Download Trojan War-How it Started

Paris was the son of King Priam, the ruler
of Troy. When Paris was a young boy,
there was a prophecy that he would cause
the destruction of Troy. He was sent to
Mount Ida to be raised by a shepherd.
Thetis was a
beautiful water
goddess.
Zeus (Jupiter) fell in
love with her. But
it was prophesized
that her son would
be greater than his
father. Zeus did
not want to be
father of her son.
He ordered her to
marry a man from
Earth.
There was a grand wedding. All the gods and
goddesses were invited, except Eris (Discord). She
loved to make trouble. Nobody wanted trouble.
Everyone was having a wonderful time until ……………..
Eris showed up.
She was not happy
about being left
out. While the
gods feasted at the
table, she threw
her golden apple
from a cloud.
The apple caused
a lot of trouble!
On it was written
“for the fairest”.
Three goddesses claimed the apple: Aphrodite (Venus),
Hera, (Juno), and Athena (Minerva).
Zeus (Jupiter) did not want to be the one to choose
which goddess was "the fairest". He knew whoever he
picked, the other two would be mad. A shepherd was
asked to make the choice.
Hermes (Mercury)
took the apple to the
shepherd. Remember
Paris was the son of
King Priam who was
sent to Mount Ida to
be raised by a
shepherd. As if by
fate, the shepherd
told to chose was
Paris.
Hera, Athena, and
Aphrodite each offered
Paris something if he
would give her the
golden apple.
If Paris chose Hera,
she would give him great riches and power.
If Paris
chose Athena
(Minerva),
she would
make him a
great warrior
in battle.
If Paris chooses Aphrodite (Venus),
she would give him the most beautiful woman in the world.
Paris chooses
Aphrodite and to
have the most
beautiful woman in
the world.
Helen was the beautiful
daughter of the King of
Sparta. All the heroes,
including Odysseus,
Menelaus, and Agamemnon
wanted her to be their
wife.
Odysseus, who was
very wise, suggested
a plan. Helen would
decide who she
wanted to marry and
the others would
accept her choice.
They would also help
the one she chose
keep her.
Helen chose Menelaus
to be her husband.
When her father died,
Menelaus became King
of Sparta.
Paris returned home to Troy
and took a place with his
brother Hector beside his
father King Priam.
Then, Paris went to Sparta
to talk with King Menelaus
about peace between Sparta
and Troy. While there he
saw Helen. She was very
beautiful, the most beautiful
woman in the world. Helen
was the woman he had been
promised by Aphrodite.
Helen may
have been
kidnapped by
Paris. But
most think……
Aphrodite helped Paris to win Helen’s heart.
With the help of
Aphrodite, Helen
fell in love with
Paris.
Helen went with Paris
willingly.
Thetis and Peleus
had a son. His
name was Achilles.
Thetis worried
about Achilles and
wanted to keep
him safe.
To protect Achilles she
dipped him in the River
Styx. Wherever the
water touched him, he
was protected from
harm.
Thetis held Achilles
by his heel when
she dipped him into
the water.
Thetis gave Achilles to Chiron to teach.
Chiron was a centaur.
He was a scholar and
had many students,
Most centaurs were
not like Chiron.
He was a good teacher.
When Achilles got older, Thetis disguised him as a
girl and hid him. She did not want him to go to
war.
King Agamemnon was the high king
of all of Greece. Menelaus was
his brother. Menelaus was furious
that Helen was gone. He went to
his brother to help him.
Agamemnon and Menelaus went to
get Odysseus to help them go get
Helen back. But Odysseus had
married. He did not want to leave
his wife Penelope or his son
Telemechus.
Odysseus pretended to be crazy by plowing with an
ox and horse together. Also, he sowed salt into the
ground. Agamemnon and Menelaus put his son in the
path of the plow. Odysseus stopped and showed he
was not really crazy. He joined them in the war
against Troy.
Odysseus went to get Achilles to join them. Odysseus
was the wisest of the Greeks. He pretended to be a
trader. He took many beautiful things that girls
would like. He also took a sword and armor.
Achilles, disguised
as a girl, was very
interested in the
sword and armor.
Odysseus knew
Achilles would be.
It was a trick.
Achilles put on the armor, while the girls
looked at other things.
Odysseus caught Achilles. When Odysseus told
Achilles about the war he agreed to go and fight.
The Greek army
was assembled and
they boarded a
thousand ships.
Fifty men were on
each ship. The
Greek army went
to get Helen back.
A thousand ships sailed and a thousand ships landed
on the shores of Troy.
attacked troy.
The city is very well fortified. The Trojan War
continued for nine years with neither side winning.