Class of the titans Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Trojan War
Trojan War
Biographical Information
Name: Trojan War
Status: Over
Located In: Troy
Affiliations:

Achilles
Odysseus
Scamander

Character Information
First appearance: The Trojan Horse
GALLERY


The Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy left the city with Helen of Sparta who was married to King Menelaus of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works, most notably; Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes Odysseus' journey home.

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest".

Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. King Agamemnon and his brother King Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans, except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves, and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores.

Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War. Achilles’ most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector outside the gates of Troy. He was later killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow.

Mythology[]

Helen of Sparta's Kidnapped
After Peirithous and Theseus' wives died, they pledged to carry off daughters of Zeus; Theseus chose Helen of Sparta and together they kidnapped her when she was 13 years old and were going to wait until she was older to marry. Pirithous chose a more dangerous prize, Persephone herself. They travelled to The Underworld, and stopped to rest on the Chair of Forgetfulness and found themselves unable to stand up from the rock as they saw The Furies appear before them.

Hercules freed Theseus from the chair, but the earth shook when he attempted to free Pirithous. He had committed too great a crime for wanting the wife of one of the great gods as his own bride. By the time Theseus returned to Athens, Helen's twin brothers had taken her back to Sparta. They had taken captive Theseus's mom, and Pirithous' sister and they became handmaidens of Helen and later followed her to Troy.

Paris
All The Gods were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (Achilles' Parents). Only Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited. Annoyed, she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word "for the fairest", and threw it among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all insisted they were the rightful owner of the apple.

The goddesses brought the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor anyone, gave [Paris]], a Trojan prince the task. All three were ideally beautiful and Paris could not decide between them, so they resorted to bribes. Hera offered power over all Asia and Europe, and Athena offered wisdom, fame and glory in battle, but Aphrodite promised Paris she would let him marry the most beautiful woman on earth. Helen, who was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris selected Aphrodite and awarded her the apple. The other two goddesses were enraged and, as a direct result, sided with the Greeks in The Trojan War.

The Trojan War
Aphrodite rescues Paris from King Menelaus after he foolishly challenges him to a one-on-one duel. She appears to Helen in the form of an old woman and attempts to persuade her to have sex with Paris, reminding her of his physical beauty and athletic prowess. Helen immediately recognizes Aphrodite and chides the goddess, addressing her as her equal. Aphrodite sharply rebukes Helen, reminding her that, if she vexes her, she will punish her just as much as she has favored her already. Helen demurely obeys Aphrodite's command.

Aphrodite charges into battle to rescue her son Aeneas from the Greek hero Diomedes. Diomedes nicks her wrist through her "ambrosial robe". Aphrodite borrows Ares's chariot to ride back to Mount Olympus. Zeus chides her for putting herself in danger. Aphrodite helps Hera seduce Zeus, thus distracting him from the combat while Poseidon aids the Greek forces on the beach. Aphrodite again enters the battlefield to carry Ares away after he is wounded.

Artemis & Apollo
Artemis may have been represented as a supporter of Troy because her brother Apollo was the patron god of the city and she herself was widely worshipped. She came to blows with Hera, when the divine allies of the Greeks and Trojans engaged each other in conflict. Hera struck Artemis on the ears with her own quiver, causing the arrows to fall out. As Artemis fled crying to Zeus, Leto gathered up the bow and arrows.

Artemis played quite a large part in this war. Like her mother and brother, who was widely worshipped at Troy, Artemis took the side of the Trojans. At the Greek's journey to Troy, Artemis punished Agamemnon after he killed a sacred stag in a sacred grove and boasted that he was a better hunter than the goddess. When the Greek fleet was preparing at Aulis to depart for Troy to begin the Trojan War, Artemis becalmed the winds. The seer Calchas advised Agamemnon that the only way to appease Artemis was to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Artemis snatched Iphigenia from the altar and substituted a deer. After, Artemis either made Iphigenia her attendant or turned her into Hecate, goddess of night and witchcraft.

Advertisement