next cleverest hero, Palamedes, to prove him,
placed his infant son Telemachus full in the way of the plough, and when
Ulysses turned it aside from the child, they declared that his madness
was only pretended, and he was forced to go with them.

The Nereid Thetis knew that if her brave and beautiful son Achilles went
to Troy, he would die there; so she dressed him as a maiden, and placed
him at the court of the king of Scyros, where he stayed for love of one
of the king's daughters. But the Greeks had a man named Calchas, who was
an augur--that is, he could tell what was going to happen by the flight
of birds, by the clouds, and by the inwards of sacrificed animals.
Calchas told the Greeks that Troy would never be taken unless Achilles
went with them. So Ulysses, guessing where the youth was, disguised
himself as a merchant, and went with his wares to the palace of Scyros.
All the maidens came forth to look at them, and while most were busy with
the jewels and robes, one, tall and golden-haired, seemed to care for
nothing but a bright sword, holding it with a strong, firm hand. Then
Ulysses knew he had found Achilles, and told him of the famous war that
was beginning, and the youth threw off his maiden's garb, put on his
armour, and went eagerly with them; but before he went he married the
fair Deidamia, and left her to wait for him at Scyros, where she had a
son named Pyrrhus.

Indeed the Greeks were whole years gathering their forces, and when they
did all meet at last, with their ships and men, Agamemnon, king of
Mycenae, Menelaus' brother, took the lead of them all. As they were
sacrificing to Jupiter, a snake glided up a tree, where there was a
sparrow's nest, and ate up all the eight young ones, and then the mother
bird. On seeing this, Calchas foretold that the war would last nine
years, and after the ninth Troy would be taken.

However, they sailed on, till at Aulis they were stopped by foul winds
for many days, and Calchas told them it was because of Agamemnon's broken
vow. He had sworn, one year, to sacrifice to Diana the fairest thing
that was born in his house or lands. The fairest thing that was born was
his little daughter Iphigenia; but he could not bear to sacrifice her,
and so had tried offering his choicest kid. Now Diana sent these winds
to punish him, and the other kings required him to give up his child. So
a message was sent to her mother, Clytemnestra, to send her, on pretence
that she