Why Helen??

Most beautiful woman in
the world

Daughter of Zeus and
Leda (queen of Sparta)

Sister to Castor, Pollux,
and Clytemnaestra

Heir to the Sparta empire
Marriage of Helen
Suitors:

Menelaus

Odysseus

Ajax the Greater

Elephanor

Diomedes

Patroclus

And over 30 more!
Solution:

Odysseus secures a marriage to
Helen’s wealthy cousin,
Penelope, in exchange for
devising THE OATH:

All suitors take an oath to
defend the marriage of Helen;
they agree thinking it’ll be them

Suitor is chosen by a lottery so it
was totally random
Meanwhile, another marriage
was going on…
Celebrations happening in Olympus for the wedding
between Peleus and Thetis
The golden apple
The golden apple
The “apple of discord”
-Eris, goddess of strife, was mad about not being invited
- She threw a golden apple labeled “to the fairest” into the
wedding celebration
- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite think it is for them and start
fighting
The judge
Not wanting to get involved, Zeus assigned the decision to
Paris, prince of Troy, who had demonstrated his fairness
previously by admitting that his bull was not the best in a
competition and giving the award to someone else.
The goddesses bribe Paris

Hera: POWER - become king of Europe and Asia

Athena: WISDOM - become the wisest and most skilled warrior

Aphrodite: LOVE – have the most beautiful woman as wife
And the winner is…
APHRODITE
Trip to Sparta…

Paris is sent to Sparta to meet
with Menelaus as a “business”:
meeting between two powerful,
rich cities.

While there, Paris meets Helen
and…
Abduction? Seduction?

Paris breaks Xenia…
Xenia

The respect from host to guest.
- The host must provide
food and drink and a
bath, if required.

The respect from guest to host.
- The guest must be
courteous to the host and
not be a burden.

No harm can be done by either
host or guest after the code of
hospitality is engaged
“guest friendship”
Upheld by Zeus, as the protector of
travelers
Who’s at War?

The GODS
 Zeus - Neutral
 Ares - Trojan
 Hera - Greek
 Athena - Greek
 Apollo - Trojan
 Aphrodite - Trojan
 Poseidon – Greek
 Artemis – Trojan
 Hermes – Trojan
 Hades - Neutral


GREEKS

Agamemnon

Menelaus

Odysseus

Achilles
TROJANS

King Priam

Prince Hector

Prince Paris