Author(s): Barry Unsworth

Fiction.

'Troy meant one thing only to the men gathered here, as it did to their commanders. Troy was a dream of wealth, and if the wind continued the dream would crumble.'

The vast invasion fleet lies impotent, rocking on the waters in the straits of Aulis. Great Agamemnon's army grow uneasy at the delay and intrigue festers as the wind rages. Can this be Zeus' vengeance? Warring priests clamour for precedence, the gods must be appeased and a solution is agreed - sacrifice. As a great sacrificial dagger is forged, all eyes turn hungrily towards the coming of Iphigencia, the king's daughter, whose blood will consecrate the attack on Troy. But on the day of her arrival, with the wind calming at last, the cries for blood will not be silenced...