Menelaus
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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.
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[edit] Early life
Atreus was murdered by his nephew, Aegisthus, who took possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his father Thyestes. During this period, Menelaus and his brother, Agamemnon, took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta, whose daughters Helen and Clytemnestra, respectively, they married. Helen and Menelaus had one daughter, Hermione and one son, Lysander.
Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus (whose only sons, Castor and Polydeuces became gods), and Agamemnon, with his brother's assistance, drove out Aegisthus and Thyestes , and recovered his father's kingdom. He extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful prince in Greece.
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 favourite, though, according to some sources, he did not come in person but was represented by his brother Agamemnon. All but Odysseus brought many rich gifts with them.
[edit] Ascension and reign
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 against whoever should quarrel with the chosen one. 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 had ascended Mount Olympus.
[edit] Trojan War
Some years later, Paris, a Trojan prince, came to Sparta to marry Helen, whom he had been promised by Aphrodite. Paris returned to Troy with Helen, 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 suitors to fulfil 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 the latter is killed by Hector. Although Menelaus is depicted as a reasonably wise and just leader, he has a tendency to rattle off fatuous bromides in the most inappropriate circumstances.
During the war, Menelaus' weapon-carrier was Eteoneus. (Odyssey IV, 22, 31.)
After the Greeks won the Trojan War, Helen returned to Sparta with Menelaus (though she had married Paris' brother, Deiphobus, after Paris' death, Menelaus killed Deiphobus). According to some versions, Menelaus stayed in the court of King Polybus of Thebes for a time after the war.
According to the Odyssey, Menelaus' homebound fleet was blown by storms to Crete and Egypt, [1] 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 what sacrifices to which gods he would have to make to guarantee safe passage.[1] Proteus also told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium (Heaven) after his death. Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen, settling in Lacedaemon.[1]
According to non-Homeric sources, after Menelaus' death his illegitimate son Megapenthes sent Helen into exile.
[edit] 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. [1]
[edit] In other media
Menelaus appears in the 2004 film Troy. He duels Paris and wins, but Paris runs off 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.)
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c "Menelaus" (overview), Encyclopedia Mythica, Pantheon.org, 2004, webpage: Pantheon-Menelaus-overview.
