The Trojan War

The Trojan War is probably the most well known of all Greek myths. It began when two gods who were to be married, Peleus and Thetis, did not invite Eris, the goddess of strife to their wedding. However, she came anyway and out of spite, threw an apple into the crowd, claiming that it was for the fairest of the goddesses. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite each thought that the apple was for them and dived for it. An argument ensued about who was the fairest and the three goddesses posed the question to Zeus. Unable to decide, he sent them to Paris, a prince of Troy, who was though to be the most beautiful man alive. Paris was told that he would have to pick the loveliest of the goddesses. Each of the three promised Paris a gift in exchange for picking her. Athena said she would give him skill in battle and wisdom. Hera promised him power and control over all of Asia. Aphrodite offered the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite and went off to claim his prize. However, Aphrodite had forgotten to mention that Helen was already married. When Paris carried her off, Menelaus, Helen's husband, followed with all of his armies. A ten year war followed, which concluded with the Greeks and Menelaus overtaking Troy through the Trojan horse. It should be noted that while Aphrodite supported Paris and his Trojans throughout the war, Hera and Athena were for Menelaus and the Greeks.

Picture of Helen of Troy, courtesy of http://www.auburn.edu/~jfdrake/teachers/gainey/homer/apple.htm