Iliad, the women in the war

Helen once had about 45 suitors including Odysseus, the later hero. She married Menelaus by random choice, and eloped with Paris to Troy, which led to the Trojan war. So had the saying Helen caused the Trojan war. But the seduction of Helen by Paris was incited by Venus, who bribed Paris to get him Helen in exchange of naming herself miss universe before Zeus among the candidates of three: Hera, Athena, and Venus.

The war was between Greeks and Trojans. In the later stage of the war, Chryses, the daughter of Chryseis who was the Trojan priest of Apollo, was taken by Agamemnon of Greeks as captive. Refused an offer from Trojans at first, then gave in due to the plague given by Apollo, Agamemnon accepted the offer in the condition that Achilles gave him his captive Briseis. The lost of Briseis made Achilles angry and leave the Greek army. In the meantime, Achilles asked his mother Thetis to get help from Zeus to teach Agamemnon a lesson, by letting Trojans win.

In the duel of Paris and Menelaus for Helen, Paris was beaten by Menelaus but rescued by Venus, which made Hera angry, and persuade Zeus to interfere. Zeus arranged Pandoras injure Menelaus, which broke the truce.

In the battlefield, Greek Diomedes defeated Trojan Aeneas, the son of Venus. Venus was then injured by Diomedes when she tried to save his son. Athena gave Diomedes strengths to defeat Areas, her opponent of war.

The other women involved include Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, Andromache, Hector's wife, Hercuba, Priam's wife, Eris, sister of Ares, Iris, a divine messenger, Leto, mother of Apollo. Although Iliad is an epic for Achilles, all the events seems wage around women — the war captive, the goddess, the mothers, daughters, and wives, the beauty, the jealousy, the love, the hatred...

The Trojan war was initiated and controlled by the gods and goddess. From the comparison of goddess, you may predict the winner in the competition of Venus with Hera and Athena for miss universe. Hera is a strong goddess for war, for she has the talent of boosting morales. "there Hera stood still and raised a shout like that of high-hearted brazen voiced stentor, whose cry was as loud as that of fifty men together. 'Argives, shame on cowardly creatures, brave in semblance only..." Venus on the other hand is a weaker for the war, as his father Zeus said: "my child, it has not been given you to be a warrior. Attend henceforth to your own delightful matrimonial duties, and leave all this fightings to sudden Ares and to Athena."