The Mythological Background of the

Iliad
Zeus, the father of the gods, seemed to
have realized that the earth was getting terribly
overcrowded. To solve the problem
of overpopulation, he devised a great war which
would sweep like a conflagration over Greece. This
was the Trojan War.
A minor goddess, Thetis, was married to a
mortal, Peleus. Out of this marriage, Achilles, the
greatest Greek warrior, was born. Eris, the goddess
of mischief, was not invited to the marriage feast,
so into the middle of the banquet hall she threw
a golden apple. The golden apple has this note: To
the fairest of the goddesses. Each of the most
beautiful of the goddesses- namely, Hera, Athena,
andAphrodite- claimed the golden apple.
A quarrel ensued and Father Zeus was
asked to decide who was the most beautiful of the
three. This placed Zeus in a predicament
since Hera was his own wife and Athena and
Aphrodite were his own daughters. So he parted
the clouds covering Mount Olympus, the dwelling
place of the gods, and showed the three goddesses
a prince of Troy named Alexandros.
 Zeus suggested that the three beauty
contestants take their problem to Alexandros and
ask him to decide. The goddesses descended upon
the earth, circled Alexandros by turns, and each
proceeded to bribe him so that he would award her
the golden apple. Hera promised
him power; Athena promised
him wisdom; Aphrodite promised that she
would give him the most beautiful woman in the
world for his wife. Alexandros awarded the golden
apple to Aphrodite.
It happened that Helen the most beautiful
woman in the world was already married
toMenelaos, king of Sparta. With the help of
Aphrodite, Alexandros abducted Helen and took her
to Troy where she remained until the end of the
ensuing Trojan War. That is the reason why she is
called Helen of Troy. The Greeks banded together
to restore Helen of Menelaos. Agamemnon, King of
Mycenaea, was their general.
Many adventurous Greek heroes joined the
Greek expeditionary forces. Among them
wereAchilles, the greatest and bravest of the Greek
heroes; Odysseus, the clever and witty
warrior;Diomedes, the bold one; Nestor, the
prudent old man; Aias, the giant; and a host of
other heroes.
After ten years of preparation, the Greek
army landed in Troy and began to attack its
fortifications. The Iliad begins in the tenth year of
the war.