Everything about Menelaus totally explained
In
Greek mythology,
Menelaus (
ancient Greek Μενέλαος) was a king of
Ancient Sparta, the husband of
Helen, and a central figure in the
Trojan War. He was the son of
Atreus and
Aerope.
Ascension and reign
King Atreus of
Mycenae sent his sons,
Agamemnon and Menelaus, to seize his twin brother
Thyestes, with whom he was feuding, and bring him to Mycenae. Atreus attempted to murder Thyestes in prison, but was instead killed by
Aegisthus, Thyestes’ son. The throne was then passed to Thyestes.
As a result, Atreus’ sons went into exile. They first stayed with King
Polyphides of
Sicyon, and later with King
Oeneus of
Calydon. But when they thought the time was ripe to dethrone Mycenae's hostile ruler, they returned. Assisted by King
Tyndareus of
Sparta, they drove Thyestes away, and Menelaus took the throne for himself.
When it was time for
Helen, Tyndareus's daughter, to marry, many Greek kings and princes came to seek her hand, or sent
emissaries to do so on their behalf. Among the contenders were
Odysseus,
Menestheus,
Ajax the Great,
Patroclus, and
Idomeneus, but Menelaus was the favorite, though, according to some sources, he didn't come in person but was represented by his brother
Agamemnon. All but Odysseus brought many rich gifts with them.
Tyndareus would accept none of the gifts, nor would he send any of the suitors away for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel. Odysseus promised to solve the problem in a satisfactory manner if Tyndareus would support him in his courting of
Penelope, the daughter of
Icarius. Tyndareus readily agreed, and Odysseus proposed that, before the decision was made, all the suitors should swear a most solemn oath to defend the chosen husband in any quarrel. This stratagem succeeded, and Helen and Menelaus were married. Following Tyndareus's death, Menelaus became king of Sparta because the only male heirs,
Castor and Polydeuces, had died when they'd ascended
Mount Olympus.Together, Menelaus and Helen had only one daughter,
Hermione.
Trojan War
Some years later,
Paris, a
Trojan prince, came to Sparta to marry Helen, to whom he'd been promised by
Aphrodite, after Paris had selected Aphrodite as the most beautiful of the gods (see The
Judgment of Paris). Although Helen was married to Menelaus, Paris returned to
Troy with her, though accounts differ whether or not Helen's flight was willing, blinded as she was by Aphrodite's power. This issue is the source of much of the dramatic tension in Book IV of
Homer's book
Odyssey.
Menelaus called upon all the other of Helen’s suitors, (almost all of the Greek kings had been suitors for Helen’s hand), to fulfill their oaths, thus beginning the
Trojan War. Virtually all of Greece took part, either attacking Troy with Menelaus or defending it from them.
In the
Iliad, Menelaus fights bravely and well, even when wounded, and distinguishes himself particularly by recovering the body of
Patroclus after he's killed by
Hector. Although Menelaus is depicted as a reasonably wise and just leader, he's a tendency to rattle off fatuous
bromides in the most inappropriate circumstances.
After Paris was killed by
Philoctetes, Helen was married to Paris' brother
Deiphobus. This angered another of Paris’ brothers,
Helenus, who had also wished to marry her. Helenus, who was the leader of the Trojan army after the death of Hector (another brother), then retreated to Mount Ida. He later gave Odysseus suggestions of how Troy could be defeated. It isn't clear if this was given willingly or under duress.
One story tells that, when the
Argives were razing Troy, Menelaus searched the city in order to find Helen with the intention of killing her to atone for all the pain she'd caused. But, when he found her in the ruins, and saw again her breathless beauty and perfect breasts, he dropped his sword and took her up in his arms.
Helen is then said to have betrayed Deiphobus (her third husband) to Menelaus (her first). Menelaus killed Deiphobus and mutilated his body, removing all of his body parts one by one and spending special time on his eyes (the eyes having witnessed the naked Helen).
According to the
Odyssey, Menelaus' homebound fleet was blown by storms to
Crete and
Egypt,
where they were unable to sail away because the wind was calm. Menelaus had to capture
Proteus, a shape-shifting
sea god, until Proteus told him what sacrifices he'd have to make to the gods to guarantee safe passage.
[ Proteus also told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium after his death. This was based solely on the fact that he'd married Helen, hence becoming a son-in-law to Zeus - and Elysium being a place reserved for the progeny of Zeus.]
Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen, settling in Lacedaemon,[ where they were later buried together in a modest shrine, although there are many alternative stories of Helen’s life after the fall of Troy. One of these says that, after Menelaus' death, his illegitimate son Megapenthes sent Helen into exile, whence she went eventually to Rhodes.
]Alternative parentage
In alternative traditions Menelaus is said to be the son of Pleisthenes (son of Atreus) and Aerope, or of Pleisthenes and Cleolla, daughter of Dias, making him the grandson, rather than the son, of Atreus. (External Link
)
In other media
Menelaus appears in the 2004 film Troy, portrayed by Brendan Gleeson. He duels Paris and wins, but Paris retreats to his brother, Hector. When Menelaus wants to strike the finishing blow, Hector kills him to protect his brother. (Menelaus also wins the duel in the Iliad, but Paris is spirited away behind Troy's walls by an interfering Aphrodite.)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Menelaus'.
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