Original subtitles

Agamemnon, the king of kings,

has convinced the major Greek rulers

to follow him to Troy.

All of them are Greek kings.

His brother, Menelaus, reigns over Sparta.

Old Nestor governs Pylos.

Ajax the Great is king of Salamis.

Idomeneus, king of Crete.

The young Diomedes, king of Argos.

Ulysses, king of Ithaca.

And Achilles, king of Phthia.

Together, Ulysses and Achilles are to become

the scourge of the Trojans.

And yet, of all the kings called upon by Agamemnon,

it is they that least desire to fight this war.

Ulysses does not wish to leave his kingdom, Ithaca.

And even less so, his wife Penelope and son, Telemachus,

to make war on the other side of the world.

But there is something else holding him back.

Something haunting him like a nightmare.

Long ago an oracle confirmed to him

that were he ever to leave Ithaca,

he would only return 20 years later alone and poor.

Ulysses firmly intends to trick Agamemnon

so as not to answer the call to arms.

He has the cunning to do so.

Those who know him call him The Man of a Thousand Rouses.

And he will have to use one of his many tricks

to avoid going to war.

Ulysses puts on a peasant's hat

and makes his way down to one of Ithaca's beaches.

Once there, he attaches a donkey and a bull to a plow

and then, in front of his flabbergasted entourage,

he starts to sow soot instead of wheat

and begins plowing the beach.

Penelope, weeping, introduces Ulysses to the emissaries

sent by Agamemnon to escort him to the war.

"Look at him.

"Look at what has become of proud Ulysses.

"A mad man, a poor fool."

Agamemnon's emissaries are sympathetic.

Indeed, how could the king of Ithaca lead

his men into battle if he has lost all reason?

Having failed in their task, they're about to leave

when one of the emissaries stops them.

He has heard of the king of Ithaca's reputation,

and something tells him that they are being duped.

Suddenly, he rips young Telemachus from his mother's arms,

draws his sword, and standing in front of Ulysses' plow,

pretends to slit the child's throat

before throwing him under the plow.

Ulysses stops his plow immediately

and rushes to rescue his son.

He has been found out.

His plan has been foiled.

Ulysses has no other choice but

to rally to Agamemnon's army.

He arrives at Mycenae, with his men

and with the other kings, ready to embark.

But there is one fighter who is missing.

Achilles.

It is hard to believe that this brave young man

who is deemed to have no rival on this earth

would not wish to join Agamemnon's war.

When Agamemnon hears the news that Achilles

will not accompany the Greeks to war,

the king shrugs his shoulders.

There is nothing to be done about this man

whom he despises.

He's an ill disciplined soldier

who undermines his authority.

Never missing an opportunity to publicly remind

him of his greed and desire for power.

Of all the kings of Greece, Achilles is the one

Agamemnon hates most.

But Old Nestor insists that the Greeks

must have him by their side.

Achilles has been blessed by the gods,

he is the greatest warrior.

Without him, victory is impossible.

Reluctantly, Agamemnon sends Ulysses to Phthia

to fetch Achilles and his army, the formidable Myrmidons.

Thetis, the mother of Achilles.

A goddess from ancient times.

A nymph, and the daughter of the old man of the deep.

Once upon a time, she was Zeus's lover

and he still cares deeply for her.

She was married at the insistence of the gods

to Peleus, king of Phthia.

A mortal renowned for his wisdom and piety,

he had been among the sailors who set off

in search of the mythical Golden Fleece.

Thetis welcomes Ulysses apprehensively.

She, too, knows the king of Ithaca's tricks.

But more than that, she's reminded of the terrible prophecy

that she has not revealed to anyone, not even her son.

If Achilles leaves for Troy, he will find glory.

His name will echo through the ages.

But he will die in the full bloom of his youth.

If he stays in Phthia he will grow old,

contented, and surrounded by loved ones.

But in the end, when his children's children are dead,

his name will be forgotten.

Fortunately for Thetis, Achilles responds

with a categorical no to all of Ulysses' arguments.

He will not go to fight Troy to save

the honor of a deceived husband.

Or to enlarge the empire of a king he despises.

Filled with relief, Thetis takes her son in her arms

and in her joy at his staying by her side

she reveals to him the deadly fate that he has escaped.

Achilles is taken aback.

So, he has the choice.

To die young but as a hero,

or to grow old in comfort and happiness,

but to be extinguished, consigned to oblivion.

He thinks long and hard.

Then he turns to Ulysses.

His mind is made up.

Troy, the city of King Priam.

Hector points towards his brother, Paris.

He is to blame for everything that is happening in Troy.

His appalling union is the cause of all

the misfortunes that stalk the city.

Hector has just learned that the Greeks

have rallied the largest army the world has ever seen.

And they're on their way.

They are preparing to land on the shores of Troy.

Hector is the eldest son of King Priam.

The defender of Troy, the shield of the city.

The people adore him and worship him like a god.

He is recognized as a warrior of unparalleled valor

by friend and foe alike.

Fate with his brother's protests,

Paris counters for the same arguments time and time again.

Troy is invincible.

It is protected by the gods.

The city of Priam could never be defeated by Greek spears.

As for himself, he is in love with Helen,

madly in love, and she with him.

Nothing and no one will ever separate them.

Hector is furious.

His brother does not understand what is at stake.

The Greek army is not simply coming to invade Troy,

but to destroy the city that has always

thwarted Agamemnon's desires.

A prince of Troy does not have the right

to behave with such arrogance and such flippancy.

He, himself, is madly in love with his wife, Andromache.

But he has always placed the salvation of his city

above his personal happiness.

King Priam is an old man and his head has begun to spin.

His wife, Hecuba, stands up and walks over to her sons.

She takes hold of Hector's hand, and that of Paris,

and brings them together.

The two brothers unwillingly consent to join hands.

But suddenly, Hecuba's face freezes.

A silhouette draped in black emerges from the shadows.

It is Cassandra.

Daughter of Priam and Hecuba.

Cassandra has barely moved forward an inch

when her mother signals her to be silent.

She knows only too well that the words

that this child utters are portents of disaster and death.

Since Paris came back to Troy with Helen on his arm,

Cassandra has repeatedly declared that

this illegitimate union will cause the city to be lost.

Cassandra has, she says, the ability to predict the future.

She is not wrong in this.

Apollo fell passionately in love with Cassandra

the first time he set eyes on her.

He promised that if she gave herself to him,

he would teach her the secret arts

known only to the great priestesses

who are able to divine the will of the gods.

Cassandra agreed and Apollo made her an expert

in the art of predicting the future.

But also in understanding the oracles and interpreting them.

But once educated in this art,

Cassandra granted the god nothing more

than a simple kiss on the lips.

And she laughed at his naivety.

Revealing that she had vowed to always remain a virgin

and had dedicated herself since childhood

to Hecate, the goddess of virginity.

Apollo, in his anguish, fell into despair.

To avenge this betrayal at the hands

of the beautiful Cassandra, he spat in her mouth.

Cassandra should've been more careful,

for in spitting in her mouth,

the god removed not the gift of prophecy,

but the gift of persuasion.

Thus, from that moment on,

Cassandra was condemned to predict the future,

but never to be believed.

The Greek fleet is at full strength.

They're ready to weigh anchor.

Thousands of ships are ready to face the waves.

The wind swells the sails.

It is time to leave.

But suddenly, as if by magic, the wind drops.

There is no longer the slightest breeze.

Agamemnon fears the worst.

There is nothing natural about this calm.

They must consult the gods immediately.

Among the Greeks, there is a seer

who knows how to interpret the will of the gods.

Kalchas, he can see all the secrets of the future,

the present, and the past.

Kalchas studies the flight of the birds at length.

His pronouncement causes all the Greek kings to tremble.

There is one goddess who opposes their departure.

Artemis, daughter of Zeus and twin sister to Apollo.

Agamemnon becomes angry.

"Who has dared to offend Artemis, the goddess of hunting?"

"It is you," replies Kalchas.

And the seer reminds Agamemnon of the day

he went hunting and came across a magnificent doe.

He tracked her for a long time

before firing the fatal arrow.

He exclaimed with victorious pride,

"Artemis herself could not of done better."

The goddess who is also known as the Queen of the Animals,

was both affronted and insulted by this boasting.

Today, Artemis demands repentance.

That doe was her favorite.

So Agamemnon must also sacrifice his favorite.

It's his daughter, Iphigenia.

The king of kings is distraught, he will never agree to it.

"Only on this one condition will the winds

"once again favor the Greeks," replies Kalchas.

Agamemnon is devastated.

His brother, Menelaus, burns with rage.

He's filled with impatience to get his wife Helen back.

And he is supported by the entire coalition

of Greek kings ready for war.

"What is one life worth in comparison

"to the honor of a country?"

Agamemnon refuses to yield.

The sacrifice the gods want to impose on him is inhuman.

He prays to Zeus and to all the gods.

But his prayers are in vain.

He knows that one cannot disobey the orders

of the goddess Artemis.

All the Greeks know her fierce temperament and proud nature.

She is cruel, too.

The goddess of hunting has always been stubborn

when she or one of her followers feels offended.

There have been many men that she has punished in the past.

All of those gathered here to set sail

remember the story of Actaeon,

one of the greatest hunters of all time.

But when Actaeon surprised the goddess

as she bathed naked in a stream,

she took terrible revenge by turning Actaeon into a stag.

The hunter's dogs did not recognize their master

and devoured him alive.

Artemis watched the scene without lifting a finger to help.

Agamemnon knows it is impossible to bend

the will of the offended goddess.

So, the king of kings suppresses his tears,

masters his trembling hands,

and finally accepts the decision of the gods.

Ulysses, appalled that her father

could even contemplate such a sacrifice,

suggests to Agamemnon that Iphigenia

be made to believe that the fate of the Greeks

depends on her submission to marriage.

This will soften her fate.

They agree to tell her that Achilles will fight

for the Greeks, but only on one condition;

that he is to marry Iphigenia.

The girl agrees and offers no resistance.

She will obey the wishes of her father and marry Achilles

if it means that the Greek army will have amongst

its ranks one of the greatest warriors.

The wedding will take place.

And as custom dictates, it must begin with a sacrifice.

Iphigenia walks confidently towards the alter,

guided by Agamemnon.

The high priest is waiting for them,

his face remains expressionless.

Iphigenia looks into her father's eyes

and in his gaze, she can read terror and dread.

The high priest leans over the girl, the dagger falls.

The wind blows once more.

Upon Mount Olympus, the gods have seen everything.

From this point onwards, war is inevitable.

And they have all chosen sides.

Apollo founded Troy, he is the city's protector.

He seizes his bow and quiver and looks towards Priam City.

Artemis upheld her oath and released

the winds that carry the Greek army,

but she supports her brother in all things,

so she sides with Apollo and the Trojans.

Aphrodite follows suit.

She intends to protect the romance between Helen and Paris

which she has fostered.

Hera and Athena have already sided with Agamemnon

and the Greek kings.

Poseidon, and Ares, are still hesitating.

Their allegiance will doubtless fluctuate

as ever between both sides.

The wind has strengthened.

The Greek army sets sail for Troy.