Description[]
The Trojan War is the third scenario of the Greek Campaign in Empire Earth.
Briefing[]
The Trojan War: 1300 - 1100 BC
The years have brought trouble to the Sons of Pelops. The wealth of Greece is nearly exhausted. Horse-riding warriors from Thessaly who claim to be the descendants of Hierakles fight to reclaim the land from which they were driven. And piling insult on top of injury, the great city of Troy has abducted Helen, the Queen of Sparta.
Agamemnon, King of Argos, has called for a consultation with his prophet. A goat is to be offered to Athena and its entrails read. But the King feels sure he knows what the goddess will divulge to him:
The city and people of Troy must be made to pay for their affront. Therefore, a siege must be mounted. If successful, perhaps the Greeks can even revive their civilization with the plunder from that glittering city across the Aegean.[1]
History[]
The first Greek empire arose in the second millennium BC. Today it is known as the Mycenaean civilization, after the ancient city of Mycenae in Argos which provided most of the early archaeological evidence concerning its existence. That city, first excavated in the 19th Century by Heinrich Schliemann, yielded vast troves of golden vessels, armor and weapons. The digs revealed the Mycenaeans to be war-like conquerors who thrived on plunder and tribute exacted in their devastating raids throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.
But archaeology had come late to the scene. The stories of the Mycenaeans had already been known for thousands of years, for these people were the same Achaeans, Danaans, and Argives who populated the pages of Homer's two immortal epics, "The Illiad" and "The Odyssey." Assumed to be myths or folktales, or even pure fiction created by Homer, scholars for centuries had refused to accept that Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, his brother Menelaus, and the abducted Queen Helen had actually existed. But this all changed in 1871, when Heinrich Schliemann, using only the stories and descriptions contained in Homer's works, was able to locate the site of the historical city of Troy.
Thanks to Schliemann's visionary work and the exhaustive research of the scholars who came after him, we are able to place the Trojan War at about 1250 BC. By this time, archaeological data suggests, the Mycenaen civilization was in decline, under siege from waves of brutal newcomers surging down from the north. One of the most striking pieces of evidence of this is a wall, built by the Mycenaeans of Agamemnon's time, that stretched across the Isthmus of Corinth, clearly intended to keep the invaders at bay.
But these unstoppable newcomers eventually overran and obliterated the great cities of the Mycenaeans, and by 1100 BC Agamemnon's people had vanished from the land. Some scholars even speculate that(this isn't irony so much as good timing) this may have even occurred while Agamemnon and the Argive host were engaged in their ten-year siege of the distant city of Troy. The heroes of the Trojan War returned, it seems, to find their cities plundered and their homes occupied by their northern enemies.
Still, their names and their exploits were preserved in ancient stories. Then, in 750 BC, a blind poet living in Asia Minor wove those tales into unforgettable poetry - epic poems that were remembered and passed down orally for nearly two hundred years before being committed to paper. We now realize how much truth they contained about what transpired in Troy.[2]
Brief Summary[]
This mission lets you play the epic war between the Greek and Troy, as described in Homer's epic Illiad. While following key events of the Trojan war, the scenario contains some historical inaccuracies, such as the fact that the Trojan horse was an idea of Odysseus, not Athena and that the Dorians were never mentioned in the Illiad. Their first literary mention of them is in the Odyssey, which happens after the end of the Trojan war.
Facts[]
| Time to Complete | 2-3 hours |
| Opponents | |
| Dorians | (Copper Age, green) |
| Troy | (Bronze Age, orange) |
| Civilization points | 25 |
Objectives[]
- Bring Agamemnon to the other cities in Greece to gather allies for the War against Troy.
- Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles, and Odysseus must survive.
- Assault the city of Troy with Agamemnon and his new army.
- Build a Temple in Athena's sacred grotto to secure her divine help.
- Load the Trojan Horse with soldiers and bring it up to the Gates of Troy by itself.
Losing conditions[]
- Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles, or Odysseus dies.
- The animals on Chersonesus are killed
- The Trojan Horse is destroyed before it enters Troy.
- Any temple inside Troy's walls are destroyed.
Hints[]
- You have a kingdom to manage as well as a war to mount; so don't forget to put your citizens to work farming and gathering resources.
- There are two ways of dealing with the invading Dorians: The town of Doris can be located and destroyed, or a wall can be built across the Isthmus of Corinth (the wide neck of land just north of your Gold mines) to keep them out.
- Odysseus is your most clever ally. Make sure he stays close at hand and pay attention to his suggestions.
- Unlike their counterparts from the Illiad, these Trojans have a well equipped navy as well as an army. Be prepared to face both.
- Your Prophet is more than just a soothsayer. A good dose of Malaria might help avoid 10 years of hard fighting.
- Each of the other kings will be providing ships as well as soldiers; so don't forget to look around for them after Agamemnon has spoken to each king.[3]
Storyline[]
King Agamemnon is with his nobles and his prophet, standing by a pit, where a goat is to be offered to Athena.
Prophet: My lord Agamemnon, you must kill the sacrificial goat in the sacred pit, marked by the stones. Only then can I determine what the gods demand of you...
Agamemnon: I cannot be bothered with such menial tasks. Have one of my nobles do the bloody deed.
One of Agamemnon's nobles kills the sacrificial goat.
Prophet: Ahhh... yes... I have interpreted the signs from the offering, Sire, and the will of the gods is clear. You must travel to Sparta, Achaea, and Ithaca. In each city, the ruling king will ask for a specific favor. When you accept, each will then agree to join you in a war against Troy. They can provide you ships and men, and each king must accompany you on this quest. The time is ripe for vengeance, My Lord.
Agamemnon: My brother, Menelaus, is the king of Sparta. Achilles rules in Achaea. And the wily Odysseus is in Ithaca. I must convince all three to join in this great war.
Agamemnon discovers the attacking Dorians.
Agamemnon: These wretched barbarians from Thessaly - what are they called, Dorians? - they're becoming a real threat. I must station men along the border here, or in some way take steps to protect my land.
After the Dorian buildings have all been destroyed.
Narrator: The Dorians have been vanquished!
Agamemnon goes to Sparta, and meets King Menelaus.
Menelaus: High King Agamemnon, my brother! I have waited long weeks to hear from you. I believe Troy and her king, Priam, must be punished for stealing my wife. The fabled towers of Priam's city must be toppled! My most elite warriors are at your disposal. But you must promise me, my brother, that King Priam himself will be slain to avenge my honor.
Agamemnon: It is agreed. Priam shall die for his crime, or I will forfeit my crown. I swear it.
If Agamemnon meets Menelaus first.
Menelaus: I and the other kings will provide you with our finest noble warriors. We trust you will use them wisely, brother. They cannot be replaced.
Agamemnon goes to Achaea, and meets Achilles.
Achilles: My Lord Agamemnon! It is good to see you. Of course I will join you in this great quest against the city of Troy. My ships and finest warriors are yours. I ask only that you allow us to burn King Priam's Palace to the ground and plunder its riches.
Agamemnon: I accept your condition Achilles. I give you my word that King Priam's Palace be destroyed and its riches divided among all the kings who follow me.
Achilles: We must not set sail without King Odysseus, my lord. We will need his superb shipbuilding skills. Take one of my transports to reach his island kingdom, Ithaca.
If Agamemnon meets Achilles first.
Achilles: I and the other kings will provide you with our finest noble warriors. We trust you will use them wisely, my lord. They cannot be replaced.
Agamemnon goes to Ithaca, and meets Odysseus.
Odysseus: Well... If it isn't the ambitious High King Agamemnon. You must want me to join you on this vainglorious expedition to Troy, eh? I, my men, and my superb transports are yours on one condition: not a single Temple within the walls of Troy must be harmed. Do you agree to this?
Agamemnon: You are the cleverest of all the kings of Greece, Odysseus. You know I cannot refuse your request. You have my word - the Temples in Troy will remain standing.
Odysseus: My primary concern is to return home safely. If the Temples are destroyed... Who knows what mayhem the gods will unleash upon us. Now we'd best be on hour way.
If Agamemnon meets Odysseus first.
Odysseus: I and the other kings will provide you with our finest noble warriors. We trust you will use them wisely, my lord. They cannot be replaced.
After Agamemnon has gathered all the kings.
Agamemnon: Our company is complete. Now for glory, for honor, and most of all for revenge! Let us set sail for Troy!
The beach that lies before Troy has been discovered.
Narrator: This beach, which lies before the fabled city of Troy, is where all the Greeks will rally before the battle. All the kings must meet here when they land.
The kings have all landed on the beach that lies before Troy.
Agamemnon: At last! The glittering towers of Troy! We must make certain our camp is a safe distance from those deadly towers.
The attack is made on the gates of Troy, but it is soon repaired near instantly.
Odysseus: This is folly! The citizens of Troy repair the defenses as quickly as we destroy them! We may have undertaken a task more difficult than imagined, my lord. These Trojan walls are unimaginably thick, and those towers can never be taken by direct assault. I suggest that we confer with Achilles and Menelaus.
Agamemnon: All the kings of Greece are present, so let me ask: who of you can think of a way to breach the city's defenses?
Odysseus: I have an idea, but we will need the help of Athena to carry it out. On the nearby peninsula, called Chersonesus, there is a grotto sacred to Athena. We must build a temple near that grotto and pray for a divine means to pass through the gates.
The grotto in Chersonesus has been discovered.
Narrator: The grotto is sacred to Athena. She will not tolerate the desecration of anything in or around it.
After the temple has been built at the grotto of Chersonesus, a siege engine has been provided on the beach before the gates of Troy.
Odysseus: Blessed Athena! Our prayers have been answered! On the beach before Troy she has provided us with a magnificent siege engine, which shall be called the Trojan Horse!
Agamemnon: Breathtaking. Now... What do we do with it?
Odysseus: Simple, my friend! We hide our finest soldiers inside the belly of the wooden beast, which we bring up to the gates of Troy. Once the rest of our army retreats from the gate, the foolish Trojans will bring our gift within their walls. Then our men can emerge, kill King Priam, and the city will be ours!
Agamemnon: I see. Let it be done exactly as you say.
The Trojan Horse approaches the gates of Troy.
Narrator: The gates of Troy have opened to accept the Greeks' gift!
King Priam: The Greeks have abandoned the siege and left a magnificent offering! Spread the word! The city of Troy has triumphed!
Meanwhile, after the night has fallen.
Agamemnon: Now, men! It is time to leave the horse and slaughter the Trojans as they sleep.
The Greeks have exited the horse.
King Priam: Treacherous Greeks - the gift was a ruse! To arms, Trojans! We are invaded!
If the army is attacking the Temples.
Odysseus: Watch the soldiers, Agamemnon! They are desecrating the Trojan Temples! If any Temple is destroyed, the fury of the gods will be unleashed against us!
After King Priam has been killed.
Agamemnon: King Priam is dead! The abduction of Queen Helen has been avenged!
Achilles: Do not forget your promise to me Agamemnon. The Palace of Priam must be razed to the ground!
Outside of Troy, after the Palace of Priam has been destroyed, Menelaus is seen on the beach now reunited with Helen.
Narrator: Behold, mortals! Aphrodite, goddess of love, has intervened and saved the life of Helen. She stands reunited with her husband, Menelaus, on the beach before Troy.
Helen: O my husband, my king... will you consent to take me back?
Menelaus: Beloved wife, it is clear the gods have been playing a deadly game with us. I do not blame you for their actions.
Narrator: Troy has fallen! King Priam is dead! Agamemnon has honorably kept the promises he made to his fellow kings. The tale of the Trojan war shall not soon be forgotten.
Walkthrough[]
Warning: Do not read this if you wish to solve this on your own.
Gather the Greek kings[]
As in the Iliad you first have to rally the Greek kings behind you. But before you set off, set your few villagers to work. Build a granary inside the walls. You can actually build it over the sacrificial pit.
Agamemnon's citizen built a granary inside the base
Now let Agamemnon ride out of town west towards Sparta, where Menelaus will join you along with some chariot archers. continue northeast to find Achilles' base and collect him and his soldiers. As a last step sail Agamemnon over to Ithaca where Odysseus will join you. All three kings will ask a specific favor and will give you battleships. Achilles and Odysseus also provide transport ships. Return the ships to your dock south of Agamemnon's village and march your small army back to base. You will now have a couple of elite soldiers and four heroes, two strategists and two warriors. 5 civilization points are awarded for recruiting all kings.
Build up the economy[]
War is expensive business, so before you you can assault Troy, you need to build up an economy to support the war effort. You will need Iron and Gold and Stone, which are only available from a resource patch north of your village. Unfortunately that resource patch is regularly raided by Dorian marauder groups consisting of Horsemen and Bowmen. Use the iron you have to build up a group Spearmen. You don't need to build Macemen yet as you have several elite sword fighters for that. Send your army to the resource patch. Make sure you split it up evenly to guard both the northern and western flank. Use the strategist heroes to keep your army healthy. Now send 8 citizen each to gather gold, stone, iron and wood. As resources come in, build 5 Sampsons and a balanced army of Macemen, Spearmen and Bowmen. Upgrade all available units to their maximum. Do not forget the battleships.
Attack the Dorian village[]
After a while the constant attack from the Dorians become a nuisance and it is time to teach them a lesson. Take part of your army (mainly Spearmen, Macemen and Sampsons) north. Make sure that you take one of the strategist heroes, the other stays behind at the resource patch with a small guarding force. Walk carefully north. Halfway between the resource patch and the Dorian village are two towers. Take them down with the Sampsons.
Attack on the Dorian Village
Once you reach the Dorian village, do not attack the gate. Send the Sampsons to attack the wall far left of the gate. This avoids that parts of your army run through the gate, which sometimes open shortly for Dorian horsemen. Once the wall is breached, send you army in and raze all the buildings to defeat the Dorians and gather a bonus of 5 civilization points. Do not remove the little guard at the resource patch yet, as there may still be Dorian marauders about, which were away from the village at the time of the attack. Those would still attack the resource area.
Preparing the attack[]
The Greek fleet discovers the ruins of Troas (from mission 1)
While the citizens continue to fill the resource inventory, take the fleet of war ships and start exploring the sea thoroughly. Troy has 4 groups of Battleships at sea and you need to sink them all to avoid nasty surprises later on. Once you have sunk all 14 hostile Battleships the seas should be clear, but let your ships run about in explore mode for a while to make sure you didn't miss any. Meanwhile, train a group of Horsemen and give them two speed and two hitpoint upgrades. The speed upgrades are vital for the attack on Troy. When you are ready to attack, sink your Battleships and garrison all but 5 Citizens to free up population space. Fill up the space with Archers and Spearmen. Make sure you rebuild any Sampsons you've lost during the attack on the Dorian village.
Attacking Troy[]
The Greek bridgehead near Troy
Load the 5 Citizens and a first expedition force that contains at least one strategist hero onto the transports and sail to a broad beach just north of the Troas ruins and let the Citizens cordon off a small area by surrounding it with Towers. Make sure you update their range. Send the transports back to Greece to get the rest of the army and position it within the towered bridgehead. Make sure you set them all to guard behavior. Now you have to deal with a huge army in front of Troy's gates. For that we'll use the 'taunt-and-chase' tactic. Take a single horseman and ride out towards Troy. Once it has been seen by Trojan units, do an about face and ride back into the towered area. The strategist heroes will heal any hits it has taken. Let your army deal with the units that gave chase to your horseman. Repeat the process until you have lured the whole army group by group into the trap. Make sure that you check on both sides of the gate. There is a fortress on either side and the army is not defeated until Troy has ungarrisoned all units. Overall, you'll have to repeat the 'lure-and-chase' spiel about 7 to 10 times. Once the air is clear, take Odysseus and the Sampsons and bang away at the left tower next to the gate.
Troy falls[]
The Greek build a temple in the grotto of Athena
You will soon realize that the walls of Troy are too sturdy to be breached by burly men with oversized tooth-picks. After a spontaneous pow-wow Odysseus suggests to build a temple for Athena in a nearby sacred grotto to win her support. Ship the Citizens to the nearby peninsula to build the temple and return them. Make sure they don't kill any deer or you'll fail the mission. Athena gives the Trojan horse to them. Fill it up with all four kings, the elite warriors and the Sampsons. Bring the horse in front of the gate. The Trojans will bring it in and once the night falls, unload it. Now you must be very careful to herd your troops: let all warriors attack King Priam, ignoring the other troops, while letting the Sampsons attack Priam's palace. Make sure that no warrior or Sampson attacks any temples. If they do, you break your promise to Odysseus and fail the mission. Once Priam has been slain and his palace razed, you have won the Trojan War.
Trivia[]
- If players resort to walling off the Dorians, they have to quite literally wall the Isthmus for it to work. If they only wall the northern perimeter of the mining sites, the Dorians track for any possible alternate routes to attack Agamemnon's outpost, and there are at least three possible path past the neck. They even go as far as getting through Sparta to reach the mining site from the south, and if the site is walled all around, they attack Argos' pre-built Farm outside the walls.
- Typing "Win" in the chat will trigger the final cinematic and complete the scenario.
