The ancient city of Troy was part of the network of city-states around the Mediterranean with which Greece traded and interacted. According to _ legend, King Priam was a descendant of Zeus. A seer told him that the newborn Paris would one day bring destruction to Troy, so Priam abandoned the baby on a
Mountainside to die, but he was soon rescued by a shepherd. When he grew up, Paris returned to Troy Priam then sent him to Greece, where he visited King Menelaus of Sparta. Aphrodite, goddess of love, had promised Paris that he would marry the most beautiful woman in the world, who was Menelaus’s wife, Helen. Helen and Paris ran away together and settled in Troy When the Greeks learned of this affront to the king, they assembled an army and sailed to Troy to attack the city and win back Helen. This began the Trojan War.
King Priam was very old when the ¦ war began, so his son Hector was chosen as leader of the Trojan army. Hector was the obvious choice as leader not just because he was the prince but because he was renowned for his military skill. The Greeks knew that unless they could kin him, they would probably fail to topple Troy Hector was a formidable enemy, and he was often helped by the god Apollo (see box, page 114).This was partly why, according to legend, the Trojan War lasted for as long as 10 years.
Intervention of Apollo
Above: This painting by Giovanni Demin (1786—1859) depicts Hector, on the right wearing a large helmet, urging his brother Paris, in the center almost nude, to do the noble thing and join in the fight against the besieging Greeks. Helen, wearing a white dress, sits on Paris’s right. The scene takes place in a temple dedicated to Aphrodite.
Even though Hector was a skilled warrior and killed many of the Greeks’ best fighters, such as Epigeus and Archesilaus, he did not enjoy war but rather saw the defense of the city as his duty. On one occasion he tried to resolve the war by arranging a duel between Paris and Menelaus, but Aphrodite interfered on Paris’s behalf and the duel did not have a conclusive outcome.
World History
