Story [[The Curse of Heroes]]

Homer's The Iliad Rework

Leda, Bird Goddess-The Rocklitz

"I, Leda, leader of the birds, curse you, Achilles. How dare you tarnish my land, the land which Zeus blessed me with, with your blood and eat my holy creatures with your savagery? You will reap no rewards and will be damned to living the life of the creatures I protect. How dare you act cruelly to those mighty owls that protect the night! You used them as your eyesight and did not reward them accordingly!"

Bastet, Cat Goddess-Neocities

...and I'm Bastet, Goddess of Cats. For your, tyranny Hector, in my holy lands of Egypt I curse you to the very form that you have become. A cheetah, a predator of speed and blood! May your own hatred be your destruction. May your limbs grow weak and may the predator become the prey of a thousand dogs one day. This is for your sacrificing my holy cats to feed your insatiable need for hunger, when you journeyed here to drink our wines and take our women in your bed! You have bloodied the very soul of the Egyptians!"

~
During the war in Troy, Achilles told Hector that in Egypt there lies the greatest land. Women were plenty, the wine were ever flowing and the cats when sacrificed would give him good fortune, which could help Hector win the war. Having found out that the women and the wine were not there, Hector was promptly cursed for his sacrifice of the cats by Bastet. In turn, Hector told Achilles that if he followed the owl during a quest to find Patroclus's soul in the forest, he would bring him back to life. He did not tell him to get his beloved Patroclus back he would have to reward the owl. Hector instead said Achilles must feast on the owl, and caused blood to spill on Leda's land. This promptly got him cursed by Leda, who did not like her night creatures to be used for such purposes. After Achilles and Hector were turned into a bird and a cat, they were united in Troy. That is when they went after each other to end the life of the other.

Hector, The Cheetah-Pinterest

Run faster, run harder. Run...Run. My legs...they tingle-they burn- but I burn more of my hatred than my tired limbs could ever.
Run...Run..

There is nothing I would like more to do than tear him from limb to limb. It is because of the "mighty" Achilles that I'm in this form of spots, that I'm this Cheetah. If he had not told me my fate lies in Egypt I wouldn't have met it with such force! I'm this creature because of my hatred, my hatred...my curse. My curse! Oh, damn him and his ways!Damn him to the very foul creature that he has now become. Leda was right, he deserves it. He deserves to wallow in his sadness, with his talons that are no longer human hands.

I must flap my wings... I cannot slow down-I'm sore. I'm more tired now then ever as a mortal man. Now I'm this feathered damnation. Why did I ravage the holy land of the mighty Leda and destroy her precious creatures!? I have been flying for so long, I don't even know if the great war between the Greeks and the Trojans has been won! Oh great Zeus! OH GREAT HERA! How is my beloved Patroclus?! What has become of him?! I'm in agony...so much agony... How do I, this vile creature of the night, redeem myself?! I cannot...I'm fated I might as well stop fighting and fly to my fateful end, to the teeth of the cheetah, to the quick Hector...

There he is: the strong and holy Achilles! As Achilles flies to his death, it is in my heart of darkness that I will have my way. My teeth will tear him in half and I will feast on his flesh with the very curse I have been given! Oh, woe is my winning! Surely, this will be my return to man and I shall have my way with everything he holds dear.

Achilles, The Bird-Pinterest

This is it, this is how I die. Oh forgive me, my holy Zeus. Forgive my cowardice. I fly to my death to the very fangs of the blood hungry cheetah. My agony will cease and I can see my Patroclus in heaven. He died at the hands of my cowardice. I will be rewarded in the heavens for my sacrifice to Zeus's mistress Leda. My selfish ways...are done.

He is mine now..Mine. I feel my limbs flex and I jump as high as the gods themselves and feel the my teeth sink into the very feathered being he has become. His taste is as foul in this form as his presence was in his human form.

Sweet death...I deserve this, my eyes are so heavy and I'm so tired in spirit and in body. Forgive me all...

Oh, what joy it was to feel my strength take down this strong creature. I felt the life come out of him and it was glorious.

~

Leda's Letdown-WordPress

"OH! You fools, you dumb creation of Zeus. It is over for you both now. There was a way to end your suffering. Dear Hector, a heart of hatred and a heart of blood would have gone away if you found love. You could have saved your soul from Hades now you will burn. You foolish man! Oh, Achilles the greatest warrior! Still your cowardice would have ceased if you were only brave! If you fought with those talons you would have won your Patroclus, your life! This could have ended well...If you two

Bastet Watching Hector's Death-DeviantArt

simply put aside the petty human emotions. It is petty that the war started for the sake of my daughter who does not wish to be with someone she no longer loves. It is petty that your human emotions have caused you to wreak such havoc on each other!
"I see you have set into motion your untimely demise. Hector, your death is near and I stand here and watch as you get ravaged by dogs. Your pride, need for blood, and unawareness has been your downfall. It gives me such pleasure to watch them tear you apart and feast on your heart. There is no place for you with Hades. You are doomed to reside with my god, Osiris."

Author's Note:

The story was inspired by Homer's mentioning of birds and flying in "The Slaying of Hector (Cont.)" and "The Slaying of Hector (the end)". In this particular part of the story it says "Just as in a dream, when one seems to fly and another seems to pursue, and the first cannot escape, neither can the second overtake, so these two ran." I really wanted to give reasoning behind their transformations (at least one reason anyways) and that's where Leda came in, even though she was impregnated by Zeus through seduction (Zeus turned into a swan). I chose Leda because I needed a figure that is directly associated with birds and I thought that she would be a good fit. Based on what happened between Leda and Zeus it is assumed in my story that she was given a certain amount of power.

Leda is also the mother of Helen, so it directly ties into Troy. I also was looking for a connection, a way to curse Achilles. In Homer's Iliad, Achilles kills Hector, but I saw Hector as being more of a violent character than Achilles and I wanted to showcase that. To me, Achilles came off as someone so grief-stricken that he was paralyzed and that's the reasoning why I made him seem a lot worse than in the original story. It’s Hector’s hatred and Achilles’ cowardice that cause them to do unspeakable and self-damaging things. Everything in the story that has to do with Egypt is of my own invention. It was not included in the original story. Another invention of my own is the the part to do with owls. As far as Bastet and Osiris, they are both Egyptian deities. Osiris is the equivalent of Hades in Egyptian mythology and Bastet is the goddess of Cats which directly ties into Hector's transformation. Also, for those of you that may not know Patroclus was a very dear friend of Achilles and was killed in the Trojan war. Achilles grieved for a long period of time before seeking vengeance. So, for him to go on a quest to get Patroclus back, it's in tune with his grieving in the original story.

The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church (1907).
The Iliad for Boys and Girls