After their departure from the Boeotian city of Aulis, the Achaeans finally faced the formidable fortifications of the Trojans. Indeed, to overcome them, they had gathered the largest army up to that point, consisting of 1186 ships (Thucydides mentions 1200), each carrying 50 to 80 men.[1]It becomes evident that the honor and glory of being the first to disembark on the shores of Troy would be significant. Homer vividly describes the scene where the ships of the “Danaans“ touched the shores, and the first of them disembarked.

“..they had as their leader the warrior Protesilaus, as long as he lived, But now, the black earth held him within. His wife, with her cheeks scarred from mourning, remained in Phylace, and his house stood half-finished. He was killed by a Dardanian at the moment he leaped from his ship, the very first of all the Achaeans.

Yet, they did not remain without a leader, although they desired their own. Podarkes, the follower of Ares, the son of Iphiclus, the son of Phylacus with many sheep, the brother of the brave Protesilaus, younger than him, led them into battle. The brave hero Protesilaus was larger and more valiant; the army, however, did not lack a leader, but they longed for him because he was brave. Along with him, forty black ships followed…”[2]

The original name, according to one version, was Iolaus. However there was an oracle that the first Achaean to set foot on the shores of Troy would die. Despite being aware of the prophecy, he chose to disembark first and was thus renamed (Protos= «first» in Greek). Another version states that Odysseus disembarked first, but with the prophecy in mind, he first threw his shield down and jumped onto it. Afterward, Protesilaus followed and was instantly killed.

The Greek ancient text :

«.. τῶν αὖ Πρωτεσίλαος ἀρήϊος ἡγεμόνευε ζωὸς ἐών· τότε δ’ ἤδη ἔχεν κάτα γαῖα μέλαινα. τοῦ δὲ καὶ ἀμφιδρυφὴς ἄλοχος Φυλάκῃ ἐλέλειπτο καὶ δόμος ἡμιτελής· τὸν δ’ ἔκτανε Δάρδανος ἀνὴρ νηὸς ἀποθρῴσκοντα πολὺ πρώτιστον Ἀχαιῶν. οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδ’ οἳ ἄναρχοι ἔσαν, πόθεόν γε μὲν ἀρχόν· ἀλλά σφεας κόσμησε Ποδάρκης ὄζος Ἄρηος Ἰφίκλου υἱὸς πολυμήλου Φυλακίδαο, αὐτοκασίγνητος μεγαθύμου Πρωτεσιλάου ὁπλότερος γενεῇ· ὁ δ’ ἅμα πρότερος καὶ ἀρείων ἥρως Πρωτεσίλαος ἀρήϊος· οὐδέ τι λαοὶ δεύονθ’ ἡγεμόνος, πόθεόν γε μὲν ἐσθλὸν ἐόντα·τῷ δ’ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο..»

[1] Homer, Iliad, Rhapsody B, verses 493-755.

[2]  Homer, Iliad, Rhapsody B, verses 698-710.