After Paris, Prince of Troy, captured Helena, Menelaus (Helena’s husband, King of Sparta) was thirsting for revenge. He and his brother, Agamemnon (King of Mycenae), forged the Alliance of the Achaeans and jointly went to war against Troy. However, after ten years of siege, the Achaeans realized that they could not win the war (aside from Odysseus, who had an idea involving a wooden horse, but people did not think his idea would work).
The war is ruining the economy of both parties; further, both are threatened by the Hittites, a hostile kingdom in the East. It is time to negotiate! However, do the parties recognise the meaning of the Gods (who are not sitting at the table, but are playing with the humans)?
This role-play had originally been written for The Negotiation Challenge, 2013, in Athens, Greece (http://thenegotiationchallenge.org/). The story of this role-play and its main characters were based on the historical epos of Homer. However, the negotiation setting is fictitious. In addition, the role of the Hittites slightly twists history. In fact, research assumes that Troy was already under the Hittites’ rule at the time of the Trojan War. However, there is still some uncertainty about the course of events. Who knows?