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Fall of Athens
Evening outside Athens as rain began to pour.
The Army of Hercules and Thebes continues to batter Athens throwing everything they could at them. The rams pounded the gates, they had been beating the walls gates of Athens all day, and there was no letting up, the ravenous army of Hercules was just itching to get inside…
The current commander of the Athens army stood upon the building adjacent of the Gate. Colonel Telisone. He had become in charge today as the result of General Cleomones retreat to seek aid for the city and the death of the two remaining generals. A tear went down his check as he knew that Athens would not survive the night. The gate was expected to collapse momentarily. But he would die for this city, his city.
8
Meanwhile in a house that had been converted to a meeting hall the Athenian Politian Siliphonas was preparing for the inevitable or rather to escape it. Most of the politician leaders of Athens had either killed themselves or escape already; a couple of them were on the walls fighting bravely for Athens survival, but not Siliphonas. He was the highest ranking of those who were still alive. He was essentially in command of the city.
However his command was done as he stepped on a chair and slipped his head through a noose. Hercules would not take this leader, he said to himself. He promptly used his feet to remove the chair from under himself. He hung their and within a couple minutes he was dead.
8
Selenta watched as she waited for the gate to open. Another shot. Still not open. Another shot, not yet. The door was budging at last as the damage was extensive. Another shot, almost. Her blood rushed as the next blow did not quiet open up the gate. One more shot it nearly gave way. They knew it was now as the men rallied back for a nasty shot. Bang the doors swung open. Selenta stood focused to rush in.
8
The colonel saw the gate budge. He raised his sword. Almost. Preparing for it. Boom, the gate swung open. He shouted the charge as 2000, a full 1/3 of the remaining army as causalities had been heavy. Athenians charged the entrance running down to join the fight "For Athens! For freedom! Freedom!"
8
Selenta charged to front but suddenly the clash of men sent her spiraling backwards with her men like a line of dominoes as hundreds of men collided with 2000 Athenians. The Athenians, mad with battle rage, killed everyone in front of them, the rage and blood lust in their eyes while they were shouting, "Freedom!" Selenta fought her way to her feet as the men of Hercules and Thebes fell back.
Selenta swung her sword mightily as she brought death to the soldiers of Athens who dared to attack her. Blood, guts and body parts flew through the rain creating streams of blood as it poured out of the bodies of the dead and the dying. Selenta shrieked as she removed the head of an Athenian with spear. The units from the rear clashed to join in the fight as the Athenians fought back desperate to save what was left of their city.
The Athenian colonel could be heard shouting pull back as the Athenians fell back slowly behind the gate in order to preserve their local superiority, as the army of Hercules and Thebes tried to fight through the masses to enter Athens. Now with the Athenians on the other side of the gate they could surround the men of Hercules and Thebes as they tried to fight through the Athenians. But even this would not stop Hercules and Thebes from claiming the city.
The numbers of Athens were falling even with the massive casualties on their enemy's side. From the wall, the Archers fired their hordes of arrows into the army of Hercules as they poured in throw the gate bringing down many of the soldiers as they could, knowing that they were facing certain death at those same soldiers below.
The Athenian line weakened as they lost more and more men. Selenta, now using two swords, shrieked madly as she decapitated three soldiers, and laughed as the blood shot up from what used to be there necks.
She met with the colonel who tried to take her down but a slice through the ribcage took him down. His death went unnoticed as the frenzy was too great. The lines of Athenians thinned at as they were running out of men. A fervent push forced a gap through the middle as the remaining Athenians were now broken into two groups, but they refused to submit to the will of Hercules army.
By this point of the remnant of the Athenians at this gate was roughly 700 soldiers, many wounded. However several thousand remained in the city itself. However the number of Hercules controlled Corinth and Thebes soldiers inside the city was growing by the minute, they were already sitting at 2500 inside the city as another gate collapsed with many thousands waiting outside. The Athenians didn't have long in this world.
Selenta fought on while standing on corpses and tripping over heads. The pocket of Athenians at this gate declined to a couple hundred warriors as the other pocket had been wiped out. Even as the army cleaned up the remaining pockets Selenta led her men on clearing operations entering houses killing everything inside, including the women and children.
These were Hercules' orders, to kill every living thing. Athens was to be the symbol to the Greek world that resistance was futile, and that those who fight, were doomed to death at the tip of Hercules might.
A couple dozen men with their back against the wall continued the fight as they grew more fatigued. One man lost his head as another was stabbed through the heart as the last of the pocket at the gate fought on defending to the end. More men fell beside what was now less than ten as they kept falling. Knowing they would be executed they charged the rest of the army actually pushing them back a couple feet before they were surrounded and killed.
The army finished with the last pocket joined in the operation of clearing out the city. Elsewhere in the city the several thousand had been reduced to a few hundred Athenian soldiers and they were running to the last defense of any great city, the central the keep, the last chance to defend the already doomed city.
The Armies of Hercules and Thebes pursued them. Anyone who got in there way, women, children, old men, even babies were slaughtered. Units not directed at the battle to be had at the keep were already enjoying their plunder as the women of Athens were raped, and then murdered at will.
Within the hour all of Athens was cleared of except the central keep. Hercules himself had joined the battle with his sword on his back and he walked up to the door and broke it down with godlike strength. The last 300 hundred soldiers charged Hercules and Selenta but his mighty strength and her elite skill, backed up by the immenseness of the army behind them were too much for the beleaguered Athenians.
In a matter of moments got down to the 50 men as they surrendered throwing down their swords. Hercules looked at them with disdain and called them cowards as he ordered his men to finish them off. The soldiers of Hercules charged and murdered the surrendering soldiers of Athens.
The army of Hercules shouted in victory as the battle was finally over. Hercules stood proud as all of Athens laid in run, the rain washing the blood away. Corpses lined the road all over the city and buildings still fell over as a result of the city.
Hercules wished to completely destroy the city but there was nothing left to destroy. Most of the people were murdered, or being murdered as the soldiers moved out in execution squads making sure no one survived, the building were in ruins, and the fires were raging. The was nothing left to destroy, Hercules and his army had cut down the greatest city of Greece, and murdered almost all its population, only those lucky enough to escape or not be found were spared.
Hercules looked at the ruins of Athens; he felt no remorse for his deed.
8
Athena stood on a hill overlooking Athens and wept as her city and her people all lay dead. Athens was gone. The great city of Greece destroyed. Maybe it could be rebuilt but could it ever recover?
Her sorrow was replaced with a bitter anger. She no longer considered her brothers to be her brothers, not Ares, nor Hercules. She would see them both suffer for their deed today. It did not matter that Ares was a God or that Hercules was the son of Zeus. They would both suffer, and then they would die... for Athens.