Greek Mythology: The Trojan War

There are many different stories about the trojan war. There is Greek Mythology, the Odyssey, The iliad, etc. The different stories have different backgrounds, settings, even different gods and people. In Greek Mythology the main reasons the Trojan War started was because of the competition between the goddesses, Paris’s decision, and the abduction of Queen Helen.

The competition between the goddesses happens when Eris, goddess of discord, threw a golden apple into the wedding of Thetis, goddess of the sea, and said “for the fairest”. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed the apple for themselves. Zeus, god of the sky and ruler of all gods, decided Paris, the most beautiful man on earth, should be the judge and chose which godess should get the golden apple. The three
goddesses offered a different reward for him siding with them. Hera, goddess of marriage and family and wife of Zeus, offered him power. Athena, goddess of wisdom, craft, and war, offered him success in war. Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris obviously chose aphrodite's offer. Paris’s decision ended up being Aphrodites. Paris turned down Hera’s and Athena’s offers. Hera offered Paris, power. Paris turned Hera down because he was already a prince, he did not need anymore power. Athena offered him success in war, but Paris was not a lover nor a fighter, so he kindly turned her down as well. He accepted Aphrodite's offer who was Helen, queen of Sparta, who was married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris then went to Helen and took her with him back to Troy. The abduction of Queen Helen did not go easy with her husband, Menelaus.
When Menelaus demanded her return, the Trojans refused. Menelaus then persuaded his brother, Agamemnon, to lead an army against Troy. Agamemnon and troopships, lead by the greatest greek heroes, Achilles, Patroclus, Diomedes, Odysseus, Nestor and two warriors name Ajax. They then set sail and headed for Troy. For around nine years Greeks destroyed Troy’s surrounding cities and countrysides, but the city itself, Troy held together in the end, except it wasn’t over just yet. The Greeks then hid out in a hollowed out wooden horse. At night they snuck out, went through the city gates of Troy and destroyed it. The gods were very interested in this war though. Poseidon, Hera, and Athena helped the Greeks, while Aphrodite and Ares helped the Trojans. Zeus and Apollo, although often involved in the action of the war, treated both sides fairly. The Greeks then defeated Troy. Therefore, The Trojan War started because of the competition between the goddesses, Paris’s decision, and the abduction of Queen Helen. Even though there are many stories on the Trojan War, the one through Greek Mythology is the one most people choose to go
by.