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An apple was thrown into the wedding of King Peleus and Thetis marked "for the fairest". Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena decided they each fit the description. Zeus let Paris of Troy decide who was the fairest. Paris chose Aphrodite to be the fairest of the three.
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Aphrodite awarded Paris the fairest woman in the world, Helen of Greece. Paris was friends with Menelaus, Helen's husband, but he abused Menelaus's trust. He took Helen while Menelaus was away.
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When Menelaus saw she was gone, he gathered the Greek army to set out for Troy to get Helen back.
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Nine years passed and there was no decided victor. Sometimes the war would be in favor of the Greeks and sometimes it would be in favor of the Trojans.
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Agamenmon, a Greek, had stolen the priest's daughter, Chryseis. The priest prayed to Apollo for help. In response, the god shot flaming arrows and the Greek army, giving them a huge disadvantage.
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Achilles, also Greek, pointed out that because Agamenmon had stolen Chryseis, Apollo was upset with them, which caused the Greeks to lose. Agamenmon had to return the maiden to her father in order to ease Apollo's anger. Agamenmon in turn stole Achilles's maiden, Briseis.
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Achilles's mother, Thetis, was upset at Agamenmon due to the fact that he stole Achilles's maiden. She told Achilles not to fight anymore. She then went and talked to Zeus who agreed to let the Trojans win.
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It was decided that Paris and Menelaus should face each other. The outcome of this fight would determine who won the war. Paris would have been defeated if Aphrodite didn't help him. When he was about to lose, Aphrodite gathered Paris in a cloud and took him back to Troy. Since Paris was no longer to be seen, Menelaus was declared the victor.
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Hera didn't want the war to end, and she had Athena make a Trojan, Pandarus, shoot an arrow at Menelaus. This upset the Greeks and continued the war.
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Zeus came down to Earth and helped the Trojans, giving them a huge advantage and causing the Greeks to fall back.
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Agamenmon was blamed for the fact that the Greeks were losing. Because Agamenmon stole Achilles's maiden, Achilles wouldn't fight. He sent gifts to Achilles, including Achilles's maiden. However, Achilles did not accept the gifts and refused to help the Greeks fight against the Trojans.
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Hera was upset that the Trojans were now winning, and she came up with a plan to make sure this was no longer the case. She poured a sweet sleep potion on Zeus and the Greeks started winning.
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Zeus was very upset when he woke up and realized Hera had tricked him. Hera blamed Poseidon, who stopped helping the Greeks when Zeus asked him. However, he was only helping the Greeks due to Hera's request. The Trojans then started doing better in the war.
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Achilles's friend, Patroclus, had stayed alongside Achilles and agreed not to fight the war anymore. However, he could see that he was desperately needed and he went into battle, where he died by Hector's spear. Achilles was overcome with grief when he heard this news, and he vowed to kill the one who had killed his best friend.
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Achilles was determined to face Hector, and this he did. Athena helped Achilles beat Hector. Achilles took Hector's body and tied it to the end of his chariot. He drove his chariot around, and decimated Hector's body.
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This didn't rest well with Zeus, and he sent a messenger to tell Hector's father,King Priam, to go and get Hector's body back, and that Achilles would not harm him. The king did this and Achilles easily gave in and prepared Hector's body.
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Paris shot an arrow that Apollo guided, and it hit Achilles's heel. Achilles's heel was his only vulnerable spot, and he died.
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It was foretold by a prophet that in order to have victory over the Trojans, the Greeks must use Hercules's arrows. Paris was killed with one of these shot by Philoctetes.
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Odysseus created a master plan. He would have a giant wooden horse built, and some of the Greek army would hide in it. The rest of the army would appear to have sailed away, but really be hiding behind an island. One man would stay behind in the Greek camp and convince the Trojans to take the wooden horse inside their gates. In the middle of the night, the Greeks would come out of the horse and attack the city from the inside.
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The Greeks realized that the reason they could not overcome the Trojans was that the Trojans possessed the sacred image of Athena. Diomedes and Odysseus stole it.The Greeks were now in good spirits.
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Sinon was chosen to be left behind. He told a story that made the Trojans pity him. He also told the Trojans that the wooden horse was an offering to Athena from the Greeks. He said that bringing the it within the walls of Troy would bring favor on the Trojans. They fell for this and brought the wooden horse inside their gates.
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During the night, the Greeks snuck out of their hiding place from within the horse. They opened the gates of Troy so that the rest of the army that had formerly sailed away could now come in. They then set buildings on fire and caused chaos.
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Aphrodite helped her son Aneas, Aneas's dad, and her grandson escape. She also helped Helen escape and go back to Menelaus. It was over for the Trojans. Their city lay in ruins; the Greeks had won.
