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It was actually Helen of Sparta, not Troy, who went with Paris of Troy, leaving Sparta, her husband and daughter, and everything she was behind. She didn't actually become Helen of Troy until such time as she was welcomed into Trojan society as a Princess of Troy.
Helen of Sparta, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, wasn't actually kidnapped by Paris, a Prince of Troy. Helen had been promised to him by the Greek goddess Aphrodite, whom Paris had claimed was the most beautiful of all the goddesses. Naturally, like most women, this pissed of the other goddesses, Athena and Hera. Paris went to Sparta during a period when Menelaus was absent from Sparta for a funeral.
True to her word, as Aphrodite had promised, Helen fell in love with him and willingly left Menelaus and Sparta behind, along with Hermione, their 9 year old daughter (bet you didn't know where the name Hermione came from).
At this point there are conflicting testaments as to whether or not Paris and Helen actually went to Troy; some accounts have them going to Egypt, where upon learning what they had done, seized all the treasure that Paris had taken, including Helen, and waited for Menelaus to show up and reclaim his wife and gold.
By this time, Menelaus was home in Sparta, had been informed that his wife had dumped him for Orlando Bloom, and left him a lot poorer and with a kid to boot. He was not a happy camper. Having promised Menelaus that they would stand by him should Helen ever be abducted again (she had already been taken before, once when she was only 12) her former suitors, who became the Greek heroes of the Trojan War.
After getting to Troy and demanding the return of Helen and his loot, as stated previously, some accounts had Helen and Paris in Egypt, so when the Greeks showed up on the Trojan beach, King Priam of Troy (Paris' Dad) and Prince Hector (Paris' brother, and hero of Troy) told Menelaus, Odysseus, Ajax, Achilles, and all the other Greeks who had shown up for the war that they had been suckered - Paris and Helen weren't there at Troy, but had in fact eloped to sunny Egypt for a few quiet years while things "died down" a bit.
Well, things died of course - the Trojan War lasted 10 years, the Greeks unable to penetrate the high, steep walls that had kept them from getting inside the city. At that period in history, there were no great siege machines of war, Trebuchets, Catapults, or anything for breaching battlements.
After 10 years, the Greeks got tired of not winning every day, and losing their friends all the time, not to mention the deployment time away from Greece. 10 years is a long deployment. Sitting around the campfire on the beach one night, Odysseus comes up with a brilliant plan - let's build a wooden horse, hide a bunch of us inside, and send everyone else away. The Trojans just might be dumb enough to bring it inside the city to offer it to Poseidon at their temple, to rob us of OUR offering to Poseidon on the beach for a safe journey back to Greece.
So the Greek fleet sails just out of eyeball range, and leaves the wooden, hollow horse offering thingy on the beach with a lot of stinky Greek dudes inside. Not only is it cramped, it's also hot as hell, and they can't make a sound or move for fear of being discovered by the Trojans. And we won't even discuss what they did to relieve themselves during that period.
Anyway, you know the rest - the Trojans fell for the stupid trick, and dragged the horse into the city, partied all night and got falling down drunk. At which point by that time, the Greek ships had sailed back, and Odysseus, Achilles, and the rest of the Greek gang had slithered out of the horse and signaled their buddies on the beach that the Trojans had fallen for it, and that the gate was open. In other words, they signaled "Time to Rape, Pillage, and Plunder."
Yes, but nobody won - Aphrodite took away Paris before Menelaus could win.
Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman to Paris. Aphrodite made Helen fall in love with Paris. Therefore, he abducted Helen from Troy and married her without her husband knowing.
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What kind of goddess is Helen of troy?
Helen was not a goddess. She was the daughter of the King of Sparta who was married to Menelaus and spirited away by Paris, prince of Troy.
Who was Helen of troy husband?
Helen's first husband was Menelaus (Menelaos - pronounced "meh-neh-LAH-ohs"), king of Sparta. With the help of Aphrodite, she was spirited away by Paris, Prince of Troy and wed to him under their laws.
When was Helen of Troy married?
Helen was married to King Menelaeus (say men-er-lay-us)of Sparta. when her father decided to give Helen a husband he said she must be blindfolded and put a golden wreath on the lucky man in the husband choosing. When Helen was blindfolded, she prayed to Aphrodite (say afro-dite-e) the goddess of love to make her choose Menalaeus. Suddenly Aphrodite made a pin prick sized hole on the blindfold so Helen could where Menalaeus was.
Why is Helen called the face that launched a thousand ships in the story Helen of Troy?
Her beautiful face was the reason Paris fell in love with her and stole her away from her husband, Menelaus, who was king of Sparta. Menelaus called on his Greek allies to help get her back and their combined fleet sailed for Troy to attack it. Christopher Marlowe wrote the line 'Is this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,/ and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?' (Ilium is another name for Troy,)
Who saved Paris's life from menelaus?
In the movie Troy Paris' life is saved by his brother Hector but in the Iliad by homer Paris is saved by Aphrodite, who cuts his helmet loose when he is being dragged by Menelaus and takes him away in a storm of dust back to safety.
What part did Helen play in the Trojan war?
Helen is the husband of Menelaus. She was took away from Paris (of Troy)
How did paris start the Trojan war?
By running away with King Menelaus' wife, Helen.
Was Menelaus a king before he married Helen of Troy?
Yes, and it wasn't Helen of Troy, she was a Spartan woman married away to Menelaus, and then stolen by the Trojan prince Paris.
What kind of goddess is Helen of troy?
Helen was not a goddess. She was the daughter of the King of Sparta who was married to Menelaus and spirited away by Paris, prince of Troy.
What is the roll of menalaus in Trojan war?
Menelaus of Sparta was commander of the Greek army. His wife Helen ran away with Paris prince of Troy so Menelaus went to get her back basically.
Who was Helen of troy husband?
Helen's first husband was Menelaus (Menelaos - pronounced "meh-neh-LAH-ohs"), king of Sparta. With the help of Aphrodite, she was spirited away by Paris, Prince of Troy and wed to him under their laws.
Why did the achaeans fight the Trojan war?
Prince Paris "kidnapped" Helen, the wife of Menelaus and took her to Troy. When Helen was married, her father, fearing the wrath of the princes that he did not marry Helen to, made every one of Helen's suitors swear to fight whoever dares to take Helen away from her husband. So when Paris took Helen to Troy, Agamemnon, Menelaus's older brother, took this chance and lead the Achaeans to fight Troy for Helen.
According to the legend why did the Trojan war begin?
Helen left her husband Menelaus king of Sparta to run away with Paris, looting his possessions to take with her to make herself more attractive. The Greeks retaliated by mounting a 10-year looting expedition of Asia Minor.
Who steals Paris away after he has been wounded by menelaus?
Aphrodite
Where in The Iliad does it mention Paris taking Helen?
After the Judgment of Paris, in which Paris determined Aphrodite to be the most beautiful of the goddesses in return for the love of the most beautiful woman on earth (Helen), Paris had to go kidnap Helen because she was already married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. In some versions of the myth, she goes willingly.
What city was Helen kidnapped from?
She was Helen of Troy. So it was Troy. __ Helen was NOT from Troy originally. She was kidnapped from Sparta, her husband Menelaus was the king of Sparta. Paris of Troy either kidnapped her, or she fell in love with him and ran away with him (depending on which story you read) and they went to Troy.
Who is Paris in The Odyssey?
Paris is a character in Homer's epic poem The Iliad, not The Odyssey. In The Iliad, Paris is a prince of Troy and his abduction of Helen, the queen of Sparta, serves as the catalyst for the Trojan War.
