A mountain near the city of Troy.
Terms like "many fountained" and "Ida of the waters" were commonly used to denote the rivers and streams flowing from the heights of Ida to the land surrounding Troy. Generally referred to as a single mountain, Ida also was mentioned in the Iliad as a series of peaks.
The god Zeus kept watch over the battlefield from Gargaron, the highest peak of Ida. Dardanian1 commander Aineias and his father Ankhises lived on Mount Ida before the war. Achilles encountered Aineias on the slopes of Ida and chased him off the mountain.
The Achaians frequently raided the settlements on and around Ida, making the area dangerous for the Trojans. King Priam's son Lykaon foolishly ventured onto Mount Ida to cut wood for his chariot rails. Achilles captured Lykaon and sold him into slavery. Achilles captured two more of Priam's sons on Mount Ida—Antiphos and Isos. Both young men were ransomed but killed when they returned to the battlefield.
1. Dardanians—an older but recurrent name for the Trojans derived from King Dardanos, from whom all Trojan kings were descended.
| References: Homer, Iliad book 2, lines 821, 824 book 3, lines 276, 320 book 4, line 475 book 8, lines 47, 75, 170, 207, 397, 410, 438 book 11, lines 105, 112, 183, 196, 337 book 12, lines 19, 253 book 13, line 13 book 14, lines 157, 162, 283, 287, 293, 307 book 15, lines 5, 79, 146, 151, 169, 237, 255 book 16, line 677 book 17, line 594 book 20, lines 59, 91, 189, 218 book 21, lines 449, 559 book 22, line 171 book 23, line 117 book 24, line 308 |