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Paris was chosen to decide who of Hera, Aphrodite, and Pallas Athena was the most beautiful. They all offered him bribes to try to get him to pick them, and he accepted the bribe from Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. This is generally regarded as the reason the Trojan War was fought.
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Helen's Father, King Tyndarius, chose Menelaus to be Helen's suitor.
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Aphrodite led Paris to Sparta. Menelaus welcomed Paris into his and Helen's home, as was the custom of the time. When Menelaus left for Crete, Paris stole Helen. When he came back and saw that his wife had been kidnapped, he united Greece to destroy Troy and get Helen back.
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When the Greek troops met up at Aulis, the winds were too powerful to sail. Calchas told the troops that they had angered Artemis by killing a hare. The only way to get Artemis to stop the wind from blowing was a sacrifice. They sacrificed Agamemnon's daughter, Iphigenia, and they were able to set sail for Troy.
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The Greeks come ashore at the Simois River. Protesilaus bravely came ashore first, knowing that he would be the first to die. After his death, he was allowed to see his wife, Laodamia, again. She committed suicide to be with him.
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With Hector, the Prince of Troy, leading the charge for the Trojans, and Achilles leading the charge for the Greeks, there was 9 years of even fighting.
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Agamemnon stole Chryseis, the daughter of Apollo's Priest. The priest asked Apollo to punish the Greeks for Agamemnon's deed, and Apollo rained fiery arrows down on the Greek camp. This ravaged the Greek troops, so the chieftains met up to decide how to stop Apollo's anger. They decided that Agamemnon must give Chryseis back, and he reluctantly did as they said. Agamemnon then stole Briseis, Achilles' favorite maiden. This made Achilles choose to stop fighting as a punishment to Agamemnon.
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Zeus, knowing that Achilles was refusing to fight and having sided with the Trojans, sent a dream to Agamemnon saying that he would win the war if he attacked immediately. This caused a massive battle to occur. Paris and Menelaus met in 1 on 1 combat, and Menelaus won. However, Paris did not die because he was saved by Aphrodite. Agamemnon asked for Helen back, but while they were talking, Athena convinced Pandarus to shoot Menelaus, and the battle began again.
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Diomedes, the second greatest Greek warrior, came face to face with Hector, but was afraid to fight because Ares was standing with him. Hera helped Diomedes to overcome his fear of attacking by guiding his spear to stab Ares. However, Diomedes did not kill Hector.
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Hector's brother told him to tell the queen to offer Athena her finest robe and pray that she has mercy. Athena chose to deny the Queen's prayer.
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Zeus helped the Trojans to drive the Greeks almost all the way back to their ships. This made Agamemnon want to quit and go home. Nestor told Agamemnon that he had to appease Achilles by sending Briseis back to him. Odysseus went to try to convince Achilles to return to battle. His efforts weren't fruitful.
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Without the help of Achilles, the Greeks were driven all the way to the beaches the next day. Hera came up with a new plan to distract Zeus from the war. She made herself as beautiful as possible, even wearing Aphrodite's girdle, and as soon as Zeus saw her, he was so overcome with love that he completely ignored the war. It is likely that Troy would have been destroyed if Zeus didn't wake up and see that he had been tricked. Hera blamed Poseidon, so Zeus forced him to withdraw.
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When Poseidon withdrew, the Greeks immediately regained the upper hand. Apollo and Hector stood together for the Trojans and forced the Greek troops all the way back to their ships. When Patroclus, Achilles' best friend, saw this, he convinced Achilles to let him wear his armor and pretend to be him. He got to battle and led Achilles troops valiantly, but he was mismatched when he came face to face with Hector. Hector killed him and stole his armor. This tragedy made Achilles return to battle.
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When Achilles returned to battle, the fighting was fierce. Even the gods were pitted against each other. The Trojans were driven all the way back to their city. All of the Trojans went inside the walls, except for Hector. Since he knew he would die, he wanted to die valiantly. Athena and Achilles chased him around Troy 3 times. Athena got him to stop running by appearing at his side, disguised as his brother. Thinking he had help, he fought Achilles. Achilles killed him and desecrated his corpe.
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Memnon, the King of Ethiopia, brought his troops to aid the Trojans. The Ethiopians were welcomed by the Trojans and helped them to kill many Greeks. However, Achilles was able to kill Memnon. Unfortunately, this was the last man that Achilles would ever slay in battle. Paris, with the help of Apollo, shot an arrow and hit Achilles' heal. This was the only part of his body that had not been immersed in the River Styx, with made it vulnerable. Achilles' bones were put with Patroclus'.
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After Calchus told them to, the Greeks captured Helenus. He said that the Greeks' only chance of victory was to get Hercules' Bow and Arrows. They belonged to Prince Philoctetes, whom they had left on an island on the way to Troy after being bitten by a snake. The Greeks sent Odysseus to get the sacred weapons. Odysseus stole them from Philoctetes, who insisted that he be brought back to the Greeks. Philoctetes was healed and used the weapons to shoot Paris.
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Knowing that their only chance of victory was to have the element of surprise, the Greeks designed the legendary tactic known as the Trojan Horse. They had a master woodworker make a giant horse that was hollow in the middle. The Greeks planned to store several chieftains in the horse, while the rest of the troops went back to their ships and sailed around an island, which would make it seem like they had returned to Greece.
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When the Trojans went to look at the abandoned Greek camp, they found Sinon. He was taken to Priam. He told him that the Horse was an offering to Athena, and that the Greeks had hoped that the Trojans would burn it, thus angering Athena. The Trojans believed his story and brought the horse into the city.
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That night, the chieftains jumped out of the horse and opened the gate to the city. The entire Greek army entered the city. Their first move was to light the city on fire. This caused chaos and prevented the Trojans from organizing against the Greeks. The army stormed the castle and was able to catch the Trojan royals. Neoptolemus, Achilles' son, struck down Priam in front of his wife and kids. Helen was saved by Aphrodite and returned to Menelaus, thus ending the Trojan War.
