Menaleus

Menelaus

Menelaus was the son of Atreus and Aerope 1 and the brother of Agamemnon. His wife was Helen, the daughter of Leda and Tyndareus. By some accounts Helen and Menelaus had three children Hermione, Nicostratus, and Plisthenes 3. In other accounts Nicostratus is not the child of Helen but of a slave woman. Menelaus had two other children. Magopenthes 1 was born to Menelaus by Tereis, a concubine of Menelaus. Cnossia, a nymph, had a child, Xenodamus, by Menelaus.

King Atreus of Mycenae had Menelaus and Agamemnon arrest his brother, Thyestes 1 and throw him in prison. While Thyestes was in prison, Atreus attempted to murder his brother but instead was murdered by his brother’s son, Aegisthus. Thyestes was then made king of Mycenae. Thyestes exiled Menelaus andAgamemnon. The brothers, with the help of King Tyndareus of Sparta returned and dethroned Thyestes.

The brothers married the daughters of Tyndareus. Agamemnon married Clytaemnestra and became king of Mycenae. Menelaus wed Helen and become king of Sparta. Paris had been there for a short time when Menelaus had to go to Crete to attend his grandfather’s funeral. While he was there, Paris and Helen left for Troy. Menelaus and Helen’s daughter, Hermione, was nine at the time. Upon his return, he learned of their deceit and asked for his brother’s help in retrieving his wife from Troy. He also invoked the Oath of Tyndareus, which was an oath that each of Helen’s suitors made to her father that he would defend and protect the chosen husband of Helen.

A great army gathered to sail to Troy to seek revenge for the actions of Paris and Helen. The ships were unable to sail however, because of unfavorable winds. The seer Calchas informed Menelaus and Agamemnon that they would only be able to sail if Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to Artemis. Agamemnon refused at first, but allowed himself to be persuaded by his brother.

The Achaeans sent envoys, which included Menelaus and Odysseus to Troy in an attempt the return of Helen and the property that she and Paris had taken with them when they left Sparta. Not only did Troy refuse to return Helen and the property but threatened to kill the envoys.

Menelaus attempted to settle the conflict in the tenth year of the war when he agreed to a single battle with Paris. Due to Aphrodite’s interference, Paris escaped from Menelaus into the city. Pandarus 1 then shot Menelaus with an arrow wounding him but not severely. This ended the truce between the Trojans and the Achaeans.

Helen married Deiphophus I, Hector and Paris’ brother, when Paris was killed. Menelaus' army, during the sacking of Troy after its fall, found Deiphopus and Helen and arrested them. Menelaus killed Deiphopus by cutting him apart limb by limb. He was tempted to killHelen but could not bring himself to do it.

Due to the great offences that were committed against the gods by the Achaeans when they sacked Troy, Menelaus was unable to return to Sparta with Helen for eight years. It was only because Menelaus was able to capture Proteus 2, a seer, with the advice of Eidothea 1, that Menelaus learned what he must do in order to return home.

After Menelaus had returned home, Orestes 2 came to him asking for help. Orestes had avenged his father, Agamemnon’s death, by killing his mother, Clytaemnestra and her lover, Aigisthos. Menelaus chose to ask the citizens and Tyndareus for mercy.

Menelaus had promised his daughter, Hermione to Orestes prior to the Trojan War and to Neoptolemus, Achilles’ son, during the siege on Troy. Neoptolemus demanded Hermione from Menelaus after the war. Since Orestes was considered to be insane at the time, Menelaus gave Hermione to Neoptolemus. Hermione home life was not happy because Neoptolemus had taken Andromache from Troy to be his concubine. When Orestes regained his sanity he murdered Neoptolemus and took Hermione as his wife.

When Menelaus died Hera made him immortal. Since Menelaus had no legitimate son, Orestes, his nephew, ruled Sparta and Argos. Menelaus illegitimate son, Megapenthes sent Helen into exile.

Works Cited James Hunter Encyclopedia Mythica 03 March 1997 http://www.pantheon.org 16 April 2005 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/menelaus.html>

Carlos Parada, Greek Mythology Link, 1993-2005 http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/index.html 14 April 2005 <http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Menelaus.html>

Jimmy Joe, Timeless Myths1999, First Created (House of Sparta): 17/08/2002. http://www.timelessmyths.com/ 14 April 2005 http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/sparta.html