Eris And The Trojan War

The Greek forces won the Trojan War. The story of the war is a cornerstone of Greek legend, and pervaded Greek literature and culture. Though the evidence for the Trojan War as historical fact is scarce, it was a formative event in Greek cultural memory, producing some of the classical world’s most famous heroes and narratives. The War was won, Helen was retrieved from Paris, whose violation of ξενία was redressed, the heroes attained the κλέος that many of them fought for – and yet the positive outcomes of the Trojan War are difficult to grasp. For the victims of the Trojan War, the tragedy is obvious; the War ended in genocide and total cultural destruction. But such a war, burnt into legend, should have left the victors far better off; and yet, the Greek heroes only suffer because of it. They die tragic, dishonourable deaths; their households are left in ruin; their families are torn apart. From both modern and classical perspectives, the Trojan War is a tragedy, a “harrowing destruction of life” (Euripides, Andromache, 291). The victory is pyrrhic, the loss of life is horrific, the reparations non-existent.

The Trojan war was a ten year siege on the city of the city of Troy at the hands of the Greek forces led by a psychopathic king, Agamemnon. This conflict, which took place about 1200 B.C has become one of the most well known Greek mythology events in history. In the 13th century B.C, Troy and Sparta had stopped their wars and become allies, this was until Paris the youngest prince of Troy seduced Helen, the Queen of Sparta and left with her back to Troy. When Menelaos (The King of Sparta) found out what had happened, he vowed

The war began with a grand wedding between Peleus, the son of Aeacus, and Thetis, the sea-goddess. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding. Enraged at this, she stormed into the wedding and threw a golden apple of discord on a table. The apple had the inscription “For the fairest” a quarrel soon arose between three powerful goddesses. The three goddesses; Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena all wanted the title of fairest. They wanted to Zeus to be the judge of this contest. Not wanting to be involved in the quarrel, Zeus sent Hermes to get Paris, the Trojan prince, so that he could judge the three ("History of the Trojan War").

Later, during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Eris the goddess of strife, was angry for not being invited. She threw a golden apple with the words, "to the fairest one" inscribed on it amidst the guests. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena had a squabble over who should get the apple. They asked the Prince, Paris of Troy, to be the judge. The three goddesses offered him glorious gifts, but in the end Paris of Troy gave the apple to Aphrodite. Helen had promised the Prince the most beautiful woman in the world. Aphrodite helped him kidnap Helen. Menelaus was enraged by this and conjured the oath that had been taken by all the suitors of Helen. Helped by his brother Agamemnon, the two set a course for Troy. The departure of Menaleus and his brother set off a chain of events, including commissioning the help of Odysseus, which led to the fall of Troy.

The Trojan War was commenced around 3000 BCE marking most memorable period in Greek Mythology. These events were presented in Homer’s lliad through poetry. The war began during the Bronze Age with Greeks and the defenders of the city of Troy fighting in Anatolia. Troy, today known as modern Turkey was in Anatolia i.e. at the eastern Shores of Aegean Sea. The city of Troy was colonized by 5000-10000 Trojans and was attacked many times by 5000 Mycenaeans who had crossed the Aegean Sea in hundred ships. Around 1200 BCE the city was destroyed by Mycenaean Greeks. The war was sophisticated to higher level by tactics and Magnificent Armors. Mycenaean Greece came under attack by both land and sea around 1200 BCE. (Dutton Marchand Harkness 27)

The Trojans and Greeks fought a frivolous war that began with a golden apple and a trio of precarious goddesses. It initiated when Prince Paris was given an apple from the “evil goddess of Discord, Eris,” and told him to choose the fairest goddess between three. Paris ludicrously chose the goddess who offered him the most beautiful woman. This woman was Helen, queen of Sparta. But Paris stole her from her husband and refused to give her back to Menelaus.

In Edith Hamilton's Mythology, the behavior of the Greek gods illustrates that in Greek society, the Greeks understand the fundamental nature of having flaws. The Trojan war started due to the actions of a Greek goddess of discord Erin who was not invited to a banquet, “Resenting this deeply, [Erin] determined to make trouble—and she succeeded very well indeed” (Hamilton 254).Erin's jealousy and wrath cause her to disrupt the peace among the gods and start the Trojan War. The Greeks recognized this ability to be imperfect and evil among humans as well as gods. The understood this significance so much that they created gods that were evil or impure in nature like Erin, rather than making every god perfect. Another example of a god exhibiting

Helen with the face of an angel, which everyone wanted, was the reason for the Trojan War. In the end no one blames Helen because she is quick with her words and actions, that she can get her way without anyone knowing it was her idea in the first place. Penelope is the same way, she states to their suitors that she is going to weave a tapestry and when she is done she will chose a suitor. What the men don’t know is every day she weaves then at night she unweaves it to start again in the morning. Homer uses a technique to show that women are these pons in life, he contrasts Helen and Penelope to show that men are more powerful than women in life, but what they fail to realize is that women are sneaky in how they use their

The Trojan War is described as one of histories most legendary battles. This battle is told to have lasted ten years, resulting in the eventual collapse of Troy, under the siege of Greek forces. Modern knowledge of the Trojan War has survived mainly through the account given in Homer’s Illiad, and while having proved to be a rich source of inspiration for other writers, artists, and even filmmakers in recent history, much speculation still exists surrounding his account. I will analyze modern interpretations of the Trojan War and examine both speculation and support for Homer’s account. Concluding with sufficient evidence that has been collected surrounding this epic battle, proving Homer’s account of a massive battle between these two powerful city states to not be just a tale of myth and legend, but actual history.

Since humans have walked this Earth we have seen and recorded countless acts of violence that have defined our history. The reason violence still persists today is because people sometimes feel the need to kill in order to achieve a goal. Also, in history, we have seen many acts of genocide that have decimated some cultures and left other cultures powerless after they have been brutally tortured. “The term genocide emerged in the early 1940s as the Nazis carried out their crime.” Genocide is the act of one group of people destroying a certain population for their own gain. Reasons for executing a genocide include wealth, racism, land, religion, and political ideology. The most famous genocide in the world is the Holocaust and this was the deliberate

While this circumstance may be easy enough to understand, such setting or background in the plot actually entails more history: Even before Paris was born, a prophecy was carried out that the handsome prince would cause the destruction of Troy; thus, King Priam and his queen banished the baby to be raised in the wilderness. Later on, as a shepherd, he encountered the three goddesses, Hera, Pallas Athene, and Aphrodite, and set the motion of what would be the war that extinguished the Trojan line—Paris was to decide who is the most beautiful of the goddesses. Each goddess tried to bribe him with promises of power, riches, fame, and glory, but it was Aphrodite who succeeded in the end as she promised Paris that he can have the most beautiful mortal, Helen. This simple arrangement would then serve as the catalyst of a war that would kill thousands of Trojans and Greeks as soon it is revealed that Paris has stolen Helen and the gods and goddesses of Olympus have each taken sides on the war which would further complicate the lives of the people of Troy and Greece. (Buck Jr. , 11-12)

The suspected start of the war- over the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta- was caused entirely by a godly conflict over who was the most beautiful- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was selected to judge. He chose Aphrodite, who in turn gave him Helen, who was her equivalent in beauty amongst humans. In both versions, Paris is portrayed as a wife stealing, thief in the night. His brother Hector and he were on a peace mission in Sparta on behalf of Troy visiting the king, Menelaus, when Paris ran off with Menelaus' wife, Helen. This action divides the Gods who constantly meddle with the mortal's lives. Naturally, Aphrodite is on the Trojans' side, as was her lover and God of War, Ares, and Apollo. Although Zeus, King of Gods, tried to be neutral, he was pro-Trojan. Hera, Queen of Gods, and Athena help the Greeks because they were mad that Paris chose Aphrodite. Poseidon, God of the Sea and Zeus' brother, also sided with the Greeks whenever Zeus was not looking. An example of this constant intrusiveness of the Gods in the Iliad was when King "Menelaus hurls his spear, lightly wounding Paris. Paris' helmet strap becomes caught at his chin and Menelaus has nearly dragged him away before Aphrodite intervenes, breaking the strap. She then wraps Paris in a mist, sets him in his own perfumed bedchamber, and hurries to catch Helen" (Bloom 13). Of

Barry Strauss, professor of classics at Cornell University attempts to redefine a one of history’s biggest love affairs, the Trojan War. Strauss explains how certain events and characters from Homers “The Odyssey” might have actually existed, but also uses modern discoveries from the Bronze Age to compare Homers account to those of Egypt, the Middle East, and etc. While Homer’s epic should not be read as a historical document which recounts the Trojan War hundred percent accurately, it can still be seen as document which embodies some historical truth. The novel as a whole explains the customs, economic standing, fighting styles and beliefs of the Greeks. Strauss’s writing style allows for the book to be accessible to both students and historians. He argues that just like Franz Ferdinand was the spark which ignited World War 1, Helen on the other hand was just a spark which escalated an existing tension between the Greeks and Trojans. Strauss’s personal input on the war itself gives the novel a different outlook on the Trojan War because, it allows for readers to see beyond the facts and make connections with ideas that Strauss had made with recent discoveries and Homers epic.

There are many events in the myth, The Golden Apple of Discord. One is when Paris gave Ares the crown for winning a bull fight proving he was true to his word. The second event was when Eris threw the apple of discord among the Olympians and see who was the fairest of them all. The third important event was when Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite thinking her bribe was the best out of Athena’s, and Hera’s. The last important event is when Paris received Aphrodite's gift of Helen loving Paris. To achieve this Paris stole Helen from the king of Menelaus.

The gods called upon Paris to award the prize of beauty. Hera promised him power and riches if he decided in her favor. Athena offered him wisdom and glory in war. Then Aphrodite said she would give him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris gave Aphrodite the apple, and Hera and Athena became bitter enemies of the Trojans.