Troy Prototypes (23 MAR )

TROY Update 26 MAR 22. The first of the Trojan War figures, should be available in December.

The Trojan War will be a huge project, and of course all the main protagonists, will be produced, including Helen, Priam, and Aeneus, as well as most of the main allied contingents.

Traditionally, the Trojan War arose from a sequence of events beginning with a quarrel between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Eris the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and so arrived bearing a gift. A golden apple, inscribed “for the fairest”.

Each of the goddesses claimed to be the “fairest”, and the rightful owner of the apple. They submitted the judgement to a shepherd they encountered tending his flock. Each of the goddesses promised the young man a boon in return for his favour. Power, wisdom, or love. The youth, in fact Paris, a Trojan prince who had been raised in the countryside, chose love, and awarded the apple to Aphrodite.
As his reward, Aphrodite caused Helen, the Queen of Sparta, and the most beautiful of all women, to fall in love with Paris.
The judgement of Paris earned him the ire of both Hera and Athena, and when Helen left her husband, Menelaus, the Spartan king, for Paris of Troy, Menelaus called upon all the kings and princes of Greece to wage war upon Troy.

Menelaus’ brother Agamemnon King of Mycenae, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris’ insult. After the death of many heroes, including the Achaeans, Achilles, Ajax and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse.
The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans, except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves. They desecrated the temples, thus earning the wrath of the gods.
Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes, and many founded colonies in distant shores.
The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, Aphrodite’s son and one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern day Italy.

Greek Infantry 

Chariots 

In Homer’s Iliad, Pandarus is a renowned archer (in right chariot) and the son of Lycaon. He fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War and led a contingent from Zeleia.

Paris 

Paris was the son of king Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.
He is best known for his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War.
Later in the war he fatally wounds Achilled in the heel with an arrow as foretold by Achilles’ mother, Thetis.
Homer’s Iliad casts Paris as unskilled and cowardly. Although Paris readily admits his short comings in battle, his brother Hector scolds and belittles him after he runs away from a duel with Menelaus that was to determine the end of the war. His preference for bow and arrow emphasizes this, since he does not follow the code of honour shared by the other heroes.

Later in the war, after Philoctetes mortally wounds Paris, Helen makes her way to Mount Ida where she begs Paris’s first wife, the nymph Oenone to heal him. Oenone refuses, and Paris dies later the same day.
After Paris’s death, his brother Deophobus marries Helen, and was then killed by Menelaus in the sack of Troy.

Deiphobus was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam’s sons after Hector and Paris.
Deiphobus killed four men of fame in the Trojan War.
According to the Iliad, Deiphobus along with his brother Helenus, led a group of soldiers at the siege of the newly constructed Argive wall and killed many, and wounded the Achaean hero Meriones.

Some accounts hold that it was Deiphobus and Paris who ambushed and killed Achilles while luring him to their sister Polyxena.
After the death of Paris, Deiphobus was given Helen as a bride for his deeds in the war.
During the sacking of Troy Deiphobus was slain by either Odysseus or Menelaus, and his body was mutilated. There are accounts which state it was Helen who killed him, as she had decided she would rather return to Menelaus.

Glaucus, the son of Hippolochos, accompanied Sarpedon to Troy along with his troops from Xanthos. Himself a prominent warrior, Glaucus meets the Greek hero Diomedes on the battlefield, who is leading the Greek forces with the help of the goddess Athena. Glaucus and Diomedes exchange words and upon learning about each other's ancestry, the two warriors decide to not fight each other despite being on opposing sides. Coincidentally both their grandfathers shared a bond of friendship in the past. They continue the tradition of friendship by giving each other their own armour as a gift and part ways as friends.
After the death of Sarpedon, Glaucus, filled with anguish and sorrow over his fallen commander and cousin, reminds Hector of his duty to the Trojan allies. Fierce fighting breaks out around the body of Sarpedon as both sides aim to claim the body of the Lycian commander. Just as Trojans take the armour from his body, Apollo appears, accompanied by Hypnos and Thanatos, to cleanse the body and ease it back to Lycia. Glaucus follows in the steps of Sarpedon by leading the Lycian troops after his death

 

ACHILLES above and below

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and is the central character of Homer’s Illiad. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia.

Achilles’ most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan prince Hector, outside the gates of Troy.
Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, the other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow. Later legends state that Achilles was vulnerable in one heel, because when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels.

The Homeric epic only covers a few weeks of the decade-long war, and does not narrate Achilles’ death.
It begins with Achilles’ withdrawal from the battle after being dishonoured by Agamemnon, the commander of the Achaean forces.
Angry at some dishonour, Achilles refuses to fight or lead his troops alongside the other Greek forces.
Achilles also prays to Thetis to convince Zeus to help the Trojans gain ground in the war, so that his return will regain his honour.
As the battle turns against the Greeks, thanks to the influence of Zeus, Nestor declares that the Trojans are winning because Agamemnon has angered Achilles, and urges the king to appease the warrior.
Achilles rejects all Agamemnon offers him and simply urges the Greeks to sail home.

The Trojans, led by Hector, subsequently push the Greek army back toward the beaches and assault the Greek ships. With the Greek forces on the verge of absolute destruction, Patroclus leads the Myrmidons into battle, wearing Achilles’ armour, though Achilles remains at his camp. Patroclus succeeds in pushing the Trojans back from the beaches, but is killed by Hector before he can lead a proper assault on the city of Troy.

After receiving the news of the death of Patroclus from Antilochus, the son of Nestor, Achilles grieves over his beloved companion’s death. His mother Thetis comes to comfort the distraught Achilles.
She persuades Hephaestus to make new armour for him, in place of the armour that Patroclus had been wearing, which was taken by Hector.

The new armour includes the Shield Of Achilles, which is described in detail in the poem.

MENELAUS above

Menelaus was a king of Mycenean Sparta. According to the Iliad, he was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of the Greek army.

According to legend, in return for awarding her a golden apple inscribed “to the fairest”, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in all the world.
After concluding a diplomatic mission to Sparta during the latter part of which Menelaus was absent to attend the funeral of his maternal grandfather Catreus in Crete, Paris ran off with Helen despite his brother Hector’s prohibition.
Invoking the oath of Tyndareus, Menelaus and Agamemnon raised an invasion fleet of a thousand ships and went to Troy to secure Helen’s return.

During the war, Menelaus challenges Paris to a duel for Helen’s return. Menelaus soundly beats Paris, but before he can kill him and claim victory, Aphrodite spirits Paris away inside the walls of Troy.
Later the Trojan Pandarus shoots Menelaus with his bow and arrow, wounding Menelaus in the abdomen.

According to Hyginus, Menelaus killed eight men in the war, and was one of the Greeks hidden inside the Trojan Horse.

During the sack of Troy, Menelaus killed Deiphobus, who had married Helen after the death of paris.

AGAMEMNON above

Agamemnon was a king of Mycenae, the son or grandson of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra and the father of Iphignia, Electra, Orestes and Chrysothemis.

When Menelaus’ wife, Helen was taken to Troy by Paris, Agamemnon commanded the united Greek armed forces in the ensuing Trojan War.

DIOMEDES above

Diomedes was a Greek hero, and is well known for his participation in the Trojan War.
He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became king of Argos, succedding his maternal grandfather Adrastus.
In the Iliad he is regarded alongside, Ajax the Great and Agamemnon, after Achilles, as one of the best warriors of all the Achaeans.

He and Odysseus were the only Achaean heroes who participated in covert military operations that demanded discipline, bravery, courage, cunning and resourcefulness.
Diomedes received the most direct divine help and protection. He was the favourite warrior of Athena, and was the only hero that attacked and even wounded an Olympian god.
The god Hephaestus made Diomedes’ cuirass for him, and was the only Achaean warrior apart from Achilles who carried such an arsenal of gear made by Hera’s son.
His shield bore the mark of a boar, and he carried a large spear as well as his father’s sword which bore designs of a lion and a boar.

There will to be chariots!

Paris below

Paris was the son of king Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.
He is best known for his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War.
Later in the war he fatally wounds Achilled in the heel with an arrow as foretold by Achilles’ mother, Thetis.
Homer’s Iliad casts Paris as unskilled and cowardly. Although Paris readily admits his shortcommings in battle, his brother Hector scolds and belittles him after he runs away from a duel with Menelaus that was to determine the end of the war. His preference for bow and arrow emphasizes this, since he does not follow the code of honour shared by the other heroes.

Later in the war, after Philoctetes mortally wounds Paris, Helen makes her way to Mount Ida where she begs Paris’s first wife, the nymph Oenone to heal him. Oenone refuses, and Paris dies later the same day.
After Paris’s death, his brother Deophobus marries Helen, and was then killed by Menelaus in the sack of Troy.

Pandarus

In Homer’s Iliad, Pandarus is a renowned archer and the son of Lycaon. He fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War and led a contingent from Zeleia.

Glaucus

Glaucus, the son of Hippolochos, accompanied Sarpedon to Troy along with his troops from Xanthos. Himself a prominent warrior, Glaucus meets the Greek hero Diomedes on the battlefield, who is leading the Greek forces with the help of the goddess Athena. Glaucus and Diomedes exchange words and upon learning about each other's ancestry, the two warriors decide to not fight each other despite being on opposing sides. Coincidentally both their grandfathers shared a bond of friendship in the past. They continue the tradition of friendship by giving each other their own armour as a gift and part ways as friends.
After the death of Sarpedon, Glaucus, filled with anguish and sorrow over his fallen commander and cousin, reminds Hector of his duty to the Trojan allies. Fierce fighting breaks out around the body of Sarpedon as both sides aim to claim the body of the Lycian commander. Just as Trojans take the armour from his body, Apollo appears, accompanied by Hypnos and Thanatos, to cleanse the body and ease it back to Lycia. Glaucus follows in the steps of Sarpedon by leading the Lycian troops after his death

Trojan Archer

There will be Trojan archers to defend the Walls of Troy.

The Trojan army defending the great city of Troy, led by their king Priam, had assistance from a long list of allies. These included the Carians, Halizones, Kaukones, Kikones, Lycians, Maionians, Mysians, Paionians, Paphlagonians, Pelasgians, Phrygians, and Thracians.

After Hector's death the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, and Memnon, king of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess Eos.

TROY or ILION was an ancient city, known as the setting for the Greek myth of the Trojan War.
It is believed to be located at Hisarlik in present day Turkey, 30 kilometres south west of Canakkale.
In Ancient Greek literature, Troy is portrayed as a powerful kingdom of the Heroic Age, a mythic era when monsters roamed the earth and gods interacted directly with humans. The city was said to have ruled the Troad until the Trojan War led to its complete destruction at the hands of the Greeks.
The story of its destruction was one of the cornerstones of Greek mythology and literature, featuring prominently in the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as numerous other poems and plays.
Its legacy played a large role in Greek society, with many prominent families claiming descent from those who had fought there.
The JJD TROY can be constructed using four pieces which combined can represent the famous east gate and walls of Troy.

Until the late 19^th century, modern scholars regarded the Trojan War as entirely fictional. In 1871, Heinrich Schliemann and Frank Calvert excavated the site believed to be Troy. Several layers excavated resembled the literary depictions of Troy, leading some scholars to conclude that there is a kernel of truth to the legends. Although Schliemann’s legacy remains controversial due to his excavation methods, which included dynamiting layers he considered insignificant.
Subsequent excavations by others have added to the understanding of the site, though the exact relationship between myth and reality remains unclear.

The Scaean Gate

Experts disagree over which Troy was destroyed by the Myceneans. Was it Troy VIh, a powerful and wealthy town with spacious well constructed buildings? This fits Homer’s description but it appears to have been destroyed by an earthquake. Or was it the Troy VIIa the new town that rose out of the rubble.
Troy VIIa was poor and overpopulated. It was destroyed by fire after a life of only about 30 years. Its crudely built houses were huddled against the town walls. Most had large pots buried in the floor for storing food.
These features indicate a siege mentality, with the people from the countryside crowding into the town for protection.

Straight wall section

The archaeological site of Troy consists of nine major layers, the earliest dating from the early Bronze Age, and the latest from the Byzantine era.
The mythic city is typically identified with one of the Late Bronze Age layers.
The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destination, and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998.

The eastern or Dardanian Gateway

The eastern walls of Troy were reinforced by towers. One of these massive bastion at the north eastern corner was built to defend a well, which was one of the main water supplies, the other was to reinforce the city’s main entrance the Scaean Gate.

The Walls of Troy will be available in the Spring of 2022.

The images below are drawing by John Jenkins showing his designs for future figures in this new series.

Achilles

Myrmidon Warrior 

Hector 

Greek Warrior

Trojan Warrior