underworld. All my life I've walked with Death. But I grow tired of his company. ACHILLES: Come with me to Larissa. BRISEIS: Larissa. Is that where you're from? It's a pretty name. ACHILLES: I thought I'd never see it again. Before I left home my mother told me my fate. BRISEIS: She speaks with the gods? ACHILLES: She knows things. She told me if I stayed home I'd have a long, peaceful life. And if I came to Troy, life would be short... but my name would never be forgotten. BRISEIS: And you chose Troy. ACHILLES: But what if Fate brought me here for another purpose? What if I had to go to war to find peace? To find you? EUDORUS: Achilles! ACHILLES: You've been fighting. EUDORUS: My lord -- ACHILLES: You violated my command. EUDORUS: No, my lord. There was a mistake. ACHILLES: A mistake? I ordered the Myrmidons to stand down. You led them into combat? EUDORUS: I didn't lead them. ACHILLES: Who did? EUDORUS: We thought you did. HECTOR: I've seen this moment in my dreams. I'll make a pact with you, with the gods as our witnesses. Let us pledge that the winner will allow the loser all the proper funeral rituals. ACHILLES: There are no pacts between lions and men. Now you know who you're fighting. HECTOR: I thought it was you I was fighting yesterday. I wish it had been you. But I gave the dead boy the honor he -- ACHILLES: You gave him the honor of your sword. You won't have eyes tonight. You won't have ears, or a tongue. You'll wander the underworld, blind, deaf, and dumb. And all the dead will know: this is Hector, the fool who thought he killed Achilles. BRISEIS: You lost your cousin. And now you've taken mine. When does it end? ACHILLES: It never ends. ACHILLES: Who are you? PRIAM: I have endured what no one on earth has endured before. I kissed the hands of the man who killed my son. ACHILLES: Priam? How did you get in here, old king? The sentries -- PRIAM: I know my own country better than the Greeks, I think. ACHILLES: You're a brave man. If Agamemnon knew you were here, he'd have your head on a spit. PRIAM: Do you really think death frightens me now? I watched my eldest son die, watched you drag his body behind your chariot. Give him back to me. He deserves the honor of a proper burial. You know that. Give him to me. ACHILLES: He killed my cousin. PRIAM: He thought it was you. He defended his country. How many cousins have you killed? How many sons and fathers and brothers and husbands? How many, brave Achilles? PRIAM: You've taken everything from me. My eldest son, heir to my throne, defender of my kingdom. I can't change what happened. It's the will of the gods. But give me this small mercy. I loved my boy from the moment he opened his eyes till the moment you closed them. Let me wash his body. Let me say the prayers. Let me place two coins on his eyes for the boatman. ACHILLES: If I let you walk out of here, if I let you take him, it doesn't change anything. You're still my enemy in the morning. PRIAM: You're still my enemy tonight. But even enemies can show respect. ACHILLES: I admire your courage, old man. You're a better king than the one leading this army. ACHILLES: Your son was the best I've fought. I want you to know that. In my country the funeral games last twelve days. PRIAM: It's the same in my country. ACHILLES: Then no Greek will attack Troy for twelve days. The prince deserves that honor. ACHILLES: Wily Odysseus. You've found a way to make the sheep invite the wolves over for dinner. ACHILLES: Eudorus. Forgive me. I should never have struck you. You've been a loyal friend all your life. EUDORUS: I hope I never disappoint you again. ACHILLES: Rouse the men. You're taking them home. EUDORUS: Aren't you coming with us? ACHILLES: I've got one more battle to fight. EUDORUS: She's worth fighting for. We'll march behind you. ACHILLES: All that's left is the slaughter. I don't want to see my men fouled with children's blood. Go, Eudorus. This is the last order I give you. PRIAM: What is this? ARCHEPTOLEMUS: An offering to Poseidon. The Greeks are praying for a safe return home. GLAUCUS: I hope the Sea God spits on their offering and lets them all drown at the bottom of the sea. ARCHEPTOLEMUS: This is a gift. We should bring it to the temple of Poseidon. PARIS: I think we should burn it. VELIOR: Burn it? My prince -- it's a gift to the gods. GLAUCUS: The prince is right. I'd burn all of Greece if I had a big enough torch. ARCHEPTOLEMUS: I warn you, good men. Be careful what you insult. Our beloved prince Hector had sharp words for the gods and a day later Achilles' sword cut him down. PARIS: Burn it, father. GLAUCUS: You men are soldiers. Leading you has been an honor. The boatman is waiting for us. I say, let him wait a little longer! lscgid: execve():/home/jauene/public_html/cgi-bin/counters/counter.cgi: Permission denied page views

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