According to ancient Greek epic poet Homer, the Trojan War was caused by Paris, son of the Trojan king, and Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus, when they went off together to Troy. To get her back, Menelaus sought help from his brother Agamemnon, who assembled a Greek army to defeat Troy. Another myth attributes the origin of the Trojan War to a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera over who among them was the fairest. After Paris chose Aphrodite, Athena and Hera plotted against Troy.
The Trojan War was a legendary conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia, dated by later Greek authors to the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war stirred the imagination of the ancient Greeks more than any other event in their history and was celebrated in the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, as well as a number of other early works now lost, and frequently provided material for the great dramatists of the Classical Age. It also figures in the literature of the Romans (e.g., Virgil’s Aeneid) and of later peoples down to modern times.
The events of the Trojan War can be found in a variety of Greek literature and depicted in several Greek pieces of art. However, there is not one single authoritative text that recounts all of the events that happened during the war. Instead, a story can be assembled from several sources, some of which recount contradictory versions of events. In this article, we’re going to discuss the cause of the Trojan War so that you have a better understanding of why the war happened.
In summary, the Trojan War was caused by the elopement (or abduction) of the queen of Sparta, Helen by Paris, son of the Trojan king. Menelaus, the husband of Helen, sought help from his brother Agamemnon, who assembled a Greek army to defeat Troy. Another myth attributes the origin of the Trojan War to a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera over who among them was the fairest.