Download cast of characters

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Achilles—a Greek warrior; son of Thetis and Peleus
Agamemnon—the most powerful Greek king
Aphrodite—goddess of love; daughter of Zeus
Apollo—the god of prophecy, music, and healing; son of Zeus
Athena—goddess of wisdom; daughter of Zeus Cassandra—a woman of Troy
Eris—goddess of strife
Hector—leader of the Trojan army
Helen—the most beautiful woman on Earth
Hera—wife of Zeus; queen of the gods
Menelaus—Helen's husband; King of Sparta
Odysseus—a Greek warrior
Paris—the most handsome man on Earth; prince of Troy
Patroclus—Achilles' best friend
Peleus—a king; Thetis's husband
Sinon—a soldier in the Greek army
Thetis—a beautiful sea goddess; mother of Achilles
Zeus—the most powerful god
CHAPTER 1
The Golden Apple
In the old days, the Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses. These gods lived on a
big mountain high in the clouds. People did not go to Mount Olympus to see the
gods. Instead, the gods came down to see the people.
The gods were stronger and better looking than humans. But they were not always
smarter. Often they behaved badly. Sometimes they fought with humans.
Sometimes they fell in love with them. The Greek gods and goddesses stirred up a
lot of trouble.
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*Thetis was a beautiful sea goddess. She wanted to marry a handsome god. She was
insulted when a king named Peleus fell in love with her. He was not a god. And he
was not handsome.
Still, King Peleus loved Thetis with all his heart. He followed her everywhere, except to
Mount Olympus. Thetis did everything in her power to get away from him. She had
her eye on someone better.
Thetis was in love with Zeus, the most powerful god. Zeus had heard a prophecy, which
tells the future. The prophecy worried him very much. It said that Thetis would
give birth to a son who would become greater than his father.
Zeus was very important. All the other* gods looked up to him. He did not want a son
who was greater than he was. Zeus told Thetis he could not marry her.
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Zeus urged Thetis to marry Peleus. She did not want to marry Peleus. But Peleus kept
trying to win her love. He told Thetis she was beautiful and that he adored her. He
told her he would make her his queen. Finally she agreed.
The wedding was grand. King Peleus invited everyone. Thetis invited all the gods and
goddesses. She invited all of them except one, that is. She did not invite Eris. Eris
was the goddess of strife. She liked to start fights and cause trouble. Thetis did not
want any trouble at her wedding.
Eris was angry. How dare Thetis not invite her! She went to the wedding anyway. And
what did she do? She stirred up trouble! Eris took a golden apple to the wedding.
She had written some Greek words on it.
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The words meant "for the fairest." Fairest means "most beautiful." Eris tossed the apple
toward where the guests were standing.
Three goddesses ran to pick up the apple. Each thought she was the most beautiful.
One of the goddesses was Hera. Hera was the wife of Zeus. "I am the fairest!" she said.
"Eris should have given it to me."
The second goddess was Athena, daughter of Zeus. "It's clear that I am the fairest," said
Athena. "My name should be on the apple."
The last goddess was Aphrodite. She was also a daughter of Zeus. "Anyone can see I
am the fairest," she said. "The apple was meant to be mine."
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And so the three argued over the apple. Thetis's wedding was ruined. No one noticed
her. Instead, everyone listened to the arguing. Eris was happy. This would teach
Thetis not to leave her out!
The goddesses asked the guests to decide who was the fairest. The guests would not
decide. They knew it would not be smart to make any of the goddesses angry.
The goddesses called on Zeus. They asked him to choose the fairest. Zeus refused. He
did not want any of the goddesses to be angry with him.
After the wedding the goddesses went back to Mount Olympus. They were still arguing
about who was the fairest. This went on for years.
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