Courage In Fighting (Books 6-8)

The gods seemed to have disappeared off the field after Diomedes went crazy with killing. This let the Achaeans gain back control of us Trojans. We were feeling hopeless. Menelaus even tried asking for a ransom for the life of Adrestus. Adrestus is a fellow Trojan, who was weakened by Menelaus and could barely fight if tried. Nestor seemed to catch on of the Trojans weakening in battle. He sent a message out to the Achaeans saying to not worry about taking the Trojan's weapons after killing them, but instead to just kill as many Trojans as possible. At this point, I was expecting the downfall of the Trojans. I overheard that Helenus urged Hector to go back to Troy and pray at Athena's temple for mercy.

Hector ended up visiting his wife, Andromache first. She begged Hector not to go back and Hector explained that it is his fate to do so. This obviously upset Andromache, and she already started mourning his death after he left her. Hector then met up with his brother Paris to get ready to rejoin the battle.

After they returned to battle, the tension of the war escalated. The gods Apollo and Athena decided to end the battle for the day because of this; by planning a duel to stop the fighting. Hector showed great courage by offering himself to the Achaeans and whoever wanted to fight him. Menelaus wanted to but Agamemnon somehow talked him out of fighting. In the end, Ajax and Hector were the ones fighting in the duel. The duel was then called off by heralds sent by Zeus. The two made peace and friendship, and exchanged gifts to one another. It was nice to hear of some peace going on for once. Even after fighting, there is some hope left for peace among the Trojans and Achaeans.

Those who fight in war deserve respect in my mind. Respect and honor for their courage. The Trojans and the Achaeans both decided to pay a day to those we lost in battle. A burial for their bravery and remembrance. The next day, us Trojans seemed to have the upper hand in battle. This was definitely all Zeus's doing, making sure the other gods didn't interfere. It felt very good to be a Trojan at this time. A lot of us camped outside our city's walls. Nightfall protected the Greeks, but Hector made a plan to hopefully finish off the Achaeans the next day.