According to Greek mythology the aftermath of the Trojan War was almost as bloody and destructive as the war itself. The total annihilation of Troy by the victorious Greeks and the slaughter of its people, including the torture of men, rape of women and murder of children, was such a callous and cold-blooded act that the gods themselves were outraged and determined that severe punishment was necessary for the atrocities the Greeks had committed. So it was, that once they had departed from Troy to return to their own countries, misfortune and tragedy followed them.

Manic Violence

Seemingly driven mad by the war itself, (which had taken 11 years to reach an end), and the newfound power of their position as victors, the Achaeans unleashed a terrible wrath upon the city on its final night. All buildings were set on fire and burned to the ground. There was indiscriminate slaughter throughout the land. The Achaeans swarmed the streets, forcibly entered homes, and even desecrated temples, killing people randomly as their rampage continued. Their rioting and looting did not stop with morning light. Some people had managed to remain hidden during the night, thinking that morning would bring safety with it, but these people were discovered and murdered as well in broad daylight.

The Trojan Royal Family

The members of the Trojan royal family, terrified beyond description by the violence surrounding them, escaped to the temples hoping to find protection there, but it was futile. The Achaeans respected neither their priests nor their gods. They only knew the power of their own hatred for the enemy.

In what became a systematic slaughter, Priam was henceforth killed by Neoptolemus at the alter of Zeus, and Cassandra, who had sought refuge in the shrine of Athena, was found clinging desperately to a wooden image and dragged away from the temple by Ajax who then raped her. Deiphobus, who had married Helen after the death of Paris, was captured by Menelaus who took revenge by torturing him to death, cutting his ears, arms, nose and other body parts off.

Later, their quest for vengeance almost over, the Achaeans divided the captives of royal blood among them: Helen was returned to Menelaus, who planned to kill her, but was so captivated by her seductive beauty that he spared her life. Polyxena was given to Neoptolemus, who slashed her throat on Achilles’ grave. Cassandra was in turn given to Agamemnon. Neoptolemus received Andromache, and Hecabe was given to Odysseus. However, she could not tolerate the idea of enslavement and so cursed the Achaeans in such vile ways that in the end she was stoned to death. And even Astyanax, son of Hector, was thrown down from the battlements to his death.

Ajax Escapes Punishment

Having divided the spoils of war between them like greedy children, even sharing the Trojan women, the Achaeans were ready to sail away, anxious to get on with their pre-war lives, but they were prevented from doing so by Calchas, who told them that Athena was angry because of the reprehensible act committed by Ajax against Cassandra. In the Achaean assembly, Odysseus stated that Ajax should be stoned to death for his crime, but the assembly either failed to decide upon a punishment, or because Ajax fled to a shrine, nothing was done to him.

The Return of the Achaean Leaders

Menelaus and Agamemnon

Menelaus fared poorly upon the high seas, having all but five of his ships destroyed by a storm. He was driven along with the remaining ships by high winds to Crete and Egypt, where he and Helen wandered for eight years unable to return home. During this time he visited the coasts of Libya, Cyprus and Phoenicia, before coming to Argos on his way to Sparta. Agamemnon was murdered on his arrival at Mycenae by his wife Clytaemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. They also killed Agamemnon’s concubine, Cassandra.

Ajax

Ajax met his fate in a storm. Mythology has it that Athena, galled by the fact that he had not been punished for his evil deed, fired a thunderbolt against his ship which shattered it into pieces. Ajax swam to a rock to which he could cling, but just as he thought he had reached safety, Poseidon struck the rock with his trident and split it, causing him to fall into the sea and drown.

Diomedes

There are several versions of the fate of Diomedes. One has it that revenge was taken upon him for the death of Palamedes. It was reported that Palamedes’ brother Oeax travelled to Argos and informed Aegialia, perhaps falsely, that her husband was bringing back with him a woman he preferred over her. Aegialia then, with assistance from the Argives, prevented Diomedes from entering the city. Another story says that he found sanctuary at the altar of Hera, and escaped with his companions under cover of darkness to Italy. There he was killed by King Daunus. Still other versions claim that Diomedes died of old age, or that he was made to disappear while his companions were changed into birds.

Neoptolemus

Neoptolemus kept Andromache and Helenus as slaves, but later married Andromache. He feuded with Orestes who was angry because Menalaus had promised his daughter Hermione to him, but had changed his mind and now wanted her to marry Neptolemus. They fought and Neoptolemus was killed at Delphi. Ironic, since Neptolemus had killed Priam in a temple, and then was himself killed in a temple.

Odysseus

Odysseus was condemned by the god Poseidon to wander lost for a decade and endure much suffering and frustration, all the while attempting to reach his home in Ithaca. Once he returned to Ithaca, in what can only be described as a massacre, he killed the suitors of his wife Penelope, who had begun an uprising. He is said to have died in Ithaca.

The Trojans

Helenus married Andromache and they became the rulers of a colony of Trojan exiles in what had once been Achilles’ kingdom. There Aeneas met them on his journey to Italy.

Queen Hecuba was enslaved by the Achaeans. Lycaon was enslaved by Achilles. He was later killed trying to escape. Antenor, Priam’s brother-in-law, had wanted to give Helen back to the Greeks, so he was spared.

Aeneas led a group of survivors, including his son Ascanius, away from the city. His wife Creusa was killed during the raid on the city. They fled Troy with a number of ships, seeking to establish a new homeland elsewhere and begin again. After seven years they arrived in Carthage. However, after a period of settling there, the gods ordered him to continue onward, until he and his people arrived at the mouth of the Tiber river in Italy where they were to remain. There he sought to maintain peace with the local king, Lavinius, and was wed to his daughter, Lavinia. This action triggered a war with other local tribes, which culminated in the founding of the settlement of Alba Longa, ruled by Aeneas and Lavinia’s son Silvius. Three hundred years later, according to Roman myth, his descendants Romulus and Remus founded Rome.

Reference Sources:

Greek Mythology Link

The Aftermath of the Trojan War and The Return of the Achaean Leaders

http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/AftermathTW.html

Global Oneness

Trojan War: Encyclopedia II

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Trojan_War_-The_aftermath/id/2047768