There was once a man called Paris. He was a very strong, handsome man and he was also very clever. He had once done a favour for the God, Aphrodite, who in return, had promised him the most beautiful woman in the world!
The only problem was… the most beautiful woman in the world was already married! To Menelaus of Sparta! Her name was Helen and she really was beautiful.
So, Paris went to Sparta and stayed in Menelaus’ house as a guest. And when Menelaus was out… he kidnapped his wife, stole some gold and ran off back to Troy where they got married!
Well, as you can imagine, Menelaus was not a happy man. He called on all his friends and soldiers to help him get Helen back.
But none of his friends wanted to go to war. So, they all came up with excuses.
One of his friends was the King of Paphos in Cyprus who said instead of going to war, he would give Menelaus fifty ships! Unfortunately, when they arrived, one was a good strong ship… and forty-nine were toy ships made of clay, with tiny little painted soldiers on them.
Again, Menelaus was not happy!
One very clever man pretended to go crazy so that he didn’t have to go to war. That was Odysseus, but he was caught out.
A huge army was built and a thousand ships were sent. And so began the Trojan War.
The Greeks fought with the Trojans for years and years and years – well ten years to be exact – and they were getting tired and fed up!
The Trojans fought with the Greeks for years and years and – well, you know – and ten years on, they were also getting tired and fed up.
The Greeks were camped outside the city walls and every day they attacked. All because of some woman and a bit of gold!
Some Trojans didn’t want to be fighting anymore. Nobody was winning the war. The Trojans and the Greeks were an equal match! Many soldiers just wanted to pack up and go home.
Then one day, that is exactly what the Greeks seemed to be doing.
The Trojans watched from the wall as the Greeks packed up their camp and left!
Was the war really over? Had Menelaus’ army given up?
Don’t worry, this isn’t the end of the story. There’s more! If you’re interested in reading the ending – please get in touch!