User talk:Silvigf 38

Trojan War
The Trojan War started with the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, a sea-goddess. They did not invite Eris, the goddess of discord; she went to the wedding burning in anger and threw a golden apple in a table. The apple belonged to Eris. Here, Athena, and Aphrodite went for the apple. Zeus proclaimed Paris, prince of Troy and thought that he was the prettiest man alive, would act as the judge. Hermes went to Paris, and Paris agreed to act as the judge. Hera promised him power, Athena promised him wealth, and Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris chose Aphrodite and she promised him that Helen, wife of Menelaus would be his wife. Paris chose Aphrodite, and she promised him that Helen, wife of Menelaus, would be his wife. Paris then prepared to set off for Sparta to capture Helen. Twin prophets Cassandra and Helenus tried to persuade him against such action, as did his mother, Hecuba. But Paris would not listen and he set off for Sparta. In Sparta, Menelaus, husband of Helen, treated Paris as a royal guest. However, when Menelaus left Sparta to go to a funeral, Paris abducted Helen (who perhaps went willingly) and also carried off much of Menelaus' wealth. In Troy, Helen and Paris were married. This occurred around 1200 B.C. (Wood, 16).

Was there a Trojan War? Despite assumptions to the contrary, archaeological work of the new Troy project has not been performed for the purpose of understanding Homer's Iliad or the Trojan War. For the past 16 years, more than 350 scholars, scientists, and technicians from nearly 20 countries have been collaborating on the excavations at the site in northwestern Turkey that began as an Early Bronze Age citadel in the third millennium B.C. and ended as a Byzantine settlement before being abandoned in A.D. 1350. However, as current director of the excavations, I am continually asked if Homer's Trojan War really happened.