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Mortal King Peleus weds Thetis, a sea Nymph.
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While attending the Wedding, three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, fight over a golden apple, planted at the ceremony by the goddess of discord, Eris. In order to solve the affair, Zeus sends the goddesses to a mortal by the name of Paris. The Three goddesses bribe Paris, but Aphrodite's bribe seemed the most of value to him, as she promised the most beautiful wife in the world.
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Athena came through with her promise. Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, was to be won while her husband was away. Versions of this part of the story are wildly different. There are claims that Aphrodite herself kidnapped Helen, Paris seduced her and convinced her to flee, or Paris forced himself onto her, and she was kidnapped by Paris himself afterwards.
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When the king returns to his kingdom to find his wife had ran off, He is furious. The king decides to declare war on Paris and the kingdom he rules, Troy. He forces two men, a strong hero named Odysseus and The king's invincible son, Achilles, to fight in this war against the Troys in this war. In addition to the mortals, the gods also choose sides. For example, Athena and Hera chose the Greek side to fight against Paris, as they were not rewarded the golden apple.
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Achilles refused to fight in the war, a choice that hurt the chances of the Greeks' victory. Patroclus, an ally, or possible significant other to Achilles presents a compromise. He declares that he will wear Achilles armor out to battle, and win the war in his honor. Achilles went along with it, making Patroclus promise he would make it alive. Unfortunately, Patroclus was slain in battle. When a messenger informed Achilles, he was distraught. To avenge is companion, he fought in the war.
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After the loss of Patroclus, Achilles finds the man who slayed him, Hector, and kills him on sight. Ares, god of war, sees this as an opportunity to guide an arrow shot by Paris into Achilles' heel. The Greeks retreat, to heal Achilles and take a moment to plan.
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The Greeks found that the Trojans were protected only by large walls, and men alone were not going to get through them. Odysseus makes a plan to make a giant wooden horse, and ambush the warriors inside the walls the hiding inside of it. The Greeks pretended to surrender, and The Trojans thought they were taking the horse as a trophy, instead, the Greek soldiers burst from the horse and killed many of the Trojans, destroying the City of Troy while doing so.
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Paris timidly surrenders after the destruction of his kingdom. Helen, who's role in the war remains indifferent, had been threatened to be stoned to death by both the Greeks and Trojans, as they believed she was the one who started the war. When King Menelaus finds that the Greeks and Trojans are going to kill his wife, he proceeds to raise his sword in effort to kill her himself. She cries and lets her robe drop from her shoulders, a sight which stops the king.
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In the version that Homer wrote, Helen had been spared. The king had taken her back to his kingdom, and they remarried. This version would allow the events of "The Wanderings of Odysseus" to stand, as Odysseus's son has to go to Helen and her husband to help uncover the location of his father.
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In other versions, Helen is taken to Mt. Olympus to live in the after life with Achilles, or isn't involved with the Trojan War entirely.
