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All the gods were invited to the wedding except Eris, goddess of discord. In spite of her being not welcome, Eris came to the wedding and threw a golden apple that said "for the fairest" into the crowd. Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera fought over the apple but Zeus didn't choose between them. -
Zeus had Hermes lead Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera to Paris, shepherd prince of Troy, to decide which goddess was the fairest and thus had rights to the apple. Paris ended up choosing Aphrodite because she offered him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. -
Not realizing Helen was King Menelaus' wife, Paris went to Sparta to find Helen. Cupid shot Helen with an arrow, and then she fell in love with Paris. Then, Paris and Helen eloped to Troy. -
Menelaus was outraged to find out that Helen ran off with Paris to Troy, and convinced his brother Agamemnon to assist him in finding Helen. -
Achilles, part of the Greek army, conquered 12 islands and eleven cities during the Trojan War. For nine years the Greeks raided Troy and its allies. Troy's walls were very strong and were built by Apollo and Poseidon. -
Menelaus then asked Paris if he wanted to fight him so they could settle matters with Helen between themselves. Paris said yes, but Menelaus nearly killed Paris in their fight. Next, Menelaus grabbed Paris by his helmet when Aphrodite got involved and surrounded Paris with a thick mist, transporting him to the safety of his bedroom. -
Hector, prince of Troy, flinged a huge rock at Ajax, a Greek warrior, who blocked it with his shield. Then, Ajax threw an even bigger rock at Hector, which broke his shield. Hector and Ajax were forced to stop the fight because it was getting dark. Moreover, the fighters ended the fight peacefully. Ajax gave Hector a purple belt, signifying respect, and Hector gave Ajax a silver-hilted sword. -
Achilles disputed with Agamemnon because he took Achilles' concubine Briseis. Achilles refused to take part in fighting, but Agamemnon soon realized that the Trojans were winning so far. Following, Agamemnon had Patroclus to try and convince Achilles to join the fight, but he refused. Patroclus then put on Achilles' armor, and he and his army succeeded in pushing the Trojans away from their camp. However, he forgot what Achilles told him about not going to Troy and got killed by Hector there. -
With Apollo's help, Paris shot Achilles in the ankle, his only weak spot, and Achilles died. Later on, Paris was killed by Philoktetes, Achilles' avenger. Around the same time, Odysseus went to Troy in disguise and stole the Palladium (statue of Athena), without which the city would tumble. -
After 10 years of war, the Greeks built a giant wooden horse which men could hide in. The horse was left on Trojan beach with Sinon, one of the Greeks' men, while the rest pretended to leave. When the Trojans saw the wooden horse, Sinon told them that the Greeks had surrendered and it was a gift for Athena. The enemies took the horse into Troy and rejoiced over their victory. In the nighttime, the men in the horse sneaked out and opened the city gates and the Greeks raided Troy. The war ends.