The Trojan War: Its Causes And Principle Actors

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The Trojan War: Its Causes and Principle Actors The Trojan War was fought between the Trojans and the Greeks over the loss of one man and the gain on another. It all started with a royal wedding. Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons, was marrying a sea nymph named Thetis. Many of the gods were invited to attend but Eris, daughter of Zeus, was not. Being the goddess of discord and strife, she was bound to make trouble at the wedding. Upset about not being invited Eris decided she would still try to cause trouble. At the banquet, she threw a golden apple marked “The Fairest” among the guests. The goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite were there and each one thought that she was the fairest and deserved the apple. They began bickering until they finally asked Zeus to settle the matter. Zeus, not wanting to get involved, sent the goddesses and their problem to a prince named Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy. Some say he chose Paris because he was the most honest person on earth, but others say it was because he was not smart enough to know not get involved with fighting between goddesses. Each goddess tried to bribe Paris in her own way. Athena, goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill, promised to help him lead Troy to victory against the Greeks. Hera, the supreme goddess and wife of Zeus, promised to make him the king of all of Europe and Asia. Aphrodite, goddess of love, promised to give him the most beautiful woman in the world. To Paris the most beautiful woman in the world sounded best so he chose Aphrodite as “the fairest”. She sent him to Sparta to collect his prize. The only problem was that the most beautiful girl in the world was already married. Her name was Helen, the half mortal daughter of Zeus. Many men were after Helen and they all were very powerful. Afraid that the competition over Helen would lead to war or the kidnapping

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