Judgement+of+Paris+&+Trojan+War


 * Major Characters
 * Paris- younger prince of Troy and mediator in the competition against the three goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena; Aphrodite won by promising Helene of Sparta
 * Eris- goddess of discord who was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, so, to seek revenge, she said she would give the Apple of Discord to whomever was the most beautiful, which sparked off the Judgment of Paris and, eventually, the Trojan War
 * Aphrodite- goddess of love and winner of the Apple of Discord by the ruling of Paris by promising Helene of Sparta
 * Hera- goddess of maternity and marriage, she promised Paris a number of city-states in exchange for his vote, he did not accept and she lost
 * Athena- goddess of wisdom and defensive war, she promises to make Paris the most powerful and wisest warrior to ever be born in exchange for his vote, but he does not accept and she losses


 * Judgment of Paris:
 * There was a wedding between Peleus, a Greek king, and Thetis, a nymph of the sea, and all of the gods and goddesses were invited, except Eris goddess of discord. When Eris learned she was not invited she went to the 12 major gods and goddesses and said she would give the Apple of Discord to whomever was the most beautiful. Three goddesses stepped forward: Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. Because no god nor goddess in Olympus wanted the ensuing anger of the losers, they went to the prince of Troy, Paris, as a mediator. Each goddess promised something to Paris, Athena promised ultimate wisdom and strength, Hera promised many of the city-states of Greece, and Aphrodite promise Helene of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite for her promise of Helene of Sparta and Aphrodite is given the Apple of Discord. Paris then kidnapped Helene of Sparta and that started the Trojan War.
 * Major Characters
 * Tyndareus- Former king of Sparta, father of Helene
 * Helene- Most beautiful woman alive, daughter of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, who was forced to marry a politician, Menelaus, who became king after Tyndareus; she was later kidnapped and fell in love with Paris of Troy.
 * Menelaus- Husband of Helene and king of Sparta; when Paris kidnapped Helene, he united all the Greek city-states, with the help of his brother Agamemnon, against Troy, which was the first time the Greeks all united
 * Agamemnon- Brother of Menelaus and supreme commander of the Greek alliance and put the alliance together using the treaty signed when Helene was wed
 * Hector- elder prince of Troy and leader of the Trojan forces; killed Patroclus, cousin of Achilles, which caused Achilles to renew his attack
 * Odysseus- General and lord of Ithaca, he was forced to join Menelaus and Agamemnon, he was the one who designed the plan for the Trojan Horse to invade the city and kept the soldiers from revealing their position when Helene imitated the voices of the Greek wives to reveal their trickery.
 * Ajax- Greek general, great help in taking the beach head of Troy, but he attacked the temple of Athena and was not reprimanded, so Athena destroyed most of the Greek navy
 * Priam- King of Troy
 * Hecuba- Queen of Troy
 * Cassandra- Daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, she was asked by Apollo to have an affair with him and he would give her the gift of prophesy, she accepts the gift, but then refuses to have sex with him so he curses her so that no one believes her prophecies
 * Achilles- Son of Thetis and Peleus, he was submerged in the River Styx by Thetis to make him immortal, which did make him immortal and all-powerful except where she was holding him on the ankle. He later participated in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks, where he withdrew from battle after Breisis, a woman who was his war prize, was taken from him and he did not return to battle until Patroclus was killed by Hector. He, Achilles, was killed by Paris with the help of Apollo directing Paris's arrow directly to the heel of Achilles.
 * Patroclus- A good friend of Achilles and Achilles second-in-command, he was killed by Hector after Achilles stopped fighting, which cause Achilles to renew his fight
 * Telephus- King of Mysia, helped the Greeks get to Troy
 * Philoctetes- Comrade of Herakles, when Herakles was alive,


 * Trojan War:
 * Tyndareus, king of Sparta, had, or was given by a goddess, Helene, who was the most beautiful woman in the world. When she was of age, many suitors came to claim her, but it was Tyndareus's choice of who was to wed her. As to not lose any support over the decision, he had every city-state sign a treaty that they would all protect the marriage of Helene and whomever Tyndareus chose no matter who it was. After the treaty was signed he chose a politician of Sparta named Menelaus and Helene was wed to him. Tyndareus later died and Menelaus became king of Sparta and Helene his queen. Then, to fulfill her promise to Paris for his vote in the Judgment of Paris, Aphrodite transported Paris to Sparta. There he was warmly welcomed by King Menelaus, but he had to leave to fight a battle, so he left Paris in Sparta. While Menelaus was gone, Helene was alone, so Paris seduced her and ran away back to Troy. Upon his return, Menelaus was angered by Paris's act and called upon the aid of his brother, Agamemnon, and Odysseus to reach a peaceful solution, though it was to no avail. Then Menelaus had Agamemnon call forth Greece to rise up against Troy because all of the Greek city-states signed the treaty. The Greek commander met at Aulis where they made a sacrifice to Apollo where a snake slithered from the alter to a crow's nest where it ate the mother crow and her nine babies, their oracle said this meant that Troy would fall in ten years. On their way to Troy, they did not know how to get there, so they accidentally landed on Mysia, which was ruled by Telephus and his Arcadians. The Greeks battled them and Achilles wounded Telephus and Telephus asked his oracle how it could be cured, because it would not go away. The oracle said that it can only be cured by the one who caused it, so Telephus tracked down the Greeks, who went back to Aulis, and attempted to force Achilles to fix. Achilles claimed he had no knowledge of medicine, so the crafty Odysseus figured that the oracle meant the weapon would heal Telephus and it worked. In gratitude Telephus showed the Greeks the way to Troy. After appeasing Artemis, who stopped the wind so the ships wouldn't budge, they sailed to Troy with the full united Greek navy. One major commander was Philoctetes, who was given Herakles's mighty bow, but he was bitten by a snake and was bitten