Sacred Blood Hermes the Thief

The 8th century BCE Messenian Wars in Greece culminated a conflict lasting one thousand six hundred years. It was a struggle of attrition. Wave after wave of Doric invaders flooded Greece while "natives" attempted to hold their ground. Try as they might, they failed. Their failure was due to several factors totally outside their control. Environmental and population pressures to the North must have been significant to push so many new settlers south. But there were factors well within native control that also led to their eventual subjugation. One such factor was the destruction of Troy. Troy was the vanguard stronghold guarding the main entrance to the Mediterranean. As long as Troy remained, Greek natives could blunt Doric aggression. But as strong as her walls were, they could not withstand a thousand ships launched to rescue Helen. With Troy out of the way, it only took another four hundred years for Dorians to mount the final assault to rid the Peloponnesus of African influence, the Messenian Wars. The fall of Troy was the death knell for African dominance in the Mediterranean. Since victors write history, Helen has been conveniently blamed for Troy's destruction. But from the perspective of the vanquished, Helen is blameless, and we should restore her honor. Troy's destruction was a function of internal strife between cousins, a feud that spanned three generations which included a curse on the heads of Pelops and his children. The blame for failing to secure the Mediterranean from outside invaders was not due to a reckless love-struck girl. The blame lies at the feet of feuding clans. Instead of finding a means to eliminate the threat Herakles and his Doric allies posed, they allowed ambition, pride, and greed to stand in the way of duty.