The
TROJAN WAR
*Background*
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Background
The Argonaut
Peleus married
the sea nymph
Thetis in a
ceremony
attended by
almost all the
gods and
goddesses.
Unfortunately, they forgot to send an invitation
to Eris, the goddess of Discord.
However, Eris
gatecrashed the
ceremony and
threw a golden
apple into the
throng. On the
apple was written:
“For the Fairest”.
As she had hoped
three goddesses
wanted the apple.
To make the decision of who should get the
apple Zeus gave the task to Paris, a prince of
Troy.
Hermes took the three contestants: Athene, Hera and
Aphrodite, to Mt Ida near Troy where Paris was
looking after his cattle.
He awarded
Aphrodite the
apple thereby
making enemies
of the other two
goddesses.
Aphrodite had
promised him
he could have
the most
beautiful
woman in the
world. But Helen
was already
married to
King Menelaus
of Sparta.
Paris visited Sparta and Aphrodite made
Helen fall in love with Paris. The two left
for Troy.
Menelaus demanded the return of his wife.
When this did not happen he approached
his allies around Greece to help him.
His brother, Agamemnon of Mycenae led
a huge fleet and laid siege to Troy.
Ten years later Troy fell and Helen
returned to her husband.
Who was Helen?
Her mother was Leda,
wife of King
Tyndareos of
Sparta, who was so
beautiful that Zeus
was attracted to
her. Leda loved
swans and so Zeus
gained access to
her by appearing
as a swan,
seducing her.
Leda was already
pregnant and she
gave birth to two
sets of twins. One
child of each pair
was mortal and one
semi-divine.
Semi divine Helen and mortal Clytemnestra
Semi divine Polydeuces and mortal Castor
Helen was the most beautiful woman ever
born.
Helen’s husband was destined to become
King of Sparta.
To deal with ardent suitors, Odysseus suggested that
all unsuccessful suitors promise to defend the man
lucky enough to become her husband.
Menelaus was then chosen as her husband.
All her former suitors were honour bound to bring her
back when she was ‘abducted’ by Paris.
Who was Achilles?
He was the greatest of all of
the Greek heroes who
fought at Troy.
He was the son of Thetis
and Peleus (see golden
apple).
His mother dipped him into
the magic waters of the
River Styx when he was a
baby to make him
invincible in battle.
However, as she dipped her baby
in the water she prevented the
water reaching his heel.
Fate offered Achilles either a long
happy life without fame or a
short glorious life and be
remembered forever.
Achilles chose fame.
Achilles was strong, brave, a fast runner
and a skilled fighter.
He was also brutal and self centred.
Odysseus
Odysseus was the ruler of Ithaca.
He was one of Helen’s suitors
and had to go to Troy. He tried
to get out of his obligation.
Odysseus was most feared by his
enemies and he was clever and
inventive. He was particularly admired
for his cunning.
He was a family man and
a favourite of Athene.
He was also nasty,
ruthless and
treacherous.
THE END
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