8 Hera and Athena Make a Plan

CHAPTER 8 Hera and Athena Make a Plan Zeus was moved by Agamemnon's words. He decided to take pity on the Achaeans. Zeus sent an eagle flying over the head of King Agamemnon. The eagle carried a young deer in its claws. The eagle dropped the deer right in front of the Achaeans. The deer was alive, and it ran off into the distance. The Achaeans knew this was a positive sign from Zeus. Agamemnon addressed his men. "You have all seen this sign. Zeus sent us an eagle. He is with us today. Diomedes, you will lead us

into battle. All the Achaeans will follow our strongest warrior to victory!" The soldiers' strength and courage were renewed. They charged back toward the Trojans with force. Diomedes led the way. The whole Achaean army followed. Teucer, an Achaean archer, sent an arrow flying through the air toward Hector. He missed but hit one of Hector's brothers. Teucer shot another arrow at Hector but missed again. This time he hit Hector's chariot driver. The driver fell off the chariot onto the ground. The chariot's horse stumbled and almost fell, too. Hector jumped from his chariot. He sent a mighty yell ringing through the air. Hector grabbed a rock and threw it at Teucer just as the archer let another arrow fly. The rock hit Teucer on the collarbone. He dropped to his knees, stunned. Ajax ran to Teucer's side and protected him with his

shield. Hector's anger was at full power. He let his army show the Achaeans how powerful it was. The Trojans took down soldier after soldier from the Achaean army. They pushed back their enemy. The Trojans began to win again. Hera saw the Trojan side gaining strength. Her anger boiled again. She called to Athena. "Are we going to let this happen?" she asked. "This is our last chance. I cannot bear to watch this maniac Hector defeat the Achaeans!" Athena agreed. "How can Zeus allow this? I have done so many favors for him. But now he just leaves the Achaeans to be crushed by the Trojans. And all this because Thetis cried that her son, Achilles, needed help." Athena and Hera had had enough. They put their armor on and got their horses ready. They rushed out of the gates to join

the war. But Zeus sees all. He knew that Athena and Hera were disobeying him. Zeus sent a messenger to stop the goddesses from joining the war again. "They must not go against me on this matter," he warned. "Tell them they will suffer." The messenger rushed to find Athena and Hera. She met the goddesses close to the gates of Troy. "Zeus forbids you to take action in the Achaeans' name. He promises severe punishment if you continue." Hera turned to Athena. She felt defeated. "We must be careful," Hera said to Athena. "We cannot risk so much for mortal men. We must let Zeus decide their fates." Hera and Athena turned to go back to Mount Olympus. When the goddesses returned to the great hall, Zeus mocked them. "Why do you both look so sad? Are you tired from trying to join

the mortals in battle?" he joked. Then Zeus turned serious. "If you had decided to interfere, neither of you would be allowed back on Mount Olympus again." Hera and Athena whispered to each other behind Zeus's back. Maybe they were forbidden to join in the battle. But they could still plot the end of Troy. They could still find a way to support the Achaean army. Back on the battlefield, night was falling. Hector knew he had to end the battle for the day even though his army had such great energy. He delivered a fiery speech to his troops to keep up their fighting spirit. "We are closer than ever, my friends! Zeus is on our side. But we must go back to camp for now. Rest up tonight. We will defeat the Achaeans tomorrow! We will either destroy them or send them running from Troy once and for all!"