Skip to content
Menelaus

File:Brogi,_Giacomo_(1822-1881)_-_n._4140_-_Roma_-_Vaticano_-_Menelao_-_Busto_in_marmo.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ171839· pop 69· linked from 997 articles

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.

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.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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

Wikidata facts

Image
Firenze-piazza signoria statue02.jpg
Show 3 more facts
Commons category
Menelaus
name in native language
Μενέλαος
P8168
Downton
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~14 min read

Article

12 sections
Contents
  • 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."

Gallery (11)

Connections

Categories