The Downfall of Palamedes

You have probably heard of the famous Odysseus, but have you ever heard of his arch rival Palamedes? He was one of the smartest people in ancient Greece. But Palamedes is not as well known as Odysseus because he was not smart enough to get out of Odysseus’ trap. In this essay you will learn the reason of the rivalry, how Odysseus took Palamedeus down, and what the cost of being a traitor was for Palamedes.

The beginning of their rivalry started when Meneleus asked Palamedes to convince Odysseus to join the Trojan war. When Odysseus heard that Palamedes was coming, he immediately started to act insane. When Palamedes got to Ithaca, however, he saw through the trick very quickly. He put Telemachus (Odysseus’ baby son) in front of a plow Odysseus was driving. Palamedes knew that if Odysseus was really insane, he would plow right over his baby. If he was not mentally deranged, he would rescue his son immediately, which he did, and even though the trick worked, it was kind of a low blow. Odysseus never forgave Palamedes for what he did, and from that point on they were rivals.

In the Trojan war Palamedes and Odysseus were always trying to one up each other. Odysseus was trying to find Palamedes' weakness. Everyone had one. Sooner or later it revealed itself. It was his integrity. Palamedes held a meeting with the Greek campers. In his speech he talked about ending the war and leaving Troy. When Palamedes said those words it was like a light bulb went on in Odysseus' head. Taking Palamedes down would be difficult, he was so well liked around camp. He knew he needed buy-in from Agamemnon. Odysseus went to Agamemnon that very night. “Can you believe what he said?” Odysseus roared. “He wants us to leave - can you believe the audacity?”

So that very night Odysseus made a plan, and unfortunately for Palamedes his plan was to turn everyone in camp against him.

Odysseus didn’t waste any time. He wrote two letters. One from King Priam to Palamedes, and the other from Palamedes to King Priam, seeming to show that Palamedes was a traitor. Odysseus hid the letter to Palamedes in one of Palamedes’ many books, and slipped away into the moonlight. Then he asked Agamemnon for gold. Agememnon grumbled a little but agreed. That night Odysseus dug a hole in Palamedes’ tent and dumped the gold into the hole. At last, he gave the letter that Palamedes wrote to King Priam to a prisoner and told him to give it to Priam as soon as possible.Then he opened the door and let the prisoner out. The prisoner was happy for his freedom but it was short lived. The Greeks saw the prisoner escape and killed him without discussion. They found the letter and gave it to Agamemnon. The Greeks held a camp meeting that very night. Of course Palamedes denied working with the king, but when the warriors checked his room they found the gold and the letter. Palamedes was convicted of treason without a trial and was killed that very night.

I hope you learned that Odysseus was not perfect, and there are some stories that never get talked about just to keep the main character clean. And now think to yourself, why do so many people make movies about Odysseus and still leave out the downfall of Palamedes?