The Story of Troy

arose on the occasion of the marriage of Pe?leus and The?tis. Peleus was a king of Thes?sa-ly, in Greece, and one of the great heroes of those days. Thetis was a daughter of the sea god Ne?re-us, wh

ire that a son of his should be greater than himself, gave up the idea of wedding the fair nymph of the sea, and consented that she should be the wife of Peleus, who had long loved and wooed

er time, when

red and cherish

the skies wou

less homes, as

face to face,

red the hearts o

(Martin

Olympus, but she caused so much dissension and quarreling there that Jupiter banished her forever from the heavenly mansions. Th

and harmony of the marriage feast. With this evil purpose she suddenly appeared in the midst of the company, and

cast upon

ull-faced pres

halls of Pel

question unto

son,

ttering prize of beauty. Each contended that she

pure Hes

lt ambro

declined to undertake. He knew that whatever way he might decide, he would be sure to offend two of the three goddesses, and thereby destroy the peace of his own household. It was necessary, however, that an umpire should be chosen to put an end to the

before him on Mount Ida, so that, beholding their charms, he might be able to give a just decision. The English poet, Tennyson, in his poem "?none," gives a fine description of the three contending deities standing in the presence of

o Pari

royal power

n'd. . .

id, 'and homage

nland town and

ed him great wisdom and knowledge, as well as su

n prize in his hand. She had but few words to say, for she was confident

btle smile in

her triumph,

in his ear, '

d most loving

ke and

of Paris. Forgetful of ?none, and disregarding the promis

onsi

d the fruit of

enus grasp'd th

il war, the q

s (Elto

ve us a very high idea of the character of Paris, who now no longer took pleasure in the company of ?none. All his thoughts and affections were turned away from her by the promise of Venus. He had grown w

ri

can,

the city and take part in these games. Prizes were to be offered for competition, and one of the prizes was to be the finest bull that could be picked from the herds on Mount Ida. Now it happened that the bul

of a wound received from one of the Greeks in the Trojan War. ?none knew what was to happen, for Apollo had conferred upon her the gift of prophecy, and she warned Paris that if he should go away from her he would bring ruin on himself and his country, t

n, how canst t

how canst thou

death, thou ever

ugh unhappy o

ppy souls, tha

ass before my

l my soul, th

heavy on the

n my eyelids:

t fled for safety into the temple of Jupiter. Cassandra, who happened to be in the temple at the time, noticed Paris closely, and observing that he bore a strong resemblance to her brothers, she asked him about his birth and age. From his answers she was satisfied that he was her brother, and she at once introduced him to the king. Further inquiries were then made. The old shepherd, Archelaus, to whom Paris had been delivered in his infancy to be exposed on Mo

oughts were ever turned toward Greece, where dwelt the fairest woman of those times. This was Helen, wife of Men-e-la?us, king of Spar?ta, celebrated throughout the ancient world for her matchless beauty. Paris had been promised the fairest woman for his wife, and he

had never forgotten his sister's love for himself, for she it was, as will be remembered, who redeemed him from slavery and placed him on his father's throne. He now determined that she should be brought back to her native country, and Paris earnestly begged permission to take charge of the

Pallas, Pal

wright's and th

and the fleet

e of all his c

Iliad,

the shores of Greece in safety; but instead of proceeding to Salamis to demand Hesione from King Ajax, he steered his vessels to the coast of Sparta

eived. The king gave banquets in his honor and invited him to prolong his stay in Spart

tation. He departed for Crete, leaving to his queen the duty of entertaining the Trojan prince until his return. Then Paris, taking advantage of the absence of Menelaus, induced Helen to desert her husband

nd's stranger-

elen o'er th

s (Elto

ion of

ng by

g Menelaus. On the voyage homeward the ships were driven by a storm to the shores of the island of Cran?a-e, where Paris and Helen remained for some time. When at last they r

of his wisest counselors, strongly censured the conduct of Paris, and they advised the king to send H

ent and modern times. Tennyson, in his "Dream of Fair Women,"

lady wi

isell'd marble,

f the gods,

divinel