Warn the men.
Wait.
You are very brave or very stupid to come after me alone.
You must be Hector.
Do you know who I am?
These priests weren't armed.
Yes. There's no honor in cutting old men's throats.
Only children and fools fight for honor.
I fight for my country.
Fight me!
Why kill you now, prince of Troy...
...with no one here to see you fall?
Why did you come here?
They'll be talking about this war for 1000 years.
In 1000 years, the dust from our bones will be gone.
Yes, prince. But our names will remain.
Go home, prince. Drink some wine, make love to your wife.
Tomorrow, we'll have our war.
You speak of war as if it's a game.
How many wives wait at Troy's gates for husbands they'll never see again?
Your brother can comfort them. I hear he's good at charming other men's wives.
My lord, you let him go?
It's too early in the day for killing princes.
Achilles! Achilles!
Achilles! Achilles! Achilles!
- Achilles. - Ajax.
You're as fearless as the gods. I'm honored to go to war with you.
As am I.
If you sailed slower, the war would be over.
I'll miss the start as long as I'm here at the end.
My lord?
I've got something to show you.
The men found her hiding in the temple.
They thought she'd...
...amuse you.
What's your name?
Did you not hear me?
You killed Apollo's priests.
I've killed men in five countries, never a priest.
Then your men did.
The sun god will have his vengeance.
What's he waiting for?
The right time to strike.
His priests are dead, and his acolyte's a captive.
- I think your god is afraid of me. - Afraid?
Apollo is master of the sun. He fears nothing.
- Where is he? - You're nothing but a killer!
You wouldn't know anything about the gods.
I know more about the gods than your priests.
I've seen them.
You're royalty, aren't you?
Spent years talking down to men.
You must be royalty.
What's your name?
Even the servants of Apollo have names.
Briseis.
Are you afraid, Briseis?
Should I be?
My lord.
Agamemnon requests your presence.
The kings are gathering to celebrate the victory.
You fought well today.
My lord.
What do you want here in Troy?
You didn't come for the Spartan queen.
I want what all men want.
I just want it more.
You don't need to fear me, girl.
You're the only Trojan who can say that.
King Triopas, my lord.
You have won a great victory, my king of kings.
No one thought the Trojan beach could be captured so easily.
A beautiful gift, Triopas.
You will be among the first to walk in the streets of Troy tomorrow.
My father, Neleus, had this urn made to commemorate his victory at Cyparisseis.
I present it to you...
...in honor of an even more memorable victory.
Thank you, old friend.
Tomorrow, we'll eat supper in the gardens of Troy.
Leave us.
War is young men dying and old men talking. You know this.
Ignore the politics.
Apparently, you won some great victory.
Perhaps you didn't notice. The Trojan beach belonged to Priam in the morning.
It belongs to Agamemnon in the afternoon.
Have the beach. I didn't come here for sand.
No.
You came here because you want your name to last through the ages.
A great victory was won today.
But that victory is not yours.
Kings did not kneel to Achilles.
Kings did not pay homage to Achilles.
Perhaps the kings were too far behind to see. Soldiers won the battle.
History remembers kings!
Not soldiers.
Tomorrow, we'll batter down the gates of Troy.
I'll build monuments on every island of Greece.
I'll carve "Agamemnon" in the stone.
My name will last through the ages.
Your name is written in sand...
...for the waves to wash away.
Be carefuI, king of kings. First, you need the victory.
Your men sacked the temple of Apollo, yes?
You want gold? Take it.
It's my gift to honor your courage. Take what you wish.
I already have.
Aphareus!
Haemon!
The spoils of war.
No argument with you, but if you don't release her, you'll never see home again.
- Decide. - Guards!
Stop!
Too many people have died today.
If killing is your only talent, that's your curse.
I don't want anyone dying for me.
Mighty Achilles, silenced by a slave girI.
Tonight, I'll have her give me a bath.
And then...
- ... who knows? - You sack of wine!
Before my time is done, I will look down on your corpse and smile.
If they want a war, we will give them a war.
I would match the best of Troy against the best of Greece any day.
The best of Greece outnumber the best of Troy two to one.
So, what do you suggest?
We surrender our city?
We allow the Greeks to slaughter our men? Rape our wives?
I suggest diplomacy.
The Greeks came here for one thing.
Let's be honest, my friends. Trojans are now burning on the pyre...
...because of one youthful indiscretion.
Glaucus.
You have fought with me for 40 years. Can we win this war?
Our walls have never been breached.
We have the finest archers in the world.
And we have Hector...
...whose men would fight the shades of Tartarus if he commanded.
Yes, we can win.
I spoke with two farmers today.
They saw an eagle flying with a serpent clutched in its talons.
This is a sign from Apollo.
We will win a great victory tomorrow.
Bird signs.
You want to plan a strategy based on bird signs.
Hector, show respect.
When Archeptolemus prophesied four years of drought we dug deeper wells.
The drought came and we had water to drink.
The high priest is a servant of the gods.
And I am a servant of Troy.
I've always honored the gods, Father. You know that.
But today I fought a Greek who desecrated the statue of Apollo.
Apollo didn't strike the man down.
The gods won't fight this war for us.
There won't be a war.
This is not a conflict of nations.
It is a dispute between two men.
I don't want to see another Trojan die because of me.
Paris.
Tomorrow morning, I will challenge Menelaus for the right to Helen.
The winner will take her home. The loser will burn before nightfall.
Does he have a chance?
Father...
...I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you.
Do you love her?
You are a great king because you love your country so much.
Every blade of grass.
Every grain of sand.
Every rock in the river.
You love all of Troy.
That is the way I love Helen.
I've fought many wars in my time.
Some were fought for land, some for power, some for glory.
I suppose fighting for love makes more sense than all the rest.
But I won't be the one fighting.
The sword of Troy.
My father carried this sword, and his father before him...
...all the way back to the founding of Troy.
The history of our people was written with this sword.
Carry it with you tomorrow.
The spirit of Troy is in that sword.
So long as a Trojan carries it...
...our people have a future.
The man who killed Tecton outside Apollo's temple...
...I've never seen a spear thrown like that.
An impossible throw.
He has no idea what's happening.
Thank the gods.
Don't go tomorrow.
- Please don't go. - Paris fights tomorrow, not me.
Fifty thousand Greeks didn't cross the sea to watch your brother fight. You know this.
You'd make a fine general, my love.
You've been fighting your whole life. Let other men do battle this time.
You know I don't want to fight. I want to see my son grow tall.
I want to see the girls chasing after him.
Just like they chased his father.
He's much more handsome than I ever was.
I must see Paris.
I lost...
...seven brothers...
...in the Spartan wars.
You'd think I'd be good at losing by now.
I can't lose you.
I won't survive.
Wait.
Wait!
Helen, what are you doing?
- Let me go. - No.
I saw them burn.
I saw them burning on the pyres.
That's my fault.
It is. You know it is.
All those widows.
I still hear them screaming.
Their husbands died because I'm here.
I'm going down to the ships.
No, you're not.
I'm giving myself back to Menelaus.
He can do what he wants.
kill me, make me his slave, I don't care.
Anything is better than this.
It's too late for that.
Do you think Agamemnon cares about his brother's marriage?
This is about power. Not love.
Paris is going to fight in the morning.
- Yes. - Menelaus will kill him.
I won't let that happen.
- It's his decision. - No.
I can't ask anyone to fight for me.
I'm no longer queen of Sparta.
You're a princess of Troy now...
...and my brother needs you tonight.
My lord.
The army is marching.
Let them march. We stay.
But the men are ready.
We stay till Agamemnon groans to have Achilles back.
As you wish.
Are you ready to fight?
I am.
Are you ready to kill? To take life?
At night, I see their faces, all the men I've killed.
They're standing there on the far bank of the River Styx.
They're waiting for me.
They say, "Welcome, brother. "
We men are wretched things.
I taught you how to fight, but I never taught you why to fight.
I fight for you.
Who will you fight for when I'm gone?
Soldiers, they fight for kings they've never even met.
They do what they're told, die when they're told to.
Soldiers obey.
Don't waste your life following some fool's orders.
Go.
Are you sure you want to do this?
I started this war.
Helen...
...sit with me.
All my life I have prayed against this day.
Yes, my king.
Call me Father, dear child.
Forgive me, Father...
...for bringing this.
I blame you for nothing.
Everything is in the hands of the gods.
Besides...
...how could I blame anyone for falling in love with Paris?
Prepare to halt!
Halt!
Move.
Menelaus is a bull.
He'll charge you, but keep your distance and use your speed.
Brother...
...you don't have to do this.
I see you're not hiding behind your high walls. Valiant of you.
lll-advised, but valiant.
You come here uninvited. Go back to your ships and go home.
We've come too far, Prince Hector.
Prince? What prince?
What son of a king would accept a man's hospitality...
...eat his food, drink his wine, then steal his wife in the middle of the night?
The sun was shining when your wife left you.
She's up there, watching, isn't she? Good.
I want her to watch you die.
Not yet, brother.
Look around you, Hector.
I brought all the warriors of Greece to your shores.
You can still save Troy, young prince.
I have two wishes.
If you grant them, no more of your people need die.
First, you must give Helen back to my brother.
Second, Troy must submit to my command...
...to fight for me whenever I call.
You want me to look upon your army and tremble?
WelI, I see them.
I see 50,000 men brought here to fight for one man's greed.
Careful, boy.
My mercy has limits.
And I've seen the limits of your mercy.
And I tell you now, no son of Troy will ever submit to a foreign ruler.
Then every son of Troy shall die.
There is another way.
I love Helen. I won't give her up and neither will you.
So let us fight our own battle.
The winner takes Helen home. And let that be the end of it.
A brave offer, but not enough.
Let me kill this little peacock.
I didn't come here for your pretty wife. I came here for Troy.
I came for my honor.
His every breath insults me.
Let me kill him. When he's Iying in the dust, signal to attack.
You'll have your city. I'll have my revenge.
So be it.
I accept your challenge. And tonight, I'll drink to your bones.
- My lord. - Back to the line!
Make him swing and miss. He'll tire.
Brother...
...if I fall, tell Helen... Tell her...
I will.
Don't let Menelaus hurt her. If he...
You think of your sword and his sword and nothing else.
Get up.
Come on.
See the crows?
They never tasted prince before.
Is this what you left me for?!
Fight!
Fight me!
You coward!
Fight me!
We have a pact! Fight!
Fight him, son. Fight him.
- Fight me! - The Trojans have violated the agreement!
Prepare for battle!
This is not honor!
This is not worthy of royalty!
If he doesn't fight, Troy is doomed.
Paris.
No. No.
The fight is over.
The fight is not over.
Stand back, Prince Hector.
I'll kill him at your feet. I don't care.
He is my brother.
Paris!
Go! Go!
Get inside, Paris!
Archers!
- Our men are too close to the walls. - Pull back.
Pull back, you fool!
For Troy!
- Now! - Loose!
Get them in line!
Get the men back into lines!
Front line, push!
So you're the best of the Trojans.
Forward.
Forward!
Apollonians! Now!
Prince Hector!
We need to retreat!
My army's never lost a battle yet!
You won't have an army if you don't fall back!
Back to the ships!
- Back to the ships! - Retreat!
- Back! - Retreat!
Go back!
Back. Back to the ships!
Fall back!
- Men, fall back! - Halt!
Halt!
But we have them on the run!
We're in range of their archers.
Have our men gather our fallen.
Send an emissary to them. They can collect their dead.
Would they have done the same for us?
Go! Back!
Fall back into line!
Before I leave...
...I will burn their city to the ground.
Brother, I promise you that.
They're laughing at me in Troy. Drunk with victory!
They think I'll sail home at first light.
Maybe we should.
Flee? Like a whipped dog?
The men believe we came here for Menelaus' wife.
Won't be needing her anymore.
My brother's blood still wets the sand, and you insult him!
It's no insult to say a dead man is dead.
If we leave now, we lose all credibility.
The Trojans can beat us so easily. How long before the Hittites invade?
If we stay, we stay here for the right reasons.
To protect Greece, not your pride.
Your private battle with Achilles is destroying us.
Achilles is one man.
Hector is one man.
Look what he did to us today.
Hector fights for his country! Achilles fights only for himself!
I don't care about the man's allegiance. I care about his ability to win battles.
He's right.
The men's morale is weak.
Weak? They're ready to swim home.
Even if I could make peace with Achilles, the man won't listen to me!
He's as likely to spear me as to speak to me!
I'll talk to him.
He'll want the girl back.
He can have that damn girl.
I haven't touched her.
Where is she?
I gave her to the men.
They need some amusement after today.
Come on, give the bitch to me!
Who's first?
Trojan whore!
What's this? A virgin's robe?
- You won't be needing that for much longer! - Hold her.
Come on. Come on. Hold her down.
Are you hurt?
I watched you fight them. You have courage.
To fight back when people attack me? Dog has that kind of courage.
Eat.
I've known men like you my whole life.
No, you haven't.
You think you're so different from 1000 others?
Soldiers understand nothing but war. Peace confuses them.
- And you hate these soldiers. - I pity them.
Trojan soldiers died trying to protect you.
Perhaps they deserve more than your pity.
Why did you choose this life?
- What life? - To be a great warrior.
I chose nothing. I was born, and this is what I am.
And you? Why did you choose to love a god?
I think you'll find the romance one-sided.
Do you enjoy provoking me?
You've dedicated your life to the gods.
Zeus, god of thunder. Athena, goddess of wisdom. You serve them.
- Yes, of course. - And Ares, god of war?
Who blankets his bed with the skin of men he's killed?
All the gods are to be feared and respected.
I'll tell you a secret...
...something they don't teach you in your temple.
The gods envy us.
They envy us because we're mortal.
Because any moment might be our last.
Everything's more bautiful because we're doomed.
You will never be lovelier than you are now.
We will never be here again.
I thought you were a dumb brute.
I could have forgiven a dumb brute.
Do it.
Nothing is easier.
Aren't you afraid?
Everyone dies. Today or 50 years from now. What does it matter?
Do it.
You'll kill more men if I don't kill you.
Many.
My lord, there's...
Tell the men to start loading the ship. We're going home.
Gather the stores.
Prepare the ship.
Agamemnon is a proud man.
But he knows when he's made a mistake.
The man sends you to make his apologies?
What are you doing enthralled to that pig of a king?
The world seems simple to you, my friend...
...but when you're a king, very few choices are simple.
Ithaca cannot afford an enemy like Agamemnon.
Are we supposed to fear him?
You don't fear anyone. That's your problem. Fear is useful.
We need you back.
Greece needs you.
Greece got along fine before I was born.
Greece will be Greece long after I'm dead.
I'm not talking about the land.
The men need you.
Stay, Achilles.
You were born for this war.
Things are less simple today.
Women have a way of complicating things.
Of all the kings of Greece, I respect you the most.
But in this war, you're a servant.
Sometimes you have to serve in order to lead.
I hope you understand that one day.
We're going home?
We sail in the morning.
Greeks are being slaughtered. We can't just sail away.
If it's fighting you still long for, there will always be another war.
These are our countrymen.
I ate, laughed, mourned with these men while you hid in your tent.
You betray all of Greece just to see Agamemnon fall.
Someone has to lose.
In all my years to come, may my heart never turn as black as yours!
We sail in the morning!
The omens are gathering.
The directive is clear.
Fight for your country, that's the only directive.
Last time the high priest spoke to us, he prophesied a great victory for Troy.
We won a great victory. Let him speak.
What course of action do you recommend?
The gods favor our cause.
Now is the time to destroy the Greek army.
Glaucus?
Their morale is battered.
Hit them now. Hit them hard.
And they will run.
I must admit, I overestimated the Greeks.
They lack discipline and courage.
The Myrmidons didn't fight yesterday. There must be dissension among the Greeks.
But if we attack their ships, we will unify them.
If they decide to attack us, let them.
Our walls can't be breached. We'll beat them back again.
Yesterday, the Greeks underestimated us.
We should not return the favor.
You're confident about the meaning of these omens?
The desecration of his temple angers Apollo.
The gods have cursed the Greeks.
Two of their kings have already gone down to the dust.
Prepare the army. We attack at daybreak.
Father.
We're making a mistake.