Original subtitles

(urgent instrumental music)

(suspenseful instrumental music)

(drumbeat thumping steadily)

(wind swooshing)

- [Narrator] The Aegean Sea.

An immense fleet cleaves the waves.

A fleet, the like of which no one has ever seen before,

neither mortals nor gods.

It carries the largest army ever assembled,

the army of the Greeks.

(wind whooshing)

The most formidable warriors have been brought together,

as well as the kings of all Greece:

Achilles, Ulysses, Agamemnon,

Menelaus, and even old Nestor.

(wind swooshing)

(suspenseful instrumental music)

Shields glitter in the dazzling sunlight.

Already, we hear the terrible rumble of battle.

This formidable army is heading towards Troy,

the city with the high walls.

Troy, the city of King Priam,

defended by his two sons, Hector and Paris.

Paris, the one who made everything happen.

(sweeping instrumental music)

The voice of Zeus makes Olympus tremble.

It echoes through the palace of the gods,

terrible, deafening.

(dissonant string music)

(unsettling flute music)

Zeus demands to know who is responsible

for this conflagration.

(tense instrumental music)

Zeus is the god of the gods.

He commands everyone.

Those who are and those who were.

Long ago at the end of a terrible battle

that lasted for years,

he wiped out the rebellious gods.

And all those who thought themselves more cunning than him

are, now, locked up in Tartarus,

the deepest region of the underworld.

(wind swooshing)

What he desires more than anything is peace

amongst men as amongst the gods.

(drumbeat thumping)

(bright instrumental music)

Zeus summons all the gods of Olympus.

There are 12 of them.

Poseidon, his older brother, rules the seas and the oceans.

His son Apollo is the god of light.

His daughter Athena is the goddess of cunning and reason.

His other sons Ares and Hermes

are respectively the god of war and god of travelers.

Aphrodite, born of sea foam and the sky,

is the goddess of love and voluptuousness.

(drumbeat thumping)

All have sworn allegiance to Zeus.

All fear his anger.

All challenge his power.

(thunder rumbling)

(tense instrumental music)

Zeus is furious.

He wields the aegis, the fearsome weapon

that unleashes thunder and lightning,

that terrify mortals and immortals.

(thunder rumbling)

He scrutinizes each god.

(dramatic instrumental music)

He wants to know who is behind the inevitable chaos

that is about to descend upon the world.

But everyone remains silent and lowers their eyes.

Suddenly, Hera, Zeus's wife points to Aphrodite.

It's her, she is the cause of the unfolding drama.

She alone.

(wind whooshing)

The other goddesses

who have never been very keen on Aphrodite confirm it.

(unsettling string music)

They have always hated this goddess

who sows the seeds of infidelity everywhere,

robs some of them of love,

makes others mad with passion,

and they envy her too perfect form.

In the past, Aphrodite had caused a scandal on Olympus.

She had seduced Ares, the god of war,

under the nose and beard

of her legitimate husband, Hephaestus.

(sensual flute music)

(suspenseful instrumental music)

(sound clanging hauntingly)

(dissonant instrumental music)

Caught in a trap, she had been banished from Olympus,

and had vowed that one day

she would take revenge for this affront.

Yes, Aphrodite started this war.

(drumbeat thumping)

It all begins sometime earlier

when Paris, the son of the King of Troy,

leads one of his many flocks

to the pastures of Mount Ida.

(enchanting instrumental music)

That day, three women come to meet him.

All three of them are breathtakingly beautiful.

(dissonant string music)

But which of them is the fairest?

(contemplative instrumental music)

That is the question they put to young Paris.

They tell him to choose.

Paris is captivated, but above all, disconcerted.

He confesses himself incapable of deciding.

What he doesn't know is

that these three women are the goddesses,

Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.

And that the day before,

when the gods had come together to feast,

Ares, the goddess of discord,

whom no one had invited,

had burst in and tossed onto the table an apple.

(suspenseful instrumental music)

A golden apple.

Upon this apple there was a curious inscription:

for the fairest.

All eyes had naturally turned to Aphrodite,

because no one imagined competing

with the stunning beauty of the goddess of love.

Aphrodite was about to get up,

when two other goddesses stood up to seize the apple.

Hera, sister and wife of the king of the gods,

of a cold but dazzling beauty.

And Athena, daughter of Zeus,

of a violent but sparkling beauty.

(drumbeat thump echoing)

(sweeping string music)

Aphrodite, Hera, Athena,

which of the three goddesses would be declared the fairest?

The opinion of the ruler of Olympus is sought.

(dissonant instrumental music)

Is Zeus not a connoisseur,

whose conquests are too many to number?

The list is long of those who have succumbed to his charms

or his spells.

(mysterious instrumental music)

But Zeus refuses to arbitrate.

He knows of the rebellious temperament

and reciprocal hatred of the three goddesses.

(dissonant instrumental music)

He wants to be cautious,

refuses to take sides.

He decides that the choice must rest

with someone who is completely impartial.

Why not a mortal?

(resolute instrumental music)

He, therefore, chooses the one thought

to be the most idealistic and purist of heart:

Paris, son of Priam and Hecuba, prince of Troy.

The golden apple, which has become

the apple of discord for the gods,

will placed in the innocent hand of a mere mortal.

(tranquil instrumental music)

(birds twittering)

(contemplative instrumental music)

Hera looks Paris up and down and speaks, thus,

Paris, if you say that I am the fairest,

I will give you a kingdom like no mortal has ever possessed

and over which you will reign as sole ruler.

You will be the greatest king that the earth has seen.

Paris, delighted, is about to name Hera.

(urgent string music)

But Athena immediately intervenes.

Paris, if you say that I am the fairest,

I will make you forever invincible in combat.

No sword will wound you.

No javelin will pierce you.

Your enemies will dread your name

and victory will always be yours.

You will become the greatest hero

that the earth has seen.

Won over, Paris is about to name Athena,

when Aphrodite with a cajoling voice says to him,

Paris, if you say that I am the fairest,

then I will offer you the hand

of the most beautiful woman the world has ever seen.

You will be the greatest lover that the earth has born.

(sensual instrumental music)

Paris, without hesitation, gives the apple to Aphrodite.

(tense instrumental music)

Aphrodite unties her belt.

It is a belt with magical powers

that makes anyone who wears it irresistible.

She gives it to Paris.

(sweeping instrumental music)

Sometime later, King Priam sends his son Paris

on a mission to the King of Sparta, the Mighty Menelaus.

Paris goes to sea and arrives in the Greek city.

But a shadow is following him, that of Aphrodite.

(dissonant string music)

In Sparta, Menelaus welcomes Paris

with the warmth and respect due to a prince.

He invites him to dine at his table,

serves him the most exquisite dishes,

washed down with the best wines of Greece.

His wife is at his side.

(tranquil instrumental music)

Her name is Helen.

Helen of Sparta.

She is the most beautiful

of all mortal creatures upon the earth.

(unsettling instrumental music)

She is also the most coveted.

Princes from all around had asked for her hand in marriage.

Her father, Tyndareus, offered it to Menelaus,

making her other suitors swear

to come to the aid of Helen and her husband,

whatever befell them.

(cicada buzzing)

Menelaus announces that he must leave Sparta for a few days.

(birds twittering)

So, he doesn't see.

He doesn't notice the burning glances

exchanged between Helen and Paris.

(sweeping string music)

The magic belt given to him by Aphrodite

does its work, admirably.

On the very evening of Menelaus's departure,

Paris implores Helen to leave everything

and follow him home to Troy and become his wife.

(unsettling string music)

Helen offers no resistance.

She is bewitched

and so is Paris.

(dissonant instrumental music)

In their recklessness,

abandoning themselves to their passion,

the two lovers do not imagine for a moment

the terrible consequences that will arise from their union.

(birds twittering)

(tense instrumental music)

When he returns, Menelaus looks for his wife.

He searches every room, every inch of the garden,

the courtyards of his palace, in vain.

He questions the servants.

The threatens.

Nobody dares to tell him the truth.

It's an old maid who finally confesses

that the beautiful Helen has run away

with this young prince,

who they had so kindly received.

The King of Sparta gives free reign to his anger.

Such an affront cannot go unpunished.

Menelaus leaves immediately for Mycenae.

(dramatic instrumental music)

There reigns the most respected king of all Greece:

Agamemnon, his brother, the King of Kings.

Agamemnon has succeeded in subjugating, by force or cunning,

all the Grecian cities.

All of them pay him allegiance and tribute.

All except one.

Menelaus pleads his case with his brother.

He has been humiliated by the Trojan.

He demands redress.

He begs him to raise an army,

go to war against Paris, and bring back Helen.

Agamemnon listens carefully to Menelaus.

But he hesitates.

Certainly, his brother has been offended,

but he is also a prince who must surely be weak

if he has not been able to retain his wife.

He is the laughingstock of all the other Grecian princes.

An outrage has been committed, of course.

(drumbeat thump echoing loudly)

But Troy is powerful.

It is said to be the riches, the most opulent city on earth.

It controls the passage leading to the East

and its fabulous wealth.

(dissonant instrumental music)

The temptation to seize it is great.

But its ramparts are inviolable.

It is said that they were built by the gods

Apollo and Poseidon, themselves,

and that no one can breach them.

(suspenseful instrumental music)

A simple diplomatic mission to Troy

to claim compensation and bring back Helen

should be enough to settle the matter.

The King of Kings nods.

It's getting late.

He will think.

Zeus had listened attentively to Hera,

who had just condemned Aphrodite,

claiming that her spells alone

were responsible for the war.

(contemplative instrumental music)

But he only half believes it.

He knows Agamemnon.

He is a wise king.

Yes, a simple diplomatic mission to King Priam

would have been enough to avoid this war.

Are they going to send thousands of men

on thousands of ships

for the sole purpose of avenging a deceived husband

for a single woman, even if she is the most beautiful?

Zeus looks at Hera and Athena with growing suspicion.

(dissonant instrumental music)

Aphrodite has, no doubt,

used her spells to win the golden apple.

But Hera and Athena must still be furious

at the affront, the humiliation,

of not being chosen by the young prince.

(wind swooshing)

(cicada buzzing)

How could they have influenced Agamemnon

and convinced him to go to war?

(crickets chirping)

(tense instrumental music)

Night has fallen on Agamemnon's palace.

(sweeping instrumental music)

Invisible to mortal eyes, Hera addresses Athena.

Will we allow a mortal to humiliate goddesses?

Will we allow Aphrodite to mock us this way?

Athena is seething with rage.

She, too, wants to avenge this affront,

to take revenge on the man who committed it.

And the god who did nothing to prevent it,

Zeus, adds Hera.

(unsettling string music)

We will stir up a deadly hatred

between the Greeks and the Trojans

until Paris dies a terrible death,

decide the two goddesses.

(solemn instrumental music)

Athena leans towards Agamemnon.

She murmurs in his ear.

Think of Troy, Agamemnon.

The only city that is resisting you.

The only city that is challenging you.

Without Troy, the empire you have created is pitiful.

Listen to me, Agamemnon,

I am the messenger of Zeus.

He orders you to call all Greeks to arms.

The time has come to seize the vast city of the Trojans.

Its conquest will be the climax of your glory.

The gods of Olympus are now agreed on this point.

All have let themselves be swayed by Hera's entreaty

to take Troy and destroy every wall.

In that way, you will go down in history.

(dissonant instrumental music)

(drumbeat thumping)

At dawn, the king of Mycenae has made his decision.

The insult to Menelaus is an insult to Greece, he says.

They have to avenge this outrage without delay.

They must gather an army.

The most powerful of all armies.

It will cross the seas and annihilate Troy

in order to return Helen to her legitimate husband.

(unsettling instrumental music)

One after the other,

the kings of all Greece answer their suzerain's call.

They come from every city.

All are ready to fight.

All except two of them.

Two men whose fate, however,

will change this story:

Achilles and Ulysses.

(suspenseful instrumental music)

(urgent instrumental music)