The Trojan War has its roots in the marriage between Peleus and Thetis,a sea-goddess.Peleus and Thetis had not invited Eris,the goddess of discord,to their marriage and the outraged goddess stormed into the wedding banquet and threw a golden apple onto the table.The apple belonged to,Eris said,whomever was the fairest.
Hera,Athena,and Aphrodite each reached for the apple.Zeus proclaimed that Paris,prince of Troy and thought to be the most beautiful man alive,would act as the judge.
Hermes went to Paris,and Paris agreed to act as the judge.Hera promised him power,Athena promised him wealth,and Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman in the world.
Paris chose Aphrodite,and she promised him that Helen,wife of Menelaus,would be his wife.Paris then prepared to set off for Sparta to capture Helen.Twin prophets Cassandra and Helenus tried to persuade him against such action,as did his mother,Hecuba.But Paris would not listen and he set off for Sparta.
In Sparta,Menelaus,husband of Helen,treated Paris as a royal guest.However,when Menelaus left Sparta to go to a funeral,Paris abducted Helen (who perhaps went willingly) and also carried off much of Menelaus' wealth.
In Troy,Helen and Paris were married.This occured around 1200 B.C.(Wood,16).
