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 HelenSuitors:

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 appleThe “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? GREEKS

Agamemnon Menelaus Odysseus Achilles

TROJANS King Priam Prince Hector Prince Paris

The GODS Zeus - Neutral Ares - Trojan Hera - Greek Athena - Greek Apollo - Trojan Aphrodite - Trojan Poseidon – Greek Artemis – Trojan Hermes – Trojan Hades - Neutral