Menelaus
Sign in to saveIn Greek mythology, Menelaus (; , Menélaos) was a Greek king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta. According to the Iliad, the Trojan War began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen, fleeing to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of the Greek army, under his elder brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Prominent in both the Iliad and Odyssey, Menelaus was also popular in Greek vase painting and Greek tragedy, the latter more as a hero of the Trojan War than as a member of the doomed House of Atreus.
AI overview
Menelaus was a king of ancient Sparta in Greek mythology whose wife Helen's departure with a Trojan prince triggered the Trojan War, making him a central figure in that legendary conflict. He appears prominently in major Greek literary works like the Iliad and Odyssey, and was a popular subject in ancient Greek art and drama, primarily remembered for his role as a war hero rather than as a member of his family's tragic lineage.
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Key facts
- Deity.type
- Greek
- Deity.member_of
- the Achaeans
- Deity.image
- Brogi, Giacomo (1822-1881) - n. 4140 - Roma - Vaticano - Menelao - Busto in marmo.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Marble bust of Menelaus, Vatican Museums
- Deity.alt
- Menelaus
- Deity.siblings
- Agamemnon, Anaxibia
- Deity.name
- Menelaus
- Deity.offspring
- Hermione, Nicostratus, Megapenthes, Pleisthenes, Aethiolas
- Deity.consort
- Helen
- Deity.parents
- Atreus and Aerope
- Deity.deity_of
- King of Sparta
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Description
- Family
- Mythology
- Accession and reign
- Trojan War
- After the war
- In vase painting
- In Greek tragedy
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; , Menélaos) was a Greek king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta. According to the Iliad, the Trojan War began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen, fleeing to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of the Greek army, under his elder brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Prominent in both the Iliad and Odyssey, Menelaus was also popular in Greek vase painting and Greek tragedy, the latter more as a hero of the Trojan War than as a member of the doomed House of Atreus.
== Description == thumb|Menelaus captures Helen of Troy|Helen in Troy, detail of fresco in [[Pompeii]]In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Menelaus was described as "of moderate stature, auburn-haired, and handsome. He had a pleasing personality."