I for my country will gladly run this risk and go to spy the Argive fleet, and when I have learnt fully all that the Achaeans plot I will return.
~ ‘Rhesus’ by Euripedes (Coleridge translation. GB5 - p. 204)
The play starts with Trojan sentinels coming to Hector’s tent to tell him about unusual activity in the Greek camp. They interpret the lights on the ships as a plan for the Greeks to flee. Hector thinks that they should attack the Greeks while they are on retreat. Aeneas comes in and advises against attacking at night, warning of potential traps, and since they don’t know for sure. They decide to send a spy. Dolon volunteers to go as a spy, provided he is rewarded with Achilles’ horses.
After Dolon leaves, a messenger comes in and announces the arrival of Rhesus, the king of the Thracians, and his army, who have come to the aid of the Trojans. Hector meets with Rhesus and asks why he was so late (10 years late!). He says he had wars at home to handle. Rhesus boasts that with his help, they will be able to defeat the Greeks in a day, thus ending this long war.