It is three thousand years ago in the land now called Turkey. Asherpherd stands above a grassy field, watching his sheep. To the west the sea sparkles in the sunlight. To the east the dusty plain stirs in the wind.
About four miles from the sea there is a great stone wall built on a hill. Inside the wall there is a rich, proud kingdom.
It is the ancient kingdom of Troy. The wall around Troy is there to protect the city. It is made of stones that men cut and fit together. In some places it is very high and very thick. The lower part of the wall is covered with limestone. The limestone makes the wall slippery. Climbing up the wall is impossible.
At the top of the wall there are places where the trojan bowmen can stand. Here they can pull back their bowstrings and let their arrows fly. So going over the wall is impossible too!
There is only one way into Troy-through the great double gate. Shepherds go through, with their carts full of vegetables. Traders go through, with their treasures of gold and silver and bronze.
Gatekeepers guard the gate day and night. If a hosetile army is coming across the plain, the close the gate and push the bolts. Behind the stone wall. Troy is save.
Troy is an important city in the ancient world. And Priam, the king of Troy, is a very powerful ruler. He has many allies. He rules the land and sea for miles around. But King Priam is not content. He want to be more powerful than the Greeks, who live far away across the Aegean Sea.
The Greeks speak the same language as the Trojans and believe in the some gods as the Trojans. But they are enemies, not Friends!
The land where the Greeks live is Rocky and Hilly. They cannot grow enough wheat. They must sail to Asia to buy more. But to get to Asia the Greeks must pass through a narrow channel of water that connects the Aegean Sea with the black Sea. Troy is located at the very entrance to this Channel.
King Priam takes advantage of this! When a Greek ship full of cargo sails past Troy, the Trojans stop it. They demand a toll. If the Greeks want to go by, they must pay!
Cargo ship are big and heavy. They are not made to go fast like warship. So the Greeks have to pay the toll-with bags of wheat, jars of oil, bars of gold.
The Greeks are furious. Why Should they have to pay to use the cahnnel? The sea is free. If the Trojans keep this up, there will be war!
But King Priam is not afraid. There is a great stone wall around his city. No one- not even a Greek army- can get into Troy.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar