1.

Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the
Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the
king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology
and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad and the
Odyssey by Homer. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy,
while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean
leaders. Other parts of the war were told in a cycle of epic poems, which has only
survived in fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy
and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets like Virgil and Ovid.

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and
Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple,
sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the
goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the
apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and
wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king
of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of
Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult.
After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the
Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans
slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they
kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath.
Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in
distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans,
who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern day Italy.

The ancient Greeks thought the Trojan War was a historical event that had taken
place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and believed that Troy was located in modern
day Turkey near the Dardanelles. By modern times both the war and the city were
widely believed to be non-historical. In 1870, however, the German archaeologist
Heinrich Schliemann excavated a site in this area which he identified as Troy; this
claim is now accepted by most scholars.[1][2] Whether there is any historical reality
behind the Trojan War is an open question. Many scholars believe that there is a
historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are
a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the
Bronze Age. Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War derive from a
specific historical conflict usually date it to the 12th or 11th centuries BC, often
preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 1194–1184 BC, which roughly
corresponds with archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VIIa.[3]

The events of the Trojan War are found in many works of Greek literature and
depicted in numerous works of Greek art. There is no single, authoritative text
which tells the entire events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from a
variety of sources, some of which report contradictory versions of the events. The
most important literary sources are the two epic poems traditionally credited to
Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed sometime between the 9th and 6th
centuries BC.[4] Each poem narrates only a part of the war. The Iliad covers a short
period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey concerns Odysseus's
return to his home island of Ithaca, following the sack of Troy.

Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle, also known
as the Cyclic Epics: the Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliou Persis, Nostoi, and
Telegony. Though these poems survive only in fragments, their content is known
from a summary included in Proclus' Chrestomathy.[5] The authorship of the Cyclic
Epics is uncertain. It is generally thought that the poems were written down in the
7th and 6th century BC, after the composition of the Homeric poems, though it is
widely believed that they were based on earlier traditions.[6] Both the Homeric epics
and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition. Even after the composition of the
Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic Epics, the myths of the Trojan War were passed on
orally, in many genres of poetry and through non-poetic storytelling. Events and
details of the story that are only found in later authors may have been passed on
through oral tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems. Visual art, such as
vase-painting, was another medium in which myths of the Trojan War circulated.[7]

In later ages playwrights, historians, and other intellectuals would create works
inspired by the Trojan War. The three great tragedians of Athens, Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides, wrote many dramas that portray episodes from the Trojan
War. Among Roman writers the most important is the 1st century BC poet Virgil.
In Book 2 of the Aeneid, Aeneas narrates the sack of Troy; this section of the poem
is thought to rely on material from the Cyclic Epic Iliou Persis.[citation needed]

Legend

The following summary of the Trojan War follows the order of events as given in
Proclus' summary, along with the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, supplemented with
details drawn from other authors.

Origins of the war

The plan of Zeus

According to Greek mythology, Zeus had become king of the gods by overthrowing
his father Cronus; Cronus in turn had overthrown his father Uranus. Zeus was not
faithful to his wife and sister Hera, and had many relationships from which many
children were born. Since Zeus believed that there were too many people populating
the earth, he envisioned Momus[8] or Themis,[9] who was to use the Trojan War as a
means to depopulate the Earth, especially of his demigod descendants.[10]

The wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the Apple of Discord, and the Judgement of
Paris

Zeus came to learn from either Themis[11] or Prometheus, after Heracles had
released him from Caucasus,[12] that, like his father Cronus, one of his sons would
overthrow him. Another prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph Thetis, with
whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast,
would become greater than his father.[13] Possibly for one or both of these reasons,
[14]
Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king, Peleus son of Aiakos, either upon
Zeus' orders,[15] or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her.[16]

This painting depicts Paris surveying Aphrodite naked, along with the other two
goddesses standing by. (El Juicio de Paris (The Judgment of Paris) by Enrique
Simonet, 1904)

All of the gods were invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding and brought many gifts,
[17]
except Eris ("Discord"), who was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus' order.
[18]
Insulted, she threw from the door a gift of her own:[19] a golden apple (το μήλον
της έριδος) on which were inscribed the word καλλίστῃ Kallistēi ("To the fairest").
[20]
The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. They quarreled bitterly
over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear
of earning the enmity of the other two. Eventually, Zeus ordered Hermes to lead the
three goddesses to Paris, a prince of Troy, who, unaware of his ancestry, was being
raised as a shepherd in Mount Ida,[21] because of a prophecy that he would be the
downfall of Troy.[22] The goddesses appeared to him naked, after bathing in the
spring of Ida, and because he was unable to decide between them, they resorted to
bribes. Athena offered Paris wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of the greatest
warriors; Hera offered him political power and control of all of Asia; and Aphrodite
offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta.
Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, and, after several adventures, returned to
Troy, where he was recognized by his royal family.

Peleus and Thetis bore a son, whom they named Achilles. It was foretold that he
would either die of old age after an uneventful life, or die young in a battlefield and
gain immortality through poetry.[23] Furthermore, when Achilles was nine years old,
Calchas had prophesied that Troy could not again fall without his help.[24] A number
of sources credit Thetis with attempting to make Achilles immortal when he was an
infant. Some of these state that she held him over fire every night to burn away his
mortal parts and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day, but Peleus discovered
her actions and stopped her.[25] According to some versions of this story, Thetis had
already destroyed several sons in this manner, and Peleus' action therefore saved his
son's life.[26] Other sources state that Thetis bathed Achilles in the River Styx, the
river that runs to the under world, making him invulnerable wherever he had
touched the water.[27] Because she had held him by the heel, it was not immersed
during the bathing and thus the heel remained mortal and vulnerable to injury
(hence the expression "Achilles heel" for an isolated weakness). He grew up to be
the greatest of all mortal warriors. After Calchas' prophesy, Thetis hid Achilles in
Skyros at the court of king Lycomedes, where he was disguised as a girl.[28] At a
crucial point in the war, she assists her son by providing weapons divinely forged
by Hephaestus .

2. Synopsis---THE ILIAD EPIC by HOMER

 (1) After an invocation to the Muses, the story launches in medias res towards the
end of the Trojan War between the Trojans and the besieging Greeks. Chryses, a
Trojan priest of Apollo, offers the Greeks wealth for the return of his daughter
Chryseis, a captive of Agamemnon, the Greek leader. Although most of the Greek
army is in favour of the offer, Agamemnon refuses. Chryses prays for Apollo's help,
and Apollo causes a plague throughout the Greek army.

After nine days of plague, Achilles, the leader of the Myrmidon contingent, calls an
assembly to solve the plague problem. Under pressure, Agamemnon agrees to
return Chryseis to her father, but also decides to take Achilles's captive, Briseis, as
compensation. Angered, Achilles declares that he and his men will no longer fight
for Agamemnon, but will go home. Odysseus takes a ship and brings Chryseis to
her father, whereupon Apollo ends the plague.

In the meantime, Agamemnon's messengers take Briseis away, and Achilles asks
his mother, Thetis, to ask Zeus that the Greeks be brought to the breaking point by
the Trojans, so Agamemnon will realise how much the Greeks need Achilles. Thetis
does so, Zeus agrees, (2) and sends a dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack
the city. Agamemnon heeds the dream but decides to first test the morale of the
Greek army by telling them to go home. The plan backfires, and only the
intervention of Odysseus, inspired by Athena, stops a rout.

Odysseus confronts and beats Thersites, a common soldier who voices discontent at
fighting Agamemnon's war. After a meal, the Greeks deploy in companies upon the
Trojan plain. The poet takes the opportunity to describe the provenance of each
Greek contingent. When news of the Greek deployment reaches king Priam, the
Trojans too sortie upon the plain. In a similar list to that for the Greeks, the poet
describes the Trojans and their allies.

(3) The armies approach each other on the plain, but before they meet, Paris offers
to end the war by fighting a duel with Menelaus, urged by his brother and head of
the Trojan army, Hector. While Helen tells Priam about the Greek commanders
from the walls of Troy, both sides swear a truce and promise to abide by the
outcome of the duel. Paris is beaten, but Aphrodite rescues him and leads him to
bed with Helen before Menelaus could kill him.

(4) Pressured by Hera's hatred of Troy, Zeus arranges for the Trojan Pandaros to
break the truce by wounding Menelaus with an arrow. Agamemnon rouses the
Greeks, and battle is joined. (5) In the fighting, Diomedes kills many Trojans and
defeats Aeneas, whom again Aphrodite rescues, but Diomedes attacks and wounds
the goddess. Apollo faces Diomedes, and warns him against warring with gods.
Many heroes and commanders join in, including Hector, and the gods supporting
each side try to influence the battle. Emboldened by Athena, Diomedes wounds
Ares and puts him out of action.

(6) Hector rallies the Trojans and stops a rout; the Greek Diomedes and the Trojan
Glaukos find common ground and exchange unequal gifts. Hector enters the city,
urges prayers and sacrifices, incites Paris to battle, bids his wife Andromache and
son Astyanax farewell on the city walls, and rejoins the battle. (7) Hector duels with
Ajax, but nightfall interrupts the fight and both sides retire. The Greeks agree to
burn their dead and build a wall to protect their ships and camp, while the Trojans
quarrel about returning Helen. Paris offers to return the treasure he took, and give
further wealth as compensation, but without returning Helen, and the offer is
refused.

A day's truce is agreed for burning the dead, during which the Greeks also build
their wall and trench. (8) The next morning, Zeus prohibits the gods from
interfering, and fighting begins anew. The Trojans prevail and force the Greeks
back to their wall while Hera and Athena are forbidden from helping. Night falls
before the Trojans can assail the Greek wall. They camp in the field to attack at first
light, and their watchfires light the plain like stars.

(9) Meanwhile, the Greeks are desperate. Agamemnon admits his error, and sends
an embassy composed of Odysseus, Ajax, Phoenix, and two heralds to offer Briseis
and extensive gifts to Achilles, who has been camped next to his ships throughout,
if only he would return to the fighting. Achilles and his companion Patroclus
receive the embassy well, but Achilles angrily refuses Agamemnon's offer, and
declares that he would only return to battle if the Trojans reach his ships and
threaten them with fire. The embassy returns empty-handed. (10)

Later that night, Odysseus and Diomedes venture out to the Trojan lines, killing the
Trojan Dolon and wreaking havoc in the camps of some Thracian allies of Troy.
(11) In the morning, the fighting is fierce and Agamemnon, Diomedes, and
Odysseus are all wounded. Achilles sends Patroclus from his camp to inquire about
the Greek casualties, and while there Patroclus is moved to pity by a speech of
Nestor. (12) The Trojans assault the Greek wall on foot. Hector, ignoring an omen,
leads the terrible fighting. The Greeks are overwhelmed in rout, the wall's gate is
broken, and Hector charges in.

(13) Many fall on both sides. The Trojan seer Polydamas urges Hector to fall back
and warns him about Achilles, but is ignored. (14) Hera seduces Zeus and lures him
to sleep, allowing Poseidon to help the Greeks, and the Trojans are driven back onto
the plain. (15) Zeus awakes and is enraged by Poseidon's intervention. Against the
mounting discontent of the Greek-supporting gods, Zeus sends Apollo to aid the
Trojans, who once again breach the wall, and the battle reaches the ships.

(16) Patroclus can stand to watch no longer, and begs Achilles to be allowed to
defend the ships. Achilles relents, and lends Patroclus his armor, but sends him off
with a stern admonition to not pursue the Trojans, lest he take Achilles's glory.
Patroclus leads the Myrmidons to battle and arrives as the Trojans set fire to the
first ships. The Trojans are routed by the sudden onslaught. Patroclus, ignoring
Achilles's command, pursues and reaches the gates of Troy, where Apollo himself
stops him. Patroclus is set upon by Apollo and Euphorbos, and is finally killed by
Hector. (17) Hector takes Achilles's armor from the fallen Patroclus, but fighting
develops around Patroclus' body.
(18) Achilles is mad with grief when he hears of Patroclus's death, and vows to take
vengeance on Hector; his mother Thetis grieves, too, knowing that Achilles is fated
to die young if he kills Hector. Achilles is urged to help retrieve Patroclus' body, but
has no armour. Made brilliant by Athena, Achilles stands next to the Greek wall and
roars in rage. The Trojans are dismayed by his appearance and the Greeks manage
to bear Patroclus' body away. Again Polydamas urges Hector to withdraw into the
city, again Hector refuses, and the Trojans camp in the plain at nightfall. Patroclus
is mourned, and meanwhile, at Thetis' request, Hephaistos fashions a new set of
armor for Achilles, among which is a magnificently wrought shield. (19) In the
morning, Agamemnon gives Achilles all the promised gifts, including Briseis, but
he is indifferent to them. Achilles fasts while the Greeks take their meal, and straps
on his new armor, and heaves his great spear. His horse Xanthos prophesies to
Achilles his death. Achilles drives his chariot into battle.

(20) Zeus lifts the ban on the gods' interference, and the gods freely intervene on
both sides. The onslaught of Achilles, burning with rage and grief, is terrible, and
he slays many. (21) Driving the Trojans before him, Achilles cuts off half in the
river Skamandros and proceeds to slaughter them and fills the river with the dead.
The river, angry at the killing, confronts Achilles, but is beaten back by Hephaistos'
firestorm. The gods fight among themselves. The great gates of the city are opened
to receive the fleeing Trojans, and Apollo leads Achilles away from the city by
pretending to be a Trojan.

(22) When Apollo reveals himself to Achilles, the Trojans had retreated into the
city, all except for Hector, who, having twice ignored the counsels of Polydamas,
feels the shame of rout and resolves to face Achilles, in spite of the pleas of Priam
and Hecuba, his parents. When Achilles approaches, Hector's will fails him, and he
is chased around the city by Achilles. Finally, Athena tricks him to stop running,
and he turns to face his opponent. After a brief duel, Achilles stabs Hector through
the neck. Before dying, Hector reminds Achilles that he is fated to die in the war as
well. Achilles takes Hector's body and dishonours it.

(23) The ghost of Patroclus comes to Achilles in a dream and urges the burial of his
body. The Greeks hold a day of funeral games, and Achilles gives out the prizes.
(24) Dismayed by Achilles' continued abuse of Hector's body, Zeus decides that it
must be returned to Priam. Led by Hermes, Priam takes a wagon out of Troy, across
the plains, and enters the Greek camp unnoticed. He grasps Achilles by the knees
and begs to have his son's body. Achilles is moved to tears, and the two lament their
losses in the war. After a meal, Priam carries Hector's body back into Troy. Hector
is buried, and the city mourns.

3. Plot--- TROY FILM 2004

Prince Hector (Eric Bana) and his young brother Paris (Orlando Bloom) negotiate
peace between Troy and Sparta. Paris has fallen in love with Helen (Diane Kruger),
the wife of king Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), and smuggles her back to Troy with
him. Infuriated, Menelaus vows revenge. Menelaus approaches his brother
Agamemnon (Brian Cox), a king who has conquered every army of Greece, and
now commands them. Agamemnon, who has wanted to conquer Troy for years
(which would give him control of the Aegean Sea), uses this as a justification to
invade Troy. General Nestor (John Shrapnel) asks him to take the legendary warrior
Achilles (Brad Pitt), to rally the troops to the cause.

Odysseus (Sean Bean), a king commanded by Agamemnon, visits Phtia to persuade

Achilles to fight, and finds him training with Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund), his
cousin. Achilles, pondering his decision, visits his mother Thetis (Julie Christie) for
advice. She tells him that, before he was even born, she knew this day would come.
She also tells him that if he does not go to Troy, he will live a long, happy life and
have children, but after he dies, his name will be forgotten and nobody will
remember him. If he does go to Troy, he will find great glory in battle, his name
will be written into history forever, but he will die there. Achilles, wanting his name
to be remembered, chooses to go.

The Greeks sail for Troy. Achilles and the Myrmidons are the fastest rowers and
land before anyone else. They kill many Trojans and desecrate the temple of
Apollo. Briseis (Rose Byrne), a member of the Trojan royal family, is captured and
taken as a prize to the Greeks, despite Achilles claiming her as a war prize himself.

Achilles and his Myrmidons do not fight the next day because of Agamemnon's
unfair claim to Briseis. With Greeks surrounding Troy, Paris challenges Menelaus
to a duel to settle things. Menelaus agrees; however, Agamemnon plans on
attacking the city regardless of the outcome. Paris is easily defeated, and wounded.
Hector intervenes and kills Menelaus. The Greeks charge the Trojan lines but are
forced to fall back when they are nearly wiped out by archers on Troy's walls. Ajax
is slain in the battle at the hands of Hector.

Agamemnon gives Briseis to his men, but Achilles rescues her. He carries her back
to his tent and tends to her wounds. Briseis then tries to kill Achilles but realizes
that she has feelings for him and the two make love. The next day, Achilles is
readying his men to leave, much to Patroclus' indignation.

That night, the Trojans launch a surprise offensive against the Greek encampment,
aiming to destroy their boats and prevent their escape. As the Greeks seem to be on
the verge of defeat, Achilles appears with the Myrmidons and joins the battle,
eventually fighting against Hector. The battle goes much better for the Greeks than
before, but all are shocked when Hector cuts Achilles' throat. Hector removes his
foe's helmet, revealing the face of Patroclus. After Hector finishes the mortally
wounded youth mercifully, both armies agree to end fighting for the day. Before he
leaves, Odysseus informs Hector it was Patroclus whom he had killed.

Achilles, who had slept through the battle, is told by Eudorus of his cousin's death.
The Greeks had also mistaken Patroclus for Achilles, since he had put on Achilles'
armour and moved like Achilles. Furious, Achilles attacks Eudorus and when
Briseis tries to stop him, he throws her to the ground. Later that night, Achilles
lights Patroclus' funeral pyre. Meanwhile, in Troy, Hector realizes that Achilles will
seek revenge for the death of his cousin, and begins making preparations to save his
loved ones. He leads Andromache to a secret path out of the city, asking her to use
it if the city falls. He also passes on the Sword of Troy to Paris (who has begun
training in archery), claiming that the city's people have a future so long as the
sword is in the hands of a Trojan.

The next day Achilles approaches the gates of Troy alone and shouts for Hector to
come out and face him. Hector knows he must face him alone, so he says his
goodbyes to his family and friends and then confronts Achilles. The two fight an
evenly matched duel at the start, but Hector begins to tire against the relentless
assault of Achilles. Eventually, Achilles slays Hector by stabbing him in the chest.
He then ties Hector's body to the back of his chariot, dragging it around the city,
leaving all the Trojans shocked. That night, King Priam (Peter O'Toole) visits the
Greek army's camp to convince Achilles to let him retrieve Hector's body. Moved
by the king's plea, Achilles acquiesces to his request and allows him to take his son
to be buried, promising him the 12 days for funerary rites. Achilles breaks down
and cries while preparing Hector's body for transport back to Troy. He tells Priam
that Hector was the best he had ever fought. Achilles lets Priam take Briseis back as
well. He later apologises to Eudorus for harming him and gives him one last order:
to take the Myrmidons home.

During the 12 day-truce, Troy mourns Hector's death, while Agamemmnon fumes
at the loss of an opportunity to end the war once and for all while the Trojans are in
disarray at the loss of their top general even though his generals, including
Odysseus, inform him that the death Hector makes no difference as the Greeks still
cant breach the walls of Troy. Seeing that the mad king will sooner see every one of
his own men slaughtered before he gives up his ambition, Odysseus plans to
infiltrate the city by building a hollowed-out wooden horse. The Greeks leave the
horse at their camp, then depart, hiding their ships in a nearby cove. Priam trusts his
priests that the horse is an offering to Poseidon and a gift, despite the misgivings of
Paris. Assuming victory, the Trojans take the horse into the city and celebrate. A
Trojan scout finds the Greek ships hiding in the cove, but is killed by the Greeks
before he can spread the news. A band of Greeks led by Achilles and Odysseus
come out of the horse at night, opening the gates to the city, allowing the main army
to enter. The Greeks commence the Sack of Troy, massacring the inhabitants and
looting buildings. The Trojan army attempts to defend the royal palace but fails, and
the Greeks storm in, killing Glaucus and Priam in the process.

While Troy is burned, Paris sees Andromache, Helen, and many others escaping
from Troy through the secret passage Hector showed his wife. Seeing a man named
Aeneas, Paris hands him the Sword of Troy, repeating his brother's words that the
Trojans will have a future as long as the sword is in Trojan hands. After seeing the
survivors off, Paris heads back into the city, bow and arrows at the ready.

Achilles searches for Briseis, who is being threatened by Agamemnon. She kills
him with a concealed knife and is saved from his guards by Achilles. While
Achilles is helping Briseis to her feet, Paris, seeing them together and
misinterpreting Achilles' actions, shoots Achilles several times before Briseis
manages to stay his hand. Achilles urges Briseis to join Paris and escape from the
city, then dies of the wound to the one spot on his body that was vulnerable, his
heel. The soldiers arrive to see the fallen Achilles with only the single arrow
through his heel, as he had removed all the others, in keeping with the myth that
Achilles was killed by a single arrow to the heel. Funeral rituals are performed for
him in the ruins of Troy the next day. The film ends with a speech from Odysseus
"If they ever tell my story, let them say I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like
the winter wheat, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of
Hector, tamer of horses. Let them say I lived in the time of Achilles."

4. Plot summary----- HELEN OF TROY FILM 2003

The film begins with the birth of Paris, and Cassandra's prophecy that he would be
the cause of Troy's destruction. Worried, his father King Priam leaves him on
Mount Ida, where he is found and raised by the shepherd Agelaus. When he is an
adult, he judges Aphrodite as the fairest of the three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and
Aphrodite. After awarding her the golden apple she promises him the love of Helen
of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world.

Meanwhile in Sparta, Helen sees in a pool Paris's judgement, and happily accepts
his choice of her love. She later meets the Mycenaean King, Agamemnon, who has
come to claim her sister, Clytemnestra, as his bride, but is also immediately taken
by her attractiveness. During the wedding, Helen is kidnapped by two Athenians,
Theseus, and his friend Pirithous. They take her to Athens, where Helen falls for
Theseus, before her brother Pollux raids Athens and kills him. As he is dying,
Theseus stabs Pollux. In Sparta, Helen's father Tyndareus rages at his daughter,
blaming her for losing his heir. He presents her to the many suitors who seek her
hand, bidding them to do as they wish.

The suitors draw lots after swearing an oath suggested by clever Odysseus that if
anyone disrespect her husband's claims to her, they should unite and wage war
against him. Odysseus rules himself and Agamemnon out of the lot, since they are
both married. They agree to the oath, and Agamemnon's brother Menelaus wins.
Agamemnon is visibly jealous.

Agamemnon suggests to Menelaus that he should have Helen present herself nude
before the other suitors, as a way for him to demonstrate that their marriage is worth
the suitors' protection. While Helen is bathing, Clytemnestra tries to dissuade her
from doing as Menelaus asks, but is unsuccessful. Before Helen leaves, she says to
Clytemnestra, "They can look all they want, but they'll never see me." The doors
open and Helen walks naked through the crowd of men, to great appreciation. She
stops before Menelaus, then turns around and steps onto a dais, putting her naked
body in full view of everyone in the room. Agamemnon is clearly feasting his eyes
on Helen's body throughout her presentation.

Meanwhile, Paris' favorite bull is taken for the Trojan tribute games. Paris insists on
competing, despite his father's protests. After winning in every competition and
being recognized by his sister Cassandra, Paris is welcomed by an overjoyed Priam
to Troy. Cassandra and his elder brother Hector are upset at their father's decision.

Paris is sent to Sparta to draw out a peace treaty with the Atreids, Agamemnon and
Menelaus. His treaty is refused and Agamemnon plots to have him murdered. While
there, however, he recognizes Helen as she is standing naked on the dais. Later, he
prevents her from committing suicide. He then gains her love, and she helps him
flee. Together they sail to Troy.

When Menelaus finds this out, he demands that his brother launch war on Troy, and
the former suitors are gathered to fulfill their oath. But the winds are not in their
favor and after a month, a soothsayer reveals that Athena wants Agamemnon to
sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Agamemnon is horrified, but nevertheless carries
out the deed.

Helen and Paris arrive at Troy with the Greek army at their heels. Priam is at first
reluctant to allow Helen to remain at Troy, until he sees her. When the Greeks send
an embassy of Menelaus and Odysseus to demand Helen's return, Priam refuses,
and the Greeks plan an attack.

In the morning, the battle is joined on the beach of Troy, with Hector nearly killed
by Agamemnon. The battle ends with the Trojan army's crushing defeat and the
Greeks camping on the beach.

Ten years pass. Agamemnon agrees to end the war with a single combat, between
Menelaus and Paris. If Menelaus wins, Helen will be returned. If Menelaus loses,
the Trojans may keep her. Whatever the outcome, the Greeks have to leave Troy.

Agamemnon cheats, poisoning Menelaus' javelin without telling him. During the
duel Paris is cut and the poison disorientates him. Menelaus, however, does not take
advantage of him; instead, they stop fighting and make peace between each other as
a fog hides them from view.

As the fog lifts, Agamemnon's cheating is exposed. Hector challenges Agamemnon

to a duel that will end the war—this time, to the death. Achilles takes up the
challenge, fighting for Agamemnon, but agrees to fight not for Helen but for his
own honor. Achilles easily succeeds in killing Hector.

That night Helen, fearing for Paris's safety, goes to the seer Cassandra and asks to
know what she can do to protect Paris. Cassandra replies that her only choice is to
give herself to the Greeks. Helen agrees, presenting herself in Agamemnon's tent
and offering a trade—her for the body of Hector. Agamemnon refuses, as he does
not want his daughter's death to be in vain, and chases her around the camp, but
Paris arrives in time to save her, challenging Agamemnon for the safety of Troy.
Achilles charges at him, but Paris seizes a bow and shoots Achilles in the heel,
killing him. Afterwards the Greeks attack him, but he hides and is reunited with
Helen. Shortly thereafter, Agamemnon finds him and stabs Paris in the chest after a
quick duel. He dies in Helen's arms, whispering the word, "goddess".
During Paris' funeral, the Greeks are reported to have sailed away—leaving a
massive wooden horse on the shore. It is taken into the city, and Troy celebrates late
into the night. When they are all asleep, the Greeks come out and sack the city,
slaying Priam and Hecuba. The great Agamemnon seats himself proudly on Troy's
throne as the new Emperor of the Aegean and Ruler of the World. Agamemnon has
his men bring Helen to his throne and orders her to kneel at his feet. Agamemnon
strokes Helen's hair, then begins to rape her. Menelaus tries to stop him, but is held
back by Agamemnon's guards. He orders Agamemnon to leave his wife alone, but
his brother pays no mind to his commands and continues to rape Helen. Odysseus is
also shocked at Agamemnon's act, but could do nothing.

The next morning, as the Greek soldiers ravage the ruins of Troy of its riches and its
people as slaves, Clytemnestra arrives in the royal palace of Troy, where she
ventures into the royal pool. There, she finds Agamemnon and Helen, both naked.
Agamemnon relaxes in triumph, while Helen lies in a corner, not saying a word.
Clytemnestra covers her sister with a robe and sends her away, leaving her
(Clytemnestra) alone with Agamemnon. She tells him she comes for their daughter,
Iphigenia. When Agamemnon replies that she is not here, Clytemnestra, having
figured out herself, throws a net on her husband and stabs him to death.

Helen wanders woefully through the ruined city, finally coming to the spot where
Paris was slain. There, she sees an apparition of Paris and they embrace. Helen begs
Paris to take her with him to the afterlife, and he tells her that he has prepared a
place for her, but she must wait until it is her time. He disappears, and Menelaus
crosses her path, sword in hand. Helen prepares for her punishment, but Menelaus
can do nothing but feel sorry for her. Helen tells him she cannot love him, but she
"will follow". The two head back to the Greek ships, ready to live the rest of their
lives as King and Queen of Sparta.