Written in the 8th century BC by Greek poet Homer, the Iliad describes a great war, considered mythical by historians, between Trojans and Greeks. The events that triggered the war are described in Cypria, attributed to Stasinus of Cyprus, the first book of the Trojan Epic Cycle. It all started with the golden apple thrown by Eris, which the Trojan prince Paris had to offer to the most beautiful goddess. Choosing Aphrodite, Paris received as a gift Helen, queen of Sparta, whom he took to Troy. Helen’s husband, Spartan king Menelaus, and his brother, Mycenaean king Agamemnon, gathered the entire Greek army and waged a fierce war against the city of Troy, which lasted ten years. In Song 8 of the Iliad, the number of Trojans and their allies was 50,000, while some researchers believe the Greeks were 120,000 or 140,000. Hector (the eldest son of King Priam), Paris (Hector’s brother), demigod Aeneas (son of Aphrodite and prince Anchises) and Sarpedon (king of Lycia, son of Zeus and mortal Laodamia) were among the Trojan heroes, while the Achaeans’ champions were Agamemnon (king of Mycenaeans), Menelaus (king of Spartans), demigod Achilles (son of King Peleus and goddess Thetis), Odysseus (king of Ithaca), Ajax the Telamonian (Zeus’ grandson and cousin of Achilles), Ajax the Locrian (leader of the Locrian tribe) and Diomedes Tydides (one of the most powerful fighters, surpassed only by Achilles). Homer claims that even the Olympian gods were divided into two groups, getting involved in the war. Their actions not only influenced most of the events, but also decided the fate of the prolonged conflict.
Because the Achaeans had taken his daughter, priest Chryses asked Apollo to punish them. The god took his bow and „first shot his arrows at the mules and swift dogs, but then aimed his deadly arrows at the army and countless people were burned alive on the pyres. For nine days, god’s arrows flew through the camp„. Demigod Achilles told his mother, goddess Thetis, about Apollo’s action: „He began fiercely to shoot the Achaeans; the dead fell in heaps and from all sides, murderous arrows flew into the big camp„.
In Song 2, to make the Achaeans value Achilles, Zeus sent Agamemnon a deceitful dream that lured him to attack Troy. In that dream, Zeus took the wise counselor Nestor’s form. Hera, Zeus’ wife, did not stay idle either. Because Agamemnon asked the Achaeans to go home, Hera sent Athena to stop him. The goddess entrusted this mission to Odysseus who, supported by Nestor, convinced the Greeks to attack Troy. Athena mingled among the Achaeans, encouraging them: „With shining eyes, Athena carried her shield among them (…) Swiftly, shaking her shield, she passed through the army like lightning, forcing them to march and putting iron strength in the heart of every warrior, so they may fight tirelessly„. Taking the guise of Prince Polites, goddess Iris, sent by Zeus, told the Trojans that the Achaeans were coming to attack them.
In Book 3, during the duel between Menelaus and Paris, the Spartan king grabbed the Trojan prince by the crest of his helmet, choking him. Under the protection of invisibility, goddess Aphrodite broke the helmet strap, allowing Paris to escape. When Menelaus tried to strike his enemy with his spear, the goddess snatched Paris and took him „ home through the mist, into a chamber in his palace„. In turn, Paris claimed that Menelaus had received divine assistance: „If he wins today, it is only with Athena’s help„.
In Book 4, in the golden hall on Mount Olympus, Zeus asked the advice of the gods regarding the Trojan War. Hera, who wanted revenge for not receiving goddess Eris’ golden apple, proposed continuing the conflict. Therefore, Zeus sent Athena to lure the Trojans into breaking their agreement. The goddess descended from Mount Olympus „like a bright star” that „descends from heaven and scatters a shower of rays„, a description very similar to UFOs today. Arriving in Troy, Athena assumed the form of Laodocus, son of Antenor, and convinced Pandarus to shoot Menelaus with an arrow. Then she diverted the arrow, which only wounded the Spartan king. Learning of the assassination attempt against his brother, Agamemnon ordered the resumption of the battle, to the satisfaction of the Olympian gods who desired the war and who did not stand aside, but participated in the fight. „Ares instigates some and Pallas Athena others, Phobos and Deimos and Eris, the excessively fierce, a good companion of cruel Ares and sister of the same blood (…) The crowd now creeps among the ranks, igniting the frenzy on both sides, increasing their grief and lamentation„. Seeing Hector entering the battle, „Apollo’s anger seized him when he saw him from Pergamum and urged the Trojans with a loud voice„. Virgin Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was the most fierce: „Zeus’ daughter, glorious Athena, walked among them and inflamed the Achaeans wherever they faltered„. Later, „Pallas Athena again roused Tydides Diomedes; she gave him heart and courage to rise high above the Achaeans in the camp and gain great fame, an unquenchable flame on his helmet and shield kindled by the goddess (…) Pallas then pushed him where the battle was raging„.
In Song 5, Athena proposed to Ares to both withdraw from the battle, leaving the Trojans and the Achaeans alone. However, she did not respect the agreement. She made Diomedes’ limbs, knees and arm lighter, instilled in him the bravery of his father and removed the fog from his eyes, giving him the gift of seeing the gods. When Diomedes threw his spear, „Athena directed it at Pandarus’s nose and eye„. In the fight against Aeneas, Diomedes wounded Aphrodite’s son. Seeing that her son was about to be killed, Aphrodite „wrapped him in her white arms and stretched the shining folds of her garment in front of him to shield him from the blows; she feared that the Danai might pierce him with a spear and kill him. Therefore, she took him out of the battle„. At Athena’s command, Diomedes wounded the goddess of love and beauty and she let go of her son, throwing him away; „But Phoebus Apollo caught him in his dark cloud, lest a spear should pierce his breast and the Danai kill him„. Wounded, Aphrodite fled to Mount Olympus with Ares’ chariot, helped by Iris, where her mother Dione healed her hand. Emboldened, Diomedes even attacked Apollo three times, only giving up after the god threatened him. Apollo took Aeneas to the city of Pergamum, where goddesses Leto and Artemis healed him. Then, the god created a „shadow” in the likes of Aeneas, which he sent to fight in the demigod’s place. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Juno also „created a shadow-like figure with the face” of Aeneas „from a thin mist„. Apollo asked Ares to kill Diomedes. The god of war took on the appearance of Acamas, „Lord of the Thracians„, and urged the Trojans on. Taking advantage of Athena’s absence from the battlefield, Apollo instilled courage and strength in Aeneas and sent him among his comrades. Ares set a trap for Menelaus, pushing him into battle against Aeneas, hoping to see him dead. However, Antilochus joined Menelaus and Aphrodite’s son was forced to retreat.
Strong troops „led by Ares, driven by the fierce Enyo followed Hector; she is accompanied by the terrifying warrior Valma. Ares, with a long and fierce spear in his hand, either leads Hector forward or follows him„. Seeing that the Trojan prince is aided by Ares, Diomedes informed his comrades. Zeus also intervened in the battle, saving his son, Sarpedon. He had been wounded in the thigh by Tlepolemus, demigod Hercules’ son. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Odysseus attempted to kill Zeus’ son, but Athena directed his fury towards the Lycians. Seeing Ares fighting on the Trojans’ side, Hera and Athena decided to help the Achaeans. Hera descended among them, taking on the appearance of Stentor to encourage them. With Zeus’ approval to remove Ares from the battle, Athena asked Diomedes to attack the god of war. When Ares threw his spear at the hero, Athena (wearing Hades’ helmet of invisibility to not be seen by the other gods) deflected it. Then, with the help of the goddess, Diomedes wounded Ares, who fled to Mount Olympus where he was healed by Peon. Blinded by Zeus, Glaucus took bronze armor worth nine oxen from Diomedes and gave him his golden armor, which was worth one hundred oxen.
Apollo and Athena decided to stop the war, asking Hector to fight an Achaean in exchange. Helenus, another son of King Priam, „with his mind guessing the counsel of the two gods and knowing what they had in mind„, revealed to Hector the divine plan. He accepted the gods’ agreement and fought with Telamonian Ajax until two heralds asked them to stop because it was night.
Because the Achaeans raised a wall without offering sacrifices to the gods, Zeus asked his brother Poseidon to destroy it after the war. Poseidon is also the one who, along with Apollo, built the city of Troy’s walls. Then, Zeus forbade the Olympian gods to interfere in the course of the war. After giving the order, the king of the gods left in a chariot pulled by two horses with golden manes and bronze hooves on Gargarus, Mount Ida’s peak, from where he „made some clouds” over the two armies. There he weighed the fate of the Trojans and Achaeans, and then „Zeus began to thunder and lightning fiercely among the Achaeans from Ida’s heights„. Then, „bursting among the clouds, he suddenly hurled a shining thunderbolt that reached ahead of Diomedes’ horses. A terrible flame bursted then from the burning chariot„. When Teucer, Telamon’ son, shot at Hector with his bow, Apollo deflected the arrow, which hit Archepolus. To set a trap for the Achaeans, Zeus sent them an eagle as a sign, which threw a fawn into the sacrificial pit, making the Greeks believe that the king of the gods was fighting on their side. However, Zeus „the Olympian strengthened the Trojans in battle again and crowded the Achaeans toward the deep trench at the walls„. Seeing their favorites cornered, Hera and Athena wanted to help the Achaeans, but they were stopped by Iris, who conveyed the supreme ruler’s threats. Then „Zeus sent the fierce goddess Eris to the ships of the Achaeans„. She went on Odysseus’ ship „and from there the goddess began to shout and to inspire the Achaeans with much virtue so they would always fight against their enemies. Upon hearing her cry, they all suddenly found the battle better than sailing to their homeland„. Delighted by the slaughter, Zeus sent rain drops of blood „as a sign that he wanted to send many strong souls to the other world„. Ignoring Zeus’ orders, Enyo „came alone from Olympus to take part in the war„. However, the supreme ruler of the Olympian pantheon was busy: „Hector was hidden from Zeus and he escaped unharmed from the rain of blows, slaughter, blood and chaos of battle„. Then Zeus sent Iris to advise Hector to stay away from the fight until he saw Agamemnon. When he is wounded and flees, the king of the gods will give the Trojan prince the strength to defeat them all and reach the Achaeans’ ships. Hidden under the cloak of invisibility, Athena could not stay away from the fight. When Socus, called by Homer „like a god„, threw his spear towards Odysseus, it only grazed his skin at the ribs „because Athena did not allow it to penetrate his innards„. Fortunately for her, Zeus’ attention was directed towards Ajax: „But in the end, the heavenly father frightened Ajax„. Then „Zeus from Ida, from the mountains, unleashed a storm that brought clouds of dust to the ships; blinding the Achaeans and giving Hector and the Trojans all the glory„. Moreover, he urged his son, Sarpedon, to charge over the Achaeans. Telamonian Teucer tried to stop him with an arrow, „but Zeus protected his son Sarpedon from death, for he did not want him to be killed at the ships„. Because „Zeus gave greater proeminence to Hector„, the prince managed to pass through the Achaeans’ wall. He broke the gate with a huge stone that Zeus made light and the fate of the war seemed sealed. Therefore, the god, called by Odysseus „the helmsman of the world’s wars„, decided to withdraw from the battle.
Poseidon took advantage of his brother’s retreat and, taking the form of Calchas, encouraged the two Ajaxes. Then he touched them with his scepter, filling them with virtue, „and their arms, bodies and legs became lighter„. After that he encouraged the other Achaeans. „The god rushed first to delight Teucer, Leitus, Deipilus, Thoas, the chosen warrior Penelaus, Meriones and Antilochus, the two masters of the fight„. Seeing his dead nephew Imbrius, Poseidon „rushes among the Achaeans at the ships, helping, taking part and giving encouragement to both the Achaeans and the Trojans alike„. Then he took on the appearance of Thoas Andraemonian to persuade Idomeneus to return to battle. Later, the god paralyzed Alcathous. He „could no longer flee or escape death” and Idomeneus, seeing him petrified, thrust his spear into his chest. The god of the seas also helped Antilochus, son of Nestor, king of Pylos: „No one, however shielded, can scratch the young, slender and round body, for the earthquake god Poseidon protects Antilochus from the thick rain of spears„. Adamas tried to strike him, but Poseidon blunted his spear: „The weapon was like burnt hair, a piece remained in Antilochus’ shield, and another fell to the ground, mutilated„. Poseidon took on the appearance of an old man to encourage Agamemnon, then continued to help the Achaeans both with encouragement and by actively participating in the battle: „Thus god Poseidon helped the Achaeans with encouragement and he himself urged on with weapons„. Seeing that Poseidon intervened for the Achaeans, Hera tricked Aphrodite into giving her the power of love to reconcile Oceanus and Tethys, considered by Homer to be the father and mother of the gods. Receiving the necklace with all love spells from the goddess of love, Hera convinced Hypnos to put Zeus to sleep, promising him Pasithea, one of the Graces, as a reward. Bewitched, Zeus lay with Hera, then was put to sleep by Hypnos, who urged Poseidon to help the Achaeans more quickly. The god of the seas listened to the advice, appearing at the head of the army, holding „a terrible sword that shone like lightning„. When Zeus woke up, he sent Iris to Poseidon to ask him to withdraw from the battle, and to Apollo to order him to heal Hector, who was wounded by the Achaeans. Apollo gave power to the prince, then appeared at the head of the Trojan army, waving the shield given to Zeus by Hephaestus and shouting terrifying cries to frighten the Greeks. After this, he kicked the edge of a ditch, forming a path for the Trojans, and demolished the wall of the Achaeans. The king of the gods returned to the midst of the battle, breaking the string of Teucer’s bow, thus deflecting the arrow that would have hit Hector. Apollo joined his father, deflecting Meges’ spear from Polidamas, son of Pantus, directly into the chest of Cresmus. Enraged, Zeus „always gives them encouragement and inflames their hearts, softening the resolve of the Achaeans and taking victory out of their hands„. In turn, Athena removed „a barrier of mist given by a god” from the Greeks’ eyes. The leader of the gods continued to help Hector: „With his powerful hand, Zeus keeps pushing him forward, along with his army.” Focused on the Trojan prince, Zeus realized too late that his son Sarpedon had been killed and his cousin Glaucus had been wounded. Zeus sent Apollo to heal Glaucus and to clean up Sarpedon’s corpse, then asked Hypnos and Thanatos to take the body to Lycia, where he would be buried by his relatives.
Three times Patroclus, Achilles’ beloved, tried to climb the walls of Troy and each time he was thrown down by Apollo. The fourth time the god asked him to retreat, because neither he nor Achilles was meant to conquer Troy. Patroclus had to yield to the god. Then, Apollo took the form of Asius, Hector’s uncle, and asked the Trojan prince to go and kill Achilles’ beloved. During the fight between the two, Apollo, hidden under a thick mist, hit Patroclus in the back, detached his armor, shattered his spear and threw away his shield and helmet. Euphorbus took advantage of the opportunity and thrust his spear into the unarmed hero’s back. At the same time, Hector plunged his spear into Patroclus’ belly. Some Greeks, including Menelaus, gathered around Patroclus’ body to prevent it being looted by the Trojans. Apollo continued to manipulate and took on the appearance of Mentes to tell Hector that Menelaus had killed Euphorbus. Zeus, in turn, sent a warrior spirit to the Trojan prince, filling his body with virtue and strength, then placed a mist over the Greeks guarding Patroclus’ body. Apollo continued his campaign of manipulation and, taking on the appearance of Epitian Periphas, informed Aeneas that Zeus still supported the Trojans. After this, the king of the gods sent Athena to incite the Greeks. She descended among them under a cloud, then took on the form of Phoenix and encouraged Menelaus, giving him courage and „strengthening his shoulders and knees„. Apollo took on the appearance of Phenops, Asius’ son, and informed Hector that Menelaus had killed Aetion. Zeus enveloped Mount Ida in clouds and made the Greeks flee, parting the mist only at the request of Telamonian Ajax.
After learning that his beloved Patroclus had been killed, Achilles desired revenge. His mother, goddess Thetis, asked him not to enter the battle until she returned with new weapons from Hephaestus. Sent by Hera, Iris asked Achilles to come forward before the Trojans to frighten them. Athena placed a shield with golden studs on Achilles’ back „and crowned him with a golden cloud on his head, and lit the shining flame on his crest„. Hera commanded the Sun to set early to stop the fierce battle. Athena drove the Trojans mad to make them listen Hector’s bad advice instead of Polydamas’ good advice. Eventually, Thetis brought new armor and weapons made by Hephaistos and placed „mad courage” in Achilles’ chest. At Zeus’ command, Athena poured ambrosia and nectar into the demigod’s chest. Having received the gift of speech from Hera, a horse named Balius told Achilles that Apollo had killed Patroclus and that he, in turn, would be killed by a man and a god. He did not get to say more because the Furies silenced him.
Fearing that Achilles would destroy the walls of Troy, Zeus asked the Olympians to intervene in the war: Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes and Hephaistos on the Achaeans’ side and Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Leto and Xanthos / Scamandrus on the Trojans’ side. During the battle, Athena began to shout at the Achaeans and Ares at the Trojans, Zeus thundered in the clouds and Poseidon shook Mount Ida. They even began to fight each other: Poseidon against Apollo, Athena against Ares, Hera against Artemis, Hermes against Leto and Hephaistos against Xanthos.
Taking on the appearance of Lycaon, Apollo gave demigod Aeneas „soar and strength” and asked him to attack Achilles. The gods stopped fighting and, hidden in mist, settled down to watch the two demigods’ confrontation. However, they did not just watch, but also intervened in crucial moments. To prevent Aeneas from being killed, Poseidon brought darkness over Achilles’ eyes and the spear of his opponent at his feet, which he took „from the ground, raising it in the air. Over the multitude of troops, horses and chariots, Aeneas flew lifted by the god’s hand and reached the end of the tumultuous noise of weapons„. There, the god advised him to stay away from Achilles, then turned and „quickly scattered the mist over Achilles’ eyes„. Seeing that Aeneas had disappeared, Hector took his place. When he threw his spear, „Pallas Athena gently blew it and turned it towards Hector from Achilles, where it fell at his feet„. Achilles retaliated, but Apollo hid Hector in a mist. The goddess Thetis’ son, left without opponents, began to chase the Trojans. Many of them drowned in the Xanthos river due to a thick mist created by Hera. God Xanthos ignited the fire in Asteropeus’ soul to face Achilles, but the demigod was unstoppable. Seeing this, Xanthos asked him not to kill Trojans and Apollo to protect the Trojan warriors. Because Thetis’ son did not listen, Xanthos unleashed his waters towards him. Poseidon and Athena encouraged the demigod and Hera sent Hephaistos to stop Xanthos. After the battle between the two gods, Hera agreed for Hephaistos and Xanthos to withdraw from the fight. Athena defeated Ares, who was saved by Aphrodite, sent by Hera to stop the goddess of wisdom. However, Athena also defeated Aphrodite. In turn, Hera defeated Artemis. Poseidon and Apollo decided not to fight anymore. Hermes also refused to confront Leto. Apollo hid Agenor in a thick mist so that Achilles wouldn’t kill him, then took his form to lure the demigod away from Troy. When Achilles realized he had been deceived, he returned to the besieged city, where he found Hector and began chasing him around Troy. Apollo saved the Trojan prince by giving him „a fiery heart and swift feet„.
Zeus had to balance the fate of Hector and Achilles, then allowed Athena to do as she pleased, while also forcing Apollo to withdraw from the fight. With her father’s approval, Athena encouraged Achilles and then tricked Hector. The goddess took on the appearance of Deiphobos (one of Hector’s brothers) and proposed to the Trojan hero that they defeat the Myrmidon demigod together. The three found themselves face to face and began fighting. Achilles threw his spear at Hector and missed his target, but Athena secretly returned it to him. In turn, Hector threw his spear at his opponent, relying on Deiphobos’ support. When he realized he had been deceived by Athena, it was too late. Left without a weapon, he was killed by Achilles. Aphrodite guarded the Trojan prince’s body and mourned him, while Apollo placed a cloud over him so that he wouldn’t dry out in the Sun. At Achilles’ request, Iris called upon two winds to light Patroclus’ pyre. Later, in the chariot race of the Achaeans, Apollo flew Diomedes Tydides’ whip out of his hand, but Athena returned it to him and urged on his horses, while also breaking Eumelos’ harness. In order for Odysseus to win the race, Athena made his arms, legs and body swift, while Ajax the Locrian hindered him. Achilles did not compete, as he was preoccupied with humiliating his opponent even after his death: he tied Hector’s body to his chariot and dragged it around Troy for 12 days. Apollo could not watch that cruelty and covered the Trojan prince’s body with a large shield of gold, to prevent it from being destroyed. After 12 days, Apollo asked the gods to stop Achilles. At Zeus’ command, Iris advised King Priam to ransom his son and Thetis advised Achilles to accept the deal. Zeus sent Hermes to accompany the Trojan king to the Myrmidons’ camp to meet Achilles. Hermes put the guards to sleep, thus facilitating King Priam’s access.
The Epic Cycle have additional details of the Trojan War, which show the same interference of the gods in the events. Cypria, attributed to Stasinus of Cyprus, claims that Zeus and Themis plotted the Trojan War after Zeus unleashed the Theban War. At the urging of Aphrodite, Paris built a ship and sailed to Sparta to meet the beautiful Helen. It was also Aphrodite who commanded her son Aeneas to accompany Paris and who pushed Helen into the Trojan prince’s arms. When the two lovers fled from Sparta in secret, under the cover of darkness, Hera sent them a storm and their ship was pushed by winds into the port of Sidon. Meanwhile, one of Helen’s brothers, Castor, was killed, and Zeus agreed that he and his twin brother, Pollux (Poludeukes in original), should enjoy immortality once every two days. Goddess Iris informed Menelaus that his wife had fled with Paris. As the Greek fleet gathered in Aulis, Agamemnon, Menelaus’ brother, boasted that he could shoot with his bow better than Artemis. Filled with rage, the goddess stirred up storms at sea to prevent the Greeks from leaving. The only way to appease the divine archer’s anger was for Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter. However, Artemis abducted the virgin and took her to Taurida (today’s Crimea), where she offered her immortality, after replacing her on the altar with a doe. After the war began, a secret meeting took place between Achilles and Helen, with the help of the goddesses Aphrodite and Thetis. In Aethiopis, Arctinus of Miletus claimed that demigod Memnon, king of Ethiopia, also gained immortality, thanks to his mother Eos’ insistence on Zeus. After Achilles’ death, his mother, Themis, took his lifeless body from the pyre and brought it to the island of Leuke (today’s Snake Island in the Black Sea).
The end of the Trojan War, which is missing from Homer’s book, is also described in the Epic Cycle. After ten years of fighting, the battle ended only due to Odysseus’ extraordinary intelligence. Several Achaeans hidden in a huge wooden horse, which was taken into Troy, came out secretly at night and opened the city gates, letting in the entire Greek army. Troy was destroyed, with only a few survivors managing to escape. Some of them, led by the demigod Aeneas, migrated east and their descendants were the founders of Rome. During the final battle, god Apollo directed Paris’ arrow towards Achilles’ heel, his only vulnerable spot, causing the demigod’s death. Zeus’ wife, Hera, brought Achilles’ spirit to the Snake Island in the Black Sea, where she also brought the beautiful Helen to be the hero’s consort for eternity.
In Homer’s Odyssey, Athena took on the form of Mentes, Telemachus, the daughter of Dimas and a maiden, and even changed Odysseus’ appearance. Once she covered him with a mist. Furthermore, she put to sleep the suitors of Penelope, Odysseus’ wife. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Iris turned into Beroe, Neptune into Forbas, Apollo into Butes and Iuturna into Camers and Metiseus. Venus pretended to be a Spartan maiden, which made her son scold her: „Why, merciless one, do you deceive your son so many times with empty appearances?„. Juno prevented the Trojans from reaching Italy. Athena destroyed the Argive fleet. In Carthage, Venus covered the Trojans „in a mist and wrapped them in a thick cloak of fog so that no one could see them or approach them and delay them on their way, asking where they came from„. During the fight between the Trojans and the Italic tribes, Juno diverted Pandarus’ spear aimed at Turnus, while Venus diverted the Rutuli spears that were coming towards her son. Jupiter incited Tarchon to fight, while goddess Opis killed Aruns.
Although in Antiquity Homer’s story was considered a chronicle of real events, over time it has become a mere fabrication in the general conception. Even the famous city of Troy has turned into a fantastic place, invented by the Greek poet. Until 1822, when Scottish journalist and geologist Charles Maclaren suggested that Troy had existed in reality and that its ruins could be found on Mount Hissarlik in Turkey. English amateur archaeologist Frank Calvert began excavations on that mountain, but it was the German businessman Heinrich Schliemann who discovered Troy, continuing Calvert’s work in the 1870s. Archaeological discoveries revealed traces of a brutal war, just like the one described by Homer and the other authors of the Epic Cycle. The discovery of Troy shocked the world and from that moment on, mythology was viewed differently. Not as a fabrication, but as a possible forgotten history. People began to raise questions: if Troy really existed, as did the war in the Iliad, what else from Homer’s writings is real? Perhaps even the gods?
As real as Troy and the Trojan War may have been, Homer’s Iliad is just a mixture of the famous Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. The longest epic poem ever written, Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa, describes the war between two clans, Kaurava and Pandava, which took place in northern India around 1400 BC. Dividing themselves into two sides, the gods participated in the war, influencing it as much as they wanted. They offered weapons, strategies and ships (called vimanas) to mortals and even intervened directly in battle. As an example of weapons given to mortals by deities, Agni gave Vasudeva the Saora disc, Shiva offered Arjuna the Pashupat weapon, Arjuna also received the Antaradhana weapon from Kubera and the Kaurava clan used the divine Narayana weapon against their rivals. The founder of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, claimed in The Secret Doctrine that Mahabharata refers to the historical conflict between the Suryavanshis (worshipers of the Sun) and the Indavanshis (worshipers of the Moon).
The second source of inspiration for Homer, Valmiki’s Ramayana, includes not only the battle between the gods, but also the kidnapping of the wife as the reason for the war. In Ramayana, king of Lanka, the demon Ravana, abducted Prince Rama (considered god Vishnu’s incarnation)’s wife. Therefore, Rama, along with one of his brothers and an army of monkeys led by Hanuman, besieged Lanka. As in Mahabharata, weapons and ships received from the gods were used here as well. And, as in the Iliad, the husband regained his wife at the end of the lengthy war. It seems that Ramayana is not as original as it may seem, as there is a similar, much older Indian legend. Here, Sukra abducted Tara, god Indra’s charioteer’s wife; Rudra and other gods came to the husband’s aid, starting a fierce war. In the end, Tara gave birth to a son named Budah, whose father was Soma.
Discovering Mahabharata, Greek writer Dion Chrysostomos (who lived at the beginning of the first millennium AD) believed that Homer’s writings had reached India, suggesting that the Iliad had been translated into Sanskrit. However, it has been proven that the Indian poem is much older than the Homeric work. The similarities between the Iliad (and the Epic Cycle) and the two much older Indian poems demonstrate that the Greeks drew inspiration from Indian literature to embellish the story of the Trojan War. One of the best examples is Achilles’ heel. In post-Homeric mythology, the great hero of the Trojan War was bathed at birth by his mother in the River Styx, one of the seven that surrounds the Underworld. As a result, the boy became invincible, his only vulnerable part being the heel held by his mother, goddess Thetis, as she immersed him in the waters of the Styx. At the end of the Trojan War, Achilles met his death when he was shot by Paris, whose arrow was deflected by Apollo into his vulnerable heel. Achilles is not the only one with a vulnerable heel, as is also the case with Krishna, one of the main characters of Mahabharata. Bathed at birth by his mother in a river, Krishna became invincible, his only vulnerable part being his left heel, by which he was held. After the Bharata War was over, Krishna returned to his city, Dvaraka. There, in a forest near the city, a hunter mistook him for a deer and shot him in his vulnerable heel, killing him. After Krishna’s death, his spirit ascended to the heavenly paradise of Goloka and his city, Dvaraka, was submerged in the ocean, as Mahabharata claims. Krishna’s city has been identified with Dvaraka on the west coast of India. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of the city’s past flooding. Inspired by this discovery, they extended their research to the depths of the waters near the city. At only 20 meters below the water’s surface, divers found traces of a prosperous ancient port, with paved streets and sandstone walls. Researchers have concluded that those submerged ruins are the remains of Krishna’s legendary city of Dvaraka, one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism. Ancient Hindu texts claim that at one point, a king from Salwa attacked Dvaraka with his flying ship, named Saubha Vimana. He used energy weapons similar to lightning bolts, which destroyed much of the city. Krishna responded to the attack with equally terrible weapons, arrows that resembled lightning or Sun rays and made thunder-like sounds. In the end, the god emerged victorious, killing his adversary.
Traces of battles between gods, in which destructive weapons were used, can be found in Kot Diji and Harrapa in India, as well as in Mohenjo Daro in southern Pakistan. Here, the sand has vitrified and the rocks have turned into tektites, implying the use of atomic-like weapons. Similar traces are also found in Peru (at Sacsayhuaman), in Iraq, in the Gobi desert (near Hara-Hoto), in Luana’s Country in Romania, in Death Valley in Nevada, near the Dead Sea, in Lebanon, in France, in Scotland, in Chile, in Australia and in South Africa. Everywhere, the wars of the gods have made human victims, an example being Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan, a city with high levels of radiation, in which 44 perfectly preserved skeletons were found buried under the street, face down, which animals refused to approach.
Perhaps to confirm the archaeological discoveries, Allah, prophet Muhammad’s god, who usually uses the plural when referring to himself (suggesting that there are more than one deity, not just one), often boasts in the Quran about the destruction of many cities: „How many a town have we destroyed? Our might came upon them by night, or while they were napping” (7:4), „And these towns – we destroyed them when they committed injustices, and we set for their destruction an appointed time” (18:59), „How many a guilty town have we crushed, and established thereafter another people?” (21:11), „And how many a city did we destroy for turning unappreciative of its livelihood? Here are their homes, uninhabited after them, except for a few. And we became the Inheritors” (28:58).
In Homer’s Iliad, the gods involved in the war change their appearance, travel in flying vehicles, become invisible, instill certain qualities in mortals, hinder others, abduct people, manipulate, fight side by side with mortals and control the weather. Even if it all seems like Homer’s invention, who was inspired by the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, these godly actions are found in myths from all over the world, including modern ones related to extraterrestrials. They support the idea that the gods have often been involved in human wars, sometimes even provoking them. And, as usual, mankind has suffered.
In the 24th century BC, Sargon the Great founded the Akkadian Empire. He claimed that god Enlil had given him the throne. In a campaign over the Zagros Mountains, Sargon claimed that goddess Ishtar had lighted his way. Although Enlil offered him the throne, Sargon acknowledged that his accession was due primarily to goddess Ishtar, his lover. King Shulgi of Ur (who called her „Queen, vulva of heaven and Earth„) and King Iddin-Dagan of Uruk were also among her mortal lovers. According to myths, Ishtar was one of the most eager for war deities. One text states that she attacked Arabia at one point. In another text she sent seven kings from Iran with 360,000 men against Akkad. Also, the inscriptions left by the Assyrian kings describe how they went to war at her order, how she advised them when to attack and when to wait, how she often marched at the head of the armies and how, at least once, she appeared before everyone. In exchange for their loyalty, Ishtar promised the kings long lives and success. And, probably, sealed the agreement with… divine sex.
In Sorla Tattr, a 14th century text, Freyja became the concubine of the supreme god Odin, who loved her madly. At one point, the goddess had sex with four dwarves to receive a golden necklace. Learning of her deed, Odin took the necklace and only returned it to her when she agreed to cast a spell on two kings to fight each other endlessly.
Naram-Sin, Sargon the Great’s nephew, claimed to have received „the Weapon of the God„, which he used to defeat his enemies. God Nergal gave him Arman, Ibla, Amanus and Mount Cedars. Once, Ishtar commanded the king to profane Enlil’s temple in Nippur. In response, Enlil asked the hordes of Gutium to attack Akkad, which thus avenged the Sumerians conquered by the Akkadians, and the capital Agade was wiped off the face of the earth. The Gutians ruled Mesopotamia for 91 years and 40 days, with Lagash being their headquarters. During this time, god Ninurta restored agriculture and the irrigation system. After the Gutian victory, Anu and Enlil implanted the weapon Shuhadaku in the city of Kish; when Sumerian king Utu-hegal raised this weapon against the Gutians he besieged, he fell dead.
Also in the 22nd century BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I fought at the gods Ashur and Ninurta’s command. By the gods Anu and Adad’s orders, the king went to the mountains of Lebanon.
Legends from Fengshen Yanyi („The Investiture of the Gods”, a Chinese novel from the 16th century) refer to an era of wonders that existed four millennia ago, in which aerial battles took place. Rival factions fought for China’s domination, aided by gods who supported one side or another.
Ur-Nammu, king of Sumer in the 21st century BC, considered the goddess Ninsun’s son, received from Enlil a „divine weapon that turned rebels into heaps„, which he used to attack „hostile territories, destroy evil cities and annihilate their opposition„, and a code of laws from the sun-god Utu.
Shu-Sin, the second to last ruler of the Neo-Sumerian Empire, boasted in an inscription that „Holy Inanna, endowed with amazing qualities, first daughter of Sin„, gave him weapons to „attack the enemy country that is disobedient„. Later, „to extend Shu-Sin’s prosperity and extend his reign„, goddess Ninlil gave him a „radiant weapon that strikes (…) whose terrifying lightning reaches up to heaven„.
Around 1800 BC, god Marduk gave Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon, not only the famous code of laws, but also a very powerful weapon.
The Hittite kingdom flourished around 1750 BC, starting to decline five centuries later. The Hittites claimed that they expanded their kingdom at the command of god Tarhun (called Teshub by the Hurrians), who often fought alongside them. Not only Tarhun appeared on the battlefield among the Hittites, but so did Ishtar.
Although the Pictish kingdom was established in northern Scotland around 450 – 600 AD, their legends mention the help they received in 1500 BC from „a people who came from the Far North in flying ships„, as recorded by Rodica Bretin in The Files of the Impossible.
According to pharaoh Tuthmosis III, the Egyptians defeated a coalition of Canaanite kings at Megiddo in 1470 BC, at god Amun’s command. The pharaoh claimed that the god had asked him to expand Egypt’s borders by conquering the Middle East. At Megiddo, Amun proposed that the pharaoh launch a bold frontal attack against the enemy. Tuthmosis thus succeeded in defeating the enemy, thanks to the protection and advice of the god, and the defeated army was forced to recognize Amun’s sovereignty.
A text inscribed on the lower part of a scarab mentions god Aten leading pharaoh Tuthmosis IV’s army in battle in the 14th century BC. Tuthmosis is the one who restored the Great Sphinx of Giza after god Horus commanded him in a dream to do so. This was recorded on a stele placed between the Sphinx’ front paws.
In 1286 BC, in the battle of Kadesh (in Lebanon) against the Hittites, near the Orontes River, Ramses II was aided by Amun. The pharaoh recounted that at one point he found himself alone, surrounded by 2,500 enemy chariots. He prayed to Amun and the god gave his hand the power of 100,000 soldiers, so that Ramses was able to carve his way through the enemies alone. Additionally, goddess Sekhmet was seen on Ramses’ horses blowing flames that burned the enemy soldiers.
After Hittite King Muwatalli’s death, the Egyptians and Hittites signed a peace treaty, as they were being attacked by the Sea Peoples from Greece and Crete. These were the Philistines of the Old Testament, whom Pharaoh Ramses III claimed to have defeated with Amun-Ra’s help.
In the 9th century BC, Assyrian king Shalmaneser III claimed to have received weapons from the gods Ashur and Ninurta.
In Iliad, Homer wrote that because Oineus of the city of Calydon did not offer sacrifices to Artemis, she sent a wild boar that destroyed all his trees. The boar was killed by Meleager, Oineus’ son. Then, the goddess stirred up „battle and uproar” between the Aetolians and the Curetes, each demanding the boar’s skin and head. Meleager killed his mother’s brother and she demanded revenge from the gods Hades and Persephone. „The wanderer of the shades, Fury, the cruel avenger” listened to her and the Curetes attacked Calydon. Also in the Iliad, Homer claims that when the city of Pylos was attacked by the people of Elis, Athena called the city’s inhabitants to arms. When Nestor tried to kill Actorus’ sons, the Molionids, Poseidon „carried them off from the battle and wrapped them in thick mist” to protect them.
In the Old Testament, the god of the Jews often provoked conflicts among mortals. In Exodus he sent ten plagues upon Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave the country. After they crossed the sea with the waters parted by Moses, „in the morning watch Yahweh looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for Yahweh fighteth for them against the Egyptians” (14:24-25). Then he told Moses to raise his hand over the sea, so that the waters would drown the Egyptians, „and Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea” (14:27). In the Book of Joshua, before the siege of Jericho, „captain of the host of Yahweh” (5:14) appeared before Joshua and asked him to take off his sandals, as he was standing on holy ground. Then, the god taught him to march around the city for seven days, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and on the seventh day the priests were to blow seven ram’s horns, after which the Israelites were to make a loud noise. Thus, the walls of Jericho fell and the Israelites were able to capture the city. In 2 Kings in the Old Testament, when the Syrians were preparing to attack the Israelites, „Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (6:17). At his prophet’s request, Yahweh blinded the attacking Syrians. Yahweh’s army was also seen by Jacob in Genesis: „And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of Yahweh met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is Yahweh’s host” (32:1-2). Yahweh’s warlike tendencies against mankind are also evident in the Book of Isaiah: „For the indignation of Yahweh is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter” (34:2). In the same biblical book, prophet Isaiah acknowledges that his god provokes wars throughout the Earth: „I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land” (13:3-5). Yahweh’s army was not only seen in biblical times. In 66 AD, Roman commander Cestius withdrew his troops from Jerusalem apparently for no reason. The Romans returned in 70 AD, led by Titus, and besieged the city. Historian Flavius Josephus wrote in The Jewish War about the reason for the Roman retreat in 66 AD: „a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple], as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, ‘Let us remove hence’” (Book VI, Chapter 5).
In a chronicle of the Battle of Halule in 691 BC, written in cuneiform on a clay tablet, Assyrian king Sennacherib wrote: „I prayed to Ashur, Sin, Shamash, Bel, Nabu, Nergal, Ishtar of Nineveh and Ishtar of Arbela, my protecting gods, to grant me victory over the mighty enemy. The gods heard my prayer and came to my aid (…) I grasped the powerful bow which was given to me by Ashur and took up in my hands the death-dealing arrows (…) By the command of Ashur, the great lord, I fell upon the enemy in front and on both flanks, like the onset of a violent storm. With the weapons of Ashur, my lord, and under the pressure of my fierce onslaught, I turned their breasts into a raging torrent and I made them turn back (…) We stopped the battle only after two hours had passed twice„. In 689 BC, Sennacherib conquered Babylon, ordering his soldiers to loot and destroy the city. In one of his inscriptions, Asarhaddon, Sennacherib’s son, explained the reason for his father’s destruction of Babylon. The main culprit was „the god Marduk, the main god of Babylon, who became angry and subjected the city to a heavy sentence, as punishment for the sins of its inhabitants. By the will of Marduk, the city was destroyed from its foundations, covered by the waters of the Arahtu canal and turned into an impenetrable swamp”. Sennacherib also conquered Sidon, Tyre, Byblos, Akko, Ashdod and Ashkelon with the help of a weapon received from the god Ashur. He also subjugated the kingdom of Judah, but did not use Ashur’s weapon against Jerusalem.
Herodotus wrote that when Sennacherib attacked Egypt, Pharaoh Sethon asked his god for help. The god appeared to him in a dream and told him not to worry, as he would send help. In Pelusium, one night, „field mice came in very large numbers and destroyed the quivers, bows and shield handles” of the Assyrian soldiers, „so that in the morning they fled unarmed and many of them were killed„. In the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, this divine salvation did not take place in Pelusium, but in Jerusalem. Upon receiving the Pharaoh’s request for help, Jewish king Hezekiah prayed to his god, who spoke through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah that he would take care of Sennacherib. „And the angel of Yahweh went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh” (37:36-37).
When his brothers wanted to kill him, Esarhaddon, Sennacherib’s son, was hidden by the gods, then Ishtar fought against his enemies. The king of Assyria said on a stone slab discovered at Zenjirli (in northern Syria) that god Ashur had handed him „an unbeatable scepter, for defeating enemies” and, along with the great gods, he commanded him to attack Egypt.
In the 7th century BC, Assyrian king Ashurbanipal used the „Weapon of Brilliance” against the Egyptians, received from the gods. He noted on a ten-sided clay prism that god Ashur had commanded him to conquer Manna and Elam. In 667 BC, gods Ashur, Bel and Nabu fought alongside him against the Nubian pharaoh Taharqa. Overcome by the aura of Ashur and Ishtar, Taharqa walked around like a madman, as the Assyrian chronicles noted. An Assyrian royal inscription tells the story of god Ashur appearing to the Lydian king Gyges in a dream, telling him that he would only defeat his enemies if he surrendered to Ashurbanipal. In 664 BC, during Ashurbanipal’s campaign against Egypt, 150 soldiers led by Sharru-kan disappeared with their battle chariots on their way to Thebes. The disappearance, recorded in Ashurbanipal’s library in Nineveh, was attributed to the gods. The traces of the chariots and soldiers ended suddenly. The Egyptians in the area said they saw a huge cloud that descended to the ground, probably responsible for the disappearance of the Assyrian soldiers. This incident is very similar to that of Company E of the Royal Norfolk battalion of the British Army, which disappeared without a trace on 12th August 1915, in the Dardanelles (near the ruins of Troy), while preparing to face the Turkish enemies. No one knows where and why the 266 British soldiers disappeared, but it is certain that none of their bodies were found on the battlefield and the Turks did not take any prisoners. Only in 1965, Frederick Reichardt, a former engineer of the New Zealand Army, recounted that on that day of 12th August 1915, a formation of about eight clouds was just above Company E. The clouds slowly descended to the ground, covering the 266 soldiers. When the clouds lifted, Company E was no longer there. The strangest such disappearance occurred in 1930, when all 2,000 Eskimo inhabitants of a village on the shore of Lake Anjikuni in northern Canada disappeared. All their clothes, tools, weapons and provisions were untouched, all their sled dogs had died of starvation and lay under a thick layer of snow and the corpses from the Eskimo cemetery had been dug up, so that all human remains had disappeared from that area. The legends of the Eskimos say that their ancestors were brought to the north by giant „iron birds„. Did the same flying machines abduct the 2,000 villagers?
In 660 BC, during the battle between the army of Jimmu-tenno (Japan’s first emperor) and the bandits of Nagasune-hiko, the sky was suddenly covered in clouds, the wind began to blow, the drizzle started and a golden kite appeared in the sky, shining like a huge planet, which then landed on the emperor’s bow. The bright light emitted by it blinded the bandits, thus helping the emperor win the battle.
God Marduk ordered Nebuchadnezzar II, the ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the builder of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), to lead his army to the west, to Lebanon. The Old Testament claims that Yahweh commanded Nebuchadnezzar II to attack Egypt and Judah. In 597 BC he captured Jerusalem and in 586 BC he destroyed the city, deporting a large part of the Jewish population to Babylon. The Bible states that Yahweh decreed that the desolation of Jerusalem would last for 70 years and the same was decreed by Marduk for his Babylon, according to Babylonian chronicles.
In 556 BC, Nabonid became the last ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He wrote that his coronation took place „on the first day of his appearance„, when god Sin, using „Anu’s weapon„, defeated his enemies with a ray of light. In gratitude, Nabonid rebuilt Sin’s temple, Ehulhul, declared Sin the supreme god and revived the cult of the god’s two children, Inanna and Utu.
On 20th March 538 BC, Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon at Marduk’s command, who walked with the king. He then ordered that all the gods from Sumer and Akkad, which Nabonid had brought to Babylon, be returned to their cities. According to the Old Testament, Cyrus was also chosen by Yahweh to free the Jews from the Babylonian exile and then to rebuild the Great Temple in Jerusalem.
In On the Nature of the Gods, Roman politician and philosopher Cicero noted that in 498 BC, the divine twins Castor and Pollux helped the Romans defeat the Tusculans at Lake Regillus.
Greek historians Herodotus in Histories and Plutarch in Theseus asserted that during the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, many Athenians saw a superhuman character fighting on their side against the Persians. Then, the Athenians swore that the gods descended from heaven and helped them to achieve victory. Ten years earlier, unidentified flying objects appeared above the Salamis area, where the Greeks destroyed the invading fleet of the Persian Emperor Xerxes.
Around 220 AD, the gods asked in a dream the Empress of Japan, Jingo-kogo, to conquer the land of Chosen (present-day Korea). Her husband opposed the idea, angering the gods, and immediately died in battle. After the emperor’s death, Jingo set sail with 3,000 ships and conquered Chosen as the gods instructed. The deities appeared before and behind the expedition. The Korean king was terrified of the divine invaders and immediately surrendered.
According to Lactantius, in 312 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine I was told in a dream to „place the heavenly sign of God on his soldiers’ shields„. According to Eusebius, during his march towards Rome, Constantine „saw with his own eyes in the heavens a cross of fire rising from the Sun’s light, bearing the message In Hoc Signo Vinces or ‘In this sign you will conquer’„. The following night, Jesus appeared to the emperor in a dream with the same sign and asked him to carry a banner with the same shape at the front of his army. Constantine did as he was told and defeated his rival, Maxentius.
In The History of Britain, Nennius wrote that Saint Germanus prayed to his god for three days and nights. On the third night, at three o’clock, a fire fell from the sky and ignited Vortigern’s entire castle, killing him and his women. There are similar episodes in the Old Testament. In 2 Chronicles, after King Solomon finished his prayer, „the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Yahweh filled the house” (7:1). In 1 Kings, during a contest against against Baal’s and Ashera’s prophets, Elijah prayed to his god and „Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench” (18:38). In 2 Kings, at Elijah’s request, „the fire of Yahweh came down from heaven” (1:12) twice, burning a messenger and 50 soldiers of King Ahaziah each time.
Matthew Paris wrote in Historia Anglorum („History of the English”) that in 1099, while the Crusaders besieged Jerusalem, a shining knight suddenly appeared on the Mount of Olives, waving a glowing shield, calling on the discouraged Crusaders to launch a new attack. A mysterious knight also appeared on 26th September 1914, near Mons (Belgium), when the British fought the Germans, who were superior in number and equipment. Hundreds of archers in medieval garments suddenly appeared between the two sides, led by a knight in armor riding a white horse. The archers shot arrows at the Germans, giving the British a chance to regroup in a favorable position, then they disappeared.
In the 15th century, Joan of Arc, nicknamed „The Maid of Orleans„, claimed to have received visions from archangel Michael, Saint Marina and Saint Catherine, who ordered her to free France from English domination. Some military victories made the French truly believe she was a messenger of the Divine. It is said that after the coronation of Charles VII, the voices stopped talking to her. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on 30th May 1431, in the Vieux-Marche square in Rouen, uttering the name of Jesus on her lips, convinced she had fulfilled her mission.
It seems that the Second World War was also orchestrated by these deities. It is said that Adolf Hitler studied the theory of Hollow Earth, convinced of the existence of Agartha, an underground world inhabited by superior entities. His personal astrologer, named Karl Erns Kraft, claimed to have come from Agartha. The Thule Society, which directed Adolf Hitler from the shadows, believed in „communication with a hierarchy of Supermen – the Secret Rulers of the Third Order„. Heinrich Himmler brought in his base in Wewelsburg Castle mediums who claimed to be able to contact non-human beings, one of these mediums being Maria Orsic, the leader of the Vriligen group. As Trevor Ravenscroft recounted in his book The Spear of Destiny, the Thule Society regularly organized occult sessions where participants communicated with demons who appeared to them as guiding spirits. Ravenscroft claimed that „participation in these sadistic rituals aroused penetrating visions of Malefic Intelligences in the participants, endowing them with phenomenal magical powers„. Whether we are talking about „magical powers” or technological information, it seems that the Germans received this knowledge. In 1938, in Berlin, chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann split the uranium atom and discovered atomic fission, the basis of nuclear energy. Also in World War II, Germany had the most advanced military technology in the world: jet planes, high-precision bombers and remote-controlled rockets. The Germans also had two extraordinary weapons for that time, the V1 and V2 rockets. Their inventor, Dr. Wernher Von Braun, the commander of Hitler’s space project and later one of the key architects of NASA, declared in 1959: „We are faced with forces much more powerful than we have believed until now, whose origin is currently unknown to us” and „I cannot say more now, but we are engaged in a process of contacting these forces„. Five years earlier, his professor and one of the fathers of astronautics, Hermann Oberth, stated: „UFOs are designed and directed by highly intelligent beings. They do not originate from our solar system and perhaps not even from our galaxy„. A year later, Oberth wrote in an article: „I do not believe that Russia manufactures UFOs; on the contrary, I believe that they originate exclusively outside of Earth„. Regarding the high military technology of the Germans during World War II, Hermann Oberth, at that time a member of the rocket program, said they were helped in this regard by „people from other worlds„. Also, in 1970, UFO researcher Allen Greenfield met Wernher Von Braun at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base while studying declassified files. When asked how he developed so much technology in such a short time, Von Braun confessed that he was helped by extraterrestrials. Confirmation that certain entities orchestrated everything comes from the United States; during the Cold War, the CIA initiated a secret program led by Dr. Andrija Puharich, which made contact with a group of nine entities who claimed to be the gods of the Ancient Egypt, the Elohim of the Jews, the aeons of the Gnostics and God, who „is nothing but us together, the Nine Principles of the Lord. There is no other God than us, the Nine, united„. Regarding World War II, the Nine said that Hitler’s atrocities were part of their plan, necessary for the establishment of the state of Israel.
Many legends from all over the world speak of the involvement of the gods in humans’ wars. In the book The Gods of Eden from 1993, William Bradley hypothesized the participation of extraterrestrials in almost any major catastrophe in human history and even the use of war as a means of population control. Many scientists, including the famous physicist Stephen Hawking, believe that extraterrestrials could be a threat to us and suggest that we do everything possible to avoid contact with them. Nick Pope, who led the Secretariat 2(a) of the Air Staff at the UK Ministry of Defense between 1991 and 1994, noted in his 1996 book: „We have no evidence that a very real phenomenon like UFOs is harmless„. William Bradley may be partially right: the gods not only participated in almost any major catastrophe in human history, including wars, but they may have even caused them, as legends suggest. It has been noticed that the number of UFO sightings always increases during wartime. For example, from September 1939, when the Second World War started, there were numerous reports of UFO sightings above Germany, which American pilots called „foo fighters„. In Prodigiorum Libellus („The Book of Prodigies”), Julius Obsequens recorded bright lights above ancient Rome, which appeared shortly before an earthquake. According to Nihongi, on the eleventh day of the eighth month of the year 682, an object shaped as a Buddhist baptism flag and colored as a flame floated in the emptiness towards the north, being seen in all provinces, then sank into the sea of Koshi. On that day, white steam rose from Mount Sunrise, the size of four marine stanzas. The next day there was a great earthquake and another one after six days. At dawn on that day, a rainbow appeared in the middle of the sky, on the opposite side of the Sun. On a stele on the Egyptian island of Seheil it is written that there has been a famine for seven years, with the god Khnum being blamed for this. He told pharaoh Djoser of the Third Dynasty that he would stop preventing the Nile from flooding only when his temple in Elephantine was restored and received a regular income from Nubian wealth. According to the Westcar Papyrus, Khnum is the god who put „health” in the bodies of the first three kings of the Fifth Dynasty, just as the gods in the Iliad strengthened their favorite mortals. Also in the Old Testament, the god of the Jews caused drought, famine and plagues countless times, the most well-known of such actions being the plagues against Egypt during the time of Moses.
If we notice their involvement in humans’ wars from myths, while the so-called natural disasters can be explained by the use of weapons similar to the American H.A.A.R.P. (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program), the question remains: how did the gods cause plagues? The answer is provided by the writer William Bradley. In his 1993 book, The Gods of Eden, he quotes private journals and other publications from throughout medieval Europe that contain reports of cigar-shaped objects emitting a toxic fog. The first reports of this kind date back to the mid-14th century, during the outbreak of the Black Plague, which killed over 75 million people. Testimonies of shiny objects emitting fog are found in both Europe and China and support the idea that this fog caused cholera and the plague. For example, Italian historian Matteo Villani wrote about the fog noticed by travelers from Asia, who were convinced they could see the plague moving. There were also many reports of creatures with black cloaks and terrifying faces appearing on the outskirts of villages just before the onset of the plague, holding objects resembling scythes from which the toxic fog emanated. These creatures served as the model for the well-known image of the Grim Reaper. And we can only thank the „loving” gods for these „gifts”…
The gods used mist to hide themselves and those they protected. In Homer’s Iliad, the gods most often abducted people by hiding them in a dense mist or cloud. To avoid being killed by Menelaus, Paris was taken by Aphrodite „through the mist to his chamber„. Apollo also transported Aeneas in the same way: „He caught him up in his arms from the black cloud„. In Song 5, Homer writes about Ideus: „He would not have escaped death if Hephaistos had not saved him, protecting him in the night mist„. Apollo, hidden in a dense mist, struck Patroclus from behind, allowing Euphorbos and Hector to kill Achilles’ beloved. Zeus placed a mist over the Achaeans who guarded Patroclus’ body to protect them from the Trojans. The gods involved in the war hid under the mist to watch the battle between the demigods Aeneas and Achilles. When Nestor wanted to kill the sons of Actorus, the Moliones, Poseidon snuck them „from the war into the dense mist, wrapping them up„. In Homer’s Odyssey, Athena covered Odysseus with a mist. Also, in Virgil’s Aeneid, Venus covered the Trojans „in a mist and wrapped them in a dense cloak of fog, so that no one could see them or approach them and ask them where they came from„.
In modern times, many people who claim to have had close encounters of the third kind describe being abducted by clouds in which extraterrestrial ships were hidden. Therefore, we can only assume that the clouds / mist / fog around the gods represent a camouflage system for their flying vehicles. This is also found in myths from all over the world, including the Bible. For example, in chapter 9 of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus went up to Mount Tabor in Galilee with three of his apostles. There, Moses and Elijah appeared and talked to Jesus about his impending crucifixion. „While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud” (9:34). After the cloud departed, Jesus was left alone with his three apostles. In the Old Testament, when Yahweh descended on Mount Sinai to speak with Moses, he did so in the form of a fire within a thick smoke, undoubtedly referring to a flying device camouflaged in mist / fog / clouds: „And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because Yahweh descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly” (Exodus 19:18), „And Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Yahweh” (Exodus 34:5). When Moses spoke with his god, „the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and Yahweh talked with Moses” (Exodus 33:9). During the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, an angel hidden in a cloud by day and in a flame at night showed them the way. At one point, the angel placed the cloud between the two camps, covering the camp of the Egyptians, just as Zeus did in the Iliad when he brought a mist over the Greeks: „And the angel of Yahweh, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus 14:19-20). Psalm 97 also speaks of a cloud around the god of the Jews: „Yahweh reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne” (1-2). The cloud as a divine means of transportation is also mentioned in other biblical books: „And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire” (Ezekiel 1:4). In the Gospel of Matthew it is written that „they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (24:30) and „Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (26:64). Also, let us remembered that one of Baal Hadad’s epithets in Canaan was „the rider of the clouds„.
If the gods often hid their shuttles in mist / clouds during their flight, when landing they needed other hiding places, for which they appealed to human help. According to ancient writings, the gods used their temples as hangars for their aerial vehicles. In the 22nd century BC, King Gudea of Lagash wrote that god Ningirsu / Ninurta appeared to him in a dream, having „the Divine Black Bird” (the god’s ship) with him. Ningirsu asked the king to build him a new temple, called Eninnu. God Ningishzidda, who accompanied Ningirsu, offered the king the plan of the temple. When everything was ready and Gudea was celebrating the construction of Ningirsu’s temple in Lagash, the god, „who shone like the Sun„, came with two other gods, all standing next to the „divine bird of the raging wind„. Once placed in the temple, the „bird” was constantly guarded by two „divine weapons„. Another king from Lagash, Urukagina, wrote that „MU shines like a fire that I made great„. Lu-Utu, king of Umma in the 3rd millennium BC, built a shelter for a „MU” of the god Utu „in the chosen place of the temple„. On a coin found in Byblos, the temple of Ishtar is represented with a „MU” coming out of it. In the Aeneid, Roman poet Virgil stated that in Carthage goddess Juno „had her weapons here, she had her chariot here and if fate had allowed it, the goddess would have wanted to establish her rule over the world here„. Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, wrote that his god ordered him to build a temple according to precise measurements, even giving him a measuring rod and a measuring rope. Marduk asked Babylonian king Nabopolassar to restore his temple and the Etemenanki ziggurat (Tower of Babel), as the king himself stated in an inscription: „At that time, Marduk commanded me to plant deeply the foundations of the Tower of Babel, which had trembled before my reign, ready to collapse, and to raise its peak to the sky (…) god Marduk commanded me regarding Etemenanki, the monumental staircase tower of Babylon, which had been destroyed and lay in ruins before my era, to strengthen its spiritual foundations in people’s souls and its peaks to touch the sky. I took a measuring rod and measured the dimensions myself. For Marduk, my lord, I humbled myself and removed my tunic, the symbol of royal rank, and carried soil and bricks on my shoulders„. In another inscription, Nebuchadnezzar II, who completed the reconstruction of the tower, said that he raised the head of Marduk’s boat Idgeul and enclosed the boat Zagmuku („The Glowing MU for Distant Places”) between the walls. Long time ago it was believed that god’s Ra shining Bennu bird was kept in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis. In the Old Testament, Yahweh gave Moses precise instructions for his desert abode and gave Solomon wisdom to build the Great Temple of Jerusalem. Ezekiel received detailed plans for the second temple from a man with the appearance of an Aramean, who had a rope and a measuring rod. German engineer Hans Herbert Beier made a sketch of the building that Ezekiel built for „the chariot of Yahweh” and concluded that the shuttle fit perfectly in the temple.
The Sumerian term „MU” became for the Semites „shu-mu„, „sham” or „shem” („She that is MU”) and designates a flying machine. It seems that the Sumerian „dingir„, the pictographic sign that designated the word „gods”, also represents an aerial vehicle, where „gir” appears to be a step rocket and „din” means „noble, holy, shining, upright”, which is clearly an epithet of the gods. Moreover, the shem is very similar to the capsules on the tips of our rockets.
Why did the gods bring disasters to Earth through wars, plagues or apparently natural catastrophes? To find out, we must recap the events after the Deluge.
After the great Deluge, which ended the second war of the gods, the deities returned to Earth around 29,640 BC. Then the Battle of the Pyramids took place, after which Enki was imprisoned again in the Underworld and Marduk was sent into exile. Marduk returned around 21,000 BC and tried to build in Eridu a new „gate of heaven”, the Tower of Babel, destroyed by Enlil. To end the long-lasting conflict, Ninhursag organized a peace treaty, after which the gods divided the territories and humans. Enki received the black race and Africa, Marduk the white race and Europe, Enlil the red race and America (keeping the southern part for himself and giving the northern part to his son, Ninurta), Ninhursag received the yellow race and Asia on Anu’s behalf. Ishtar received Australia, where she created her own race, the Australoid, by cross-breeding Enlil’s red people with Anu’s yellow people. Antarctica became a neutral territory for future treaties of the gods, covered with ice to prevent human access.
This division of mortals and territories seemed to bring the much-awaited peace on Earth. Old rivalries disappeared while the gods worked together for the benefit of humankind. Enlil and Ninurta taught them agriculture, while Enki and his children taught them animal husbandry. However, not everyone was satisfied. Ishtar could not be content with her small and remote territory, so later she created the Semitic race, which invaded Mesopotamia. But the one who triggered the resumption of hostilities was her brother, Marduk. Created by his father with a profound warrior spirit and a fierce desire for power, Marduk was not satisfied with a single territory. So he sent his white race to invade a large part of the world, with his Thracians reaching from Europe to Asia and northern Africa. Their traces are found in Mesopotamia, India, China and Egypt. It seems that everything started with that mini-flood around 5600 BC, which led to the formation of the Black Sea.
Enlil wished from the beginning to keep humans in a primitive stage, so that it would be easier for them to be released from the cycle of reincarnations. The Watchers’ teachings led mainly to the technological development of mortals, whom they used as soldiers in their wars against the Celestials. After the second great war of the gods, the Deluge and the peace treaty around the 21st millennium BC, when the gods divided the human races and territories, both sides accepted Anu’s order to keep mankind in a primitive stage. People were taught agriculture and animal husbandry, minimal knowledge for survival. However, Marduk did not agree with this decision. He secretly civilized his subjects and the Dacians were the first people in history to have knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, biology, medicine and so on. Of course Marduk acted in secret, so as not to be discovered by Anu and Enlil. He transmitted his teachings to his priests, who in turn passed them on to the people. Writing was reserved only for the priests, which is why not many inscriptions have been discovered in Dacia. Furthermore, Marduk prohibited the construction of sumptuous buildings, as was done in the old times, which would have drawn attention to their high technological level. Instead, he taught his subjects to live in harmony with nature, which could provide them with everything they needed. Thus, the Dacians and their brothers who had migrated from their country of origin, the Thracians, developed ahead of everyone else, without betraying their high level of knowledge through their lifestyle. However, no matter how many precautions Marduk took, the Celestials found out. It is unknown how. They asked the rebel to stop and bring his people back to the primitive level at which the rest of mankind was. A demand that Marduk could only refuse. Far from being a coincidence, immediately after this refusal, around 5600 BC, the Mediterranean Sea overflowed a natural dam, causing a mini-flood that submerged over 150,000 square kilometers, leading to the formation of the Black Sea, as archaeologists have discovered. The 150,000 square kilometers of land, which contained numerous human settlements, were part of Marduk’s territory. It is noteworthy that the mini-flood occurred immediately after the appearance of the world’s first writing, represented by the Tartaria tablets. Suspecting that the flood was a warning from the Celestials, Marduk considered it a declaration of war. Therefore, he reacted. Immediately after the mini-flood, around 5600 BC, the desertification of North Africa began, a territory controlled by Enlil (although Africa was allotted to Enki in the territorial division, Enlil kept parts of the other gods’ territories), which led to the formation of the Sahara Desert. We do not know if Marduk was involved, but we already know that the gods had the technology to create disasters. And Marduk never left insults unanswered. Also at that time, in 5500 BC, probably as a challenge, the Cucuteni-Tripolya culture emerged in Dacia. Due to the North Africa’s desertification, Enlil’s red people invaded the Nile Valley. In response, at the same time, the Shemsu-Hor came to Egypt, those white people of Horus / Marduk who led predynastic Egypt. The oldest calendar date left by the ancient Egyptians is 19th July 4242 BC, probably marking the moment when the Shemsu-Hor Thracians arrived in Egypt. Around 3500 BC, the Shemsu-Hor left the Nile Valley, leaving Egypt in chaos, and immediately after, the Sumerians who had migrated from Dacian Sumeria emerged in Mesopotamia. After about two centuries, the Aryans (also Thracians, subjects of Marduk) arrived in the Indus Valley, where red race people, followers of Enlil, lived. Around 3100 BC, Thracian pharaoh Narmer / Menes unified Egypt, establishing the first pharaonic dynasty. In all these areas, the Thracians brought with them the civilization inherited from their god. On 31st August 3114 BC, a date noted by the Maya people, Enki arrived in Central America, Enlil’s territory, where he was named Quetzalcoatl by the Aztecs and Kukulcan by the Mayans. Later, the Olmecs, his black followers from Africa, also arrived there. And Marduk took his Thracians all the way to China, Anu’s domain, governed by Ninhursag. The Celestials did not sit idly by either. Around 3500 BC, the Minoan civilization, which worshiped the bull, one of Enlil’s symbols, emerged in Crete (in Europe, i.e. on Marduk’s territory). In Sumer, Nippur, the city of Enlil, was built, called Nibru by the Sumerians, written logographically as ENLILKI („Land of Enlil”). Also, there were cities dedicated to the other deities: Shuruppak to Ninhursag, Sippar and Larsa to Marduk, Uruk to Anu, Ur, Harran and Eridu to Enki, Borsippa to Nabu, Lagash and Kish to Ninurta or Bad-tibira to Ishtar. Chaos has once again taken over the Earth, the old territorial division no longer being respected and the gods found themselves fighting for every piece of land again. However, not as in the past, but in secret. After the second war of the gods, which almost destroyed our planet, Anu became very strict about respecting his old rules, which forbade the intervention of deities in the mortals’ lives. That is why, as can be seen from all ancient writings (whether we are talking about the Bible, Homer’s Iliad or Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian clay tablets), the gods had to act in secret. They no longer appeared among humans, as in the past, but participated in battles hidden behind invisibility and with their shuttles disguised. They chose a few people to whom they secretly transmitted orders, either in private meetings or even in dreams. All to avoid Emperor Anu’s wrath.
„May strife and enmity between gods and humans perish„, said Achilles in the Iliad. They did not perish, but amplified. Peace ended with the mini-flood that gave rise to the Black Sea and which prompted Marduk to conquer new territories. Were it truly Anu and Enlil who caused this flood, as Marduk suspected? Did they give up so easily on a peace for which they had worked so hard? Or did someone else meddle? We know that at the treaty of the gods, Ishtar was the most dissatisfied. She received an isolated territory, Australia, where she had to create her own race by combining the races of Enlil and Anu. Throughout history, Ishtar has proved that she is not satisfied with little and, above all, that she never accepts defeat. Considering that she was the most eager for a conflict that would lead to a new territorial division, there is a good chance that she caused the mini-flood that made Marduk to resume the old conflict. Thus, she was able to fulfill her goal, while also keeping her hands clean. Perhaps she is the one who informed Anu and Enlil that Marduk did not respect the command and civilized his people. And perhaps not coincidentally Homer blamed a woman for starting a long war…
Lasă un răspuns