King Menelaus ruled c. Menelaus and Elena the Beautiful

The formidable ruler of Sparta, who spent 10 years on the return of his unfaithful wife, is a symbol of perseverance, pride and stubbornness. Menelaus grew up among royalty and on the first try won the heart of a beautiful woman. Therefore, the man could not forgive the insult inflicted by the romantic youth. The result was a long-term war that devastated Troy and its entire region.

Origin story

The image of the deceived husband, whom Menelaus appears in the modern interpretation of the Trojan War, differs from Greek mythology. This transformation of the character's character is easy to explain.

On the territory of Ancient Greece, the name of Menelaus was no longer associated with the siege of the city of Troy, which he describes in the Iliad, but with the further adventures of the character that happened to the king of Sparta during his journey back home.


After the invasion of their uncle into Mycenae, the brothers had to leave the city and move to Sparta. While the young people were staying with the king Tyndareus, Menelaus met the daughter of the ruler of Sparta -. The beautiful girl charmed the exile, but Tyndareus did not dare to give his daughter in marriage. In addition, many Greek heroes had already courted Elena.

The king of Sparta allowed the beauty to decide his own fate on his own. And the girl, surprisingly to those around her, chose Menelaus. Soon after the wedding, Tyndareus died, leaving the throne to his beloved son-in-law. Menelaus lived in a peaceful and calm atmosphere for 10 years. A year after the wedding, the couple had a daughter, Hermione.


Everything changed when the threshold of Menelaus' house crossed. From the first minutes the son of Priam charmed both the king and Elena the Beautiful. But the man, who had not yet had to doubt his wife's loyalty, did not attach any importance to the beauty's interest.

The death of his grandfather forced Menelaus to leave his home and go to Crete. After returning from the funeral, the tsar received unpleasant news. The newly-minted friend and beloved wife fled to Troy. Menelaus equipped a military detachment and went into the possession. Threats, requests and exhortations did not work. Elena was not given. The humiliated and upset husband had no choice but to return home.


Together with his brother, Menelaus gathered an army consisting of friendly kings, mercenaries and ex-suitors of Elena (the men swore to protect the beauty, whom she would not prefer to be husbands). The inhabitants of Olympus also rushed to the aid of the king of Sparta - and sided with the woman's legal spouse. Despite the fact that a personal offense was inflicted on Menelaus, Agamemnon was entrusted to lead the military operations.

During the Trojan War, the king of Sparta showed himself to be a valiant hero and cold-blooded strategist. The man took part in the battles and happily accepted Paris' challenge to a duel. Angered by the betrayal, Menelaus pounced on the enemy with fury and quickly overpowered the pampered Paris. But she intervened in the matter and carried the ward back to the walls of Troy.


Feeling his own superiority, Menelaus with renewed vigor enters the fight for his wife. According to the rules of the duel, Paris after a lost battle must return Elena, but the young man violates the agreement. The topic of the truce finally closes with a spear fired by Pandar and wounding Menelaus in the shoulder.

The long-term confrontation brought many losses to both sides. Killed close associates of the king of Sparta. Menelaus experienced death no less and even guarded his friend's body from abuse by the Trojans.


After the fall of Troy and the capture of the city, the devastated and exhausted Menelaus goes in search of Helena of Troy to punish the infidel. But the wife, whose beauty has not faded even after 10 years, charms the man again. Menelaus takes the woman back to Sparta with him.

Before leaving for his homeland, the angry tsar quarrels with his beloved brother. Menelaus, who still has not forgiven the help of Athena to the Trojans, does not sacrifice to the goddess. Such an offense causes the wrath of Agamemnon. However, the goddess did not like such disdain. As a result, the ships of Menelaus do not find the desired course and end up in Egypt, Cyprus and Phenicia.


For almost 8 years, the king of Sparta gets to his home, making stops in unfamiliar countries and suffering hunger. Stepping on a familiar shore, Menelaus learns terrible news. While the man was absent, his beloved older brother died.

The only consolation for the hero was Elena. The beauty spent the rest of her life in humility, without leaving her husband. When the time came to die, Menelaus and Helen went to the Isles of the Blessed in Elysium (in other sources, a couple were sacrificed). In honor of the valiant king of Sparta, the descendants established sports.

Screen adaptations

In 1971, the Greek director Michalis Kakoyannis created a film based on the creation of Euripides. The film "Trojans" tells about the events that took place during the Trojan War. The role of the distraught husband of Elena the Beautiful was played by actor Patrick Maggie. The image created by the artist did not impress critics and viewers.


Menelaus, played by James Callis, is recognized as a more elaborate and realistic character. The film "Helena Troyanskaya" (2003) reveals in detail the events preceding the Trojan War. The two-part drama portrays the story through the eyes of the perpetrator of the conflict.

The popular film adaptation of Homer's Iliad was released in 2004. The film "Troy" is recognized as one of the most expensive films in the world. The role of the deceived husband went to the actor.

  • The meaning of the name "Menelaus" is to stand still, to resist.

  • "Menelaus with the body of Patroclus" is the most famous sculpture depicting the king of Sparta. Only a copy of a work of art has survived to this day.
  • In addition to his legitimate daughter, Menelaus had sons Nicostratus and Pleisten. The boys' mothers are slaves who served at the palace.
  1. Menelic Theorem

    A theorem on the relationship between the lengths of segments on the sides of a triangle intersected by a straight line. Namely, if the straight line intersects the sides of the triangle ABC (or their extensions) at the points, then the relation M.

    Encyclopedia of mathematics
  2. Menela Mountain

    Μενελάϊον
    mountain in Laconia southeast of Sparta near Ferapna with a sanctuary (ἠρῶον) Menelaus and Elena

  3. menelaus

    inosk.) - deceived husband (a hint of Menelaus- husband of "beautiful Elena")
    Wed Thought to turn into Menelaus
    when will it be possible for me ... to see what came out of this date of the modern Menelaus with my

  4. ATREY

    ATREY - in Greek mythology, the king of Mycenae, the father of the heroes of the Trojan War Agamemnon and Menelaus.

  5. PANDAR

    Menelaus, broke the truce between the Achaeans and the Trojans. Killed by Diomedes.

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  6. Lysimachus

    The name of two persons: Esth 10 - the son of Ptolemy, mentioned at the end of the book. Esther, in addition. 2 Mac 4:29 - brother of the Jewish high priest Menelaus.

  7. Atreus

    A. - the father of the heroes of the Trojan War - Agamemnon and Menelaus(See Menelaus.)

  8. EIDOTHEA

    looks. Taught in Egypt Menelaus capture her father and find out from him a way to return home.

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  9. AEROPE

    Argos Plaisten, then for his brother Atreus. She gave birth to the last Agamemnon and Menelaus.

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  10. Hermione (myth.)

    Hermione) - daughter Menelaus and Helena, betrothed by her father, according to the promise made under Troy, with her son
    Delphians to kill Menelaus... According to Virgil, she was already married to Orestes when she was kidnapped by Neoptolemus.

  11. PANDAR

    acts as a skilled archer; impelled by Athena, he wounds Menelaus and this violates
    pre-duel armistice agreement Menelaus with Paris. (Note. II. IV 86-147). Another time P

    Mythological encyclopedia
  12. Deiphobe

    and Hector. After the capture of Troy, his house was first destroyed, and D. himself was betrayed by Elena, whose spouse he was after the death of Paris, into the hands of Menelaus.

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  13. HERMIONE

    HERMIONE - daughter in Greek mythology Menelaus and Elena. During the capture of Troy, Neoptolemus was promised

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  14. Canopus

    supergiant, F-star of magnitude -0.7. Named for the leader of the king's fleet Menelaus from Greek mythology.
    See: Table 3.

    Big Astronomical Dictionary
  15. APPLE OF DISCORD

    between the goddesses Hero, Athena and Aphrodite; for the promise to help in the abduction of Helena (the wife of the king of Sparta Menelaus) was awarded by Paris to Aphrodite.

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  16. Paris

    Onegin. 5, 37.
    Paris is the son of Priam and Hecuba; he took his wife Menelaus- Helen, which resulted in the Trojan War and the destruction of Troy.
    See the judgment of Paris.

    Phraseological Dictionary of Michelson
  17. HERMIONE

    Έρμιόνη)
    in Greek mythology, daughter Menelaus and Elena. The Odyssey (IV 3-9) reports on the extradition of
    grandfather Menelaus in Sparta (Apollod. epit. VI 14; 28). According to the version of the myth adopted by Euripides in "Andromache

    Mythological encyclopedia
  18. Agamemnon

    troops during the Trojan War (See Trojan War). Son of Atreus (See Atreus) and brother Menelaus(See Menelaus

    Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  19. Kanob

    Menelaus... K. disappeared since the introduction of Christianity in Egypt. Strab. 17, 800 words

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  20. Helena

    extraordinary beauty. Married to a Spartan king Menelaus(See Menelaus) E. was kidnapped by a Trojan

    Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  21. DEIFOB

    Elena. During the capture of Troy, he dies at the hands of someone who broke into his house. Menelaus(Apollod. Epit. V 9, 22). v. I am.

    Mythological encyclopedia
  22. POLIB

    on the way from under Troy Menelaus and Elena (Horn. Od. IV 125 next); 2) the Sikion king, the grandfather of Hell growth

    Mythological encyclopedia
  23. Pandar

    He hurt Menelaus and by this he violated the alliance he had just concluded, but in the ensuing struggle he died by hand

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  24. Polyb

    hospitably received and gifted Menelaus during his wanderings in the destruction of Troy. No. Od. 4, 125 sl

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  25. PARIS

    secured her support for his abduction of the wife of the king of Sparta Menelaus- beautiful Elena, but called

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  26. ANTENOR

    Of the Trojan War A. received Odysseus in his house and Menelaus who arrived as ambassadors for negotiations
    Odyssey's suggestions and Menelaus, but also tried to kill them, and only A.'s intervention saved the Achaean leaders (Apollod

    Mythological encyclopedia
  27. Elena, in mythology

    blight), in Homer's poems is a mortal woman, wife Menelaus, king of Sparta; due to abduction
    "Iliads" and "Odyssey" about the stay Menelaus with E. in Egypt, legends spread that E.
    sons Menelaus after his death, they expelled E. from Sparta; she fled to Rhodes, where she died

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  28. Kanob

    The Greeks derived the name of the city from the legendary helmsman who moored here Menelaus(hence the later

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  29. HELENA

    ELENA - in Greek mythology, the most beautiful of women, the wife of the king of Sparta Menelaus... Helena's abduction

    Big encyclopedic dictionary
  30. Pasquino

    square of Navona). The statue depicted Ajax with the corpse of Achilles (according to others - Menelaus, with a corpse

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  31. Katrei

    and Menelaus; Klymene married Navilius and bore him Eacus and Palamedes. Alfemen with his sister Apemosina

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  32. Helena

    but freed by her brothers. Tyndareus (see Tyndareus, Tyndareus) gave her off as Menelaus, the king of the Spartans
    and betrays Deiphobus into his hands Menelaus(Verg. Aen. 6, 517 ff.); then, after eight years of wandering
    after death Menelaus she was expelled by his sons, fled to the island of Rhodes, where she was hanged

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  33. Paris

    him to kidnap Elena - the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, which was the reason for the Trojan War. At the end

    Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  34. Telemachus

    learned from Menelaus about Proteus's prediction regarding the return of Odysseus. Returning home, T. met

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  35. Tyndareus

    son-in-law Menelaus to Sparta and handed him royal power. The temple of Athena Halkioiki in Sparta was erected, according to legend, T .; in Sparta, they showed the tomb of T.
    BUT.

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  36. Deiphobe

    destroyed by Odysseus and Menelaus (No. Menelaus... Verg. Aen. 6, 494 ff.

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  37. Iphigenia

    daughter. When the calmness sent down by Artemis, angry at Agamemnon or Menelaus, did not allow
    that I. should be sacrificed to the goddess. Requests Menelaus persuaded Agamemnon to send for his daughter

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  38. Proteus, in mythology

    her ghost, and she herself lived with P. until her return Menelaus... Still, according to another legend, P. moved from Egypt

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  39. Trojan War

    the war with Troy was the kidnapping of the wife of the Spartan king by the Trojan prince Paris Menelaus- Elena

    Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  40. Iphigenia

    I. Agamemnon, at the insistence Menelaus and the troops, had to agree to this, and I. was required

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  41. He and I

    high priest Onias 4th. When, after death Menelaus, Alcimus was appointed high priest from Antiochus Eupator

    Bible Encyclopedia Archim. Nikifor
  42. Ilyinsky A.V.

    Menelaus("The Beautiful Helena" by Offenbach), Nikosha ("The Merry Widow" by Lehar), Frascatti ("The Violet of Montmartre

    Musical encyclopedia
  43. Atreus

    Agamemnon and Menelaus and together with his father seizes power in Mycenae.

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  44. Palamed

    Helen in Troy, P. was on the island of Crete. Learning about the misfortune Menelaus, he joined the plan

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  45. Chevy's Theorem

    triangles are called Chevy straight lines, or Chevians. Frequency t is metrically dual Menelaus theorem

    Encyclopedia of mathematics
  46. Hermione

    from the underworld into the light. Strab. 8, 373;
    2. the name of Demeter and Persephone in Syracuse;
    3.daughter Menelaus and Elena

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  47. HELENA

    fulfilling the promise given to Paris - the son of the Trojan king Priam, brings him to the house Menelaus, E
    waiting for the return Menelaus from the Trojan campaign (the plot is elaborated in detail in the tragedy of Euripides “E
    her Menelaus... There are also different versions about the subsequent fate of E. One by one, she was after death
    Menelaus expelled by his sons and fled either to the island of Rhodes, or to Taurida; on others
    used the plots: "the birth of E.", "the abduction of E. Theseus", "the abduction of E. Paris", "meeting Menelaus

    Mythological encyclopedia
  48. Agamemnon

    sl.) and Eropa and brother Menelaus(see this sl.). He fled after the death of his father by his nephew Aegistus, his son

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  49. Nasir Eddin

    mathematicians and astronomers: Euclid ("Elements"), Archimedes, Autolycus, Gipsicles, Menelaus, Ptolemy (4 books

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  50. Neoptolemus

    on the daughter Hermione promised to him earlier Menelaus... According to another legend (Virgil), when

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  51. OREST

    after Menelaus in Sparta, and later sources (Apollod. epit. 6,28) report the death of O. from a snakebite

    Mythological encyclopedia
  52. Paris, in mythology

    abandoned her husband's house and sailed with her at night to Asia, taking many treasures from the palace Menelaus... This act

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  53. Cheva Giovanni, mathematician

    others. The most remarkable of these was the first. In the first part, the author proves the theorem Menelaus

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  54. ANDROMACHE

    To fulfill her insidious plan, she, taking advantage of the absence of her husband, calls on her father Menelaus

  55. Krates

    them philosophical views and mathematical geography and the Stoics, Menelaus he forced from Ghadir

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  56. ACHILLES

    was the abduction by Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, the king's wife Menelaus Beautiful Elena
    dressed in women's clothing. But the soothsayer Calchas guessed Thetis' plan. Companions Menelaus Diomedes

    Encyclopedia of literary heroes
  57. Carnap's Rule

    A particular case of this theorem was proved by L. Carnot. If l is a straight line, then it turns out Menelaus

    Encyclopedia of mathematics
  58. Horse

    Menelaus(Gift), Pindar - the victorious horse of Hieron (Ferenik); further, Bukefal Alexandra is known

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  59. TROYAN WARRIOR

    to their opponents the Achaeans. Then Paris sailed on a ship to Greece, stopped at a house Menelaus
    sent Odysseus and Menelaus to negotiate with the Trojans about the extradition of Elena and the return of the treasure
    others crash on the coastal cliffs, deceived by Nauplia's false signal. Menelaus and odyssey storm
    ", A dispute for her (battle Menelaus with Paris in III book. "Iliad"), a heroic duel (Hector

    Mythological encyclopedia
  60. Kokhanovsky

    them much later the drama "Refusal to the Greek Ambassadors" (1578), depicting the embassy Menelaus to Troy with a demand

    Literary encyclopedia
  61. Orestes

    daughters Menelaus, from whom he had a son, Tisamen, and from another wife, Erigona, daughter of Aegisthus

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  62. Agamemnon

    Agamemnon, Ἀγαμέμνων
    Homer has a son Atreus (Ἀτρεΐδης), king of the Mycenaeans, brother Menelaus; other's

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  63. TROJAN WAR

    Trojan prince) wife of Sparta. king Menelaus- Elena. Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon called for help

    Soviet Historical Encyclopedia
  64. Paris

    Elena, the most beautiful woman, wife Menelaus, with whom he visited while traveling in Greece

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  65. Utesov L.O.

    "in Moscow," Palace "theater in Petrograd, where he played the role of Boni (" Silva "by Kalman), Menelaus

    Musical encyclopedia
  66. AGAMEMNON

    and all her former suitors united in a campaign against Troy, A., as an older brother Menelaus and most

    Mythological encyclopedia
  67. Mavrolico

    translations M. contains "Spherica" ​​Feodosia, "Spherical" Menelaus, a book by Autolycus about a moving ball, a book

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  68. Comparison, in literature

    for the greatness of the king, for the glory of the charioteer, etc. For these details, we forget about the wound Menelaus, to whcih

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  69. Menelaus

    where the games were celebrated; they also showed him and Helen's grave there (see Μενελάϊον, Menelaus mountain);
    2

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  70. PARIS

    Spartan king Menelaus, kidnapped his wife - the beautiful Elena and great treasures. Insidious

    Mythological encyclopedia
  71. flank

    a niche flanked by church plantings. Pluzhnikov. || transfer Martial arts Menelaus with Paris

    Dictionary of gallicisms of the Russian language
  72. OREST

    but O. and Pilad attack his wife Menelaus Elena, sister of Clytemnestra, whom she saves by taking to heaven
    Apollo, and taking daughter hostage on Electra's advice Menelaus and Elena Germi-one. Hopeless

    Encyclopedia of literary heroes
  73. Iliad

    Spartan king Menelaus, the Trojan prince Paris, the son of King Priam, the Greeks under the supreme
    led by Agamemnon, brother Menelaus, for the tenth year unsuccessfully besieging Troy. When the neighbors are ruined
    indignant Elena and forces her to submit to the wishes of Paris. The Achaeans, meanwhile, believe Menelaus
    exodus, and at the instigation of Athena, an ally of the Trojans, Pandarus, Menelaus arrow. Truce this way
    a completely different course of events; martial arts of Paris and Menelaus

    king Menelaus, whose abduction was the closest reason to declare war on the people of Paris. Having decided
    so that the winner gets Elena and the kidnapped Menelaus hidden treasures. Paris is defeated and, only thanks to
    the concluded treaty, but the Trojan Pandarus violates the truce by firing an arrow into Menelaus, after which it is tied

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  74. Euripides

    Andromache's speech against Menelaus serves as an expression of the anti-Spartan policy of Athens and Argos
    on the version of the Trojan legend, according to which the spouse Menelaus was not at all in Troy, but moved

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  75. Mycenaean antiquities

    parts of the palace of Tiryns contribute to the clarification of Homeric descriptions - the chambers of Alcinoe, Menelaus

    who married after the capture of Troy, first to the widow of Hector Andromache, and then to his daughter Menelaus Hermione

    Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
  76. IFIGENIA

    to sweep Menelaus and the ambitious adventure of Agamemnon. The third force is the hero Achilles, whose wounded

    Encyclopedia of literary heroes
  77. Robbery of the sea

    Argonauts (real robber expedition), bragging Menelaus their corsairs and captured

    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  78. Rome

    v. includes the activities of the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Menelaus(See Menelaus) of Alexandria

    Great Soviet Encyclopedia

CHANGE

(Menelaus, ???? "????). Son of Atreus, husband of the beautiful Elena, father of Hermione, younger brother of Agamemnon, king of Sparta. Paris (see Paris) took away Elena, wife of Menelaus, and this was the reason for the Trojan War During the war, Menelaus entered into single combat with Paris, who was saved by Aphrodite, covered with a cloud.After the death of Paris, Helen married his brother Deyphobe, who was killed by Menelaus during the capture of Troy. Helen subsequently reconciled with Menelaus, together with him sailed from Troy and, after 8 years of wandering along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, they return to Sparta, where they live out their lives in peace and wealth.

A Brief Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities. 2012

See also the interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is MEANELAY in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

  • CHANGE
    (2Mac 4:23) - High priest of the Jews in the time of the Maccabees. Having taken away the high priesthood from Jason, brother of Onias, he caused the Jews many calamities. Died ...
  • CHANGE
    - the king of Sparta. Spouse of Elena the Beautiful, daughter of Leda and Zeus. The son of the king of Mycenae Atreus and Aeropa, brother of Agamemnon, married to ...
  • CHANGE
    In Greek mythology, the son of Atreus and Aeropa, brother of Agamemnon, After the assassination of Atreus by Aegisthus, Menelaus and Agamemnon were forced to flee from ...
  • CHANGE in the Reference Dictionary Who's Who in the Ancient World:
    1) The younger brother of the Spartan king Agamemnon and the husband of Elena. In the hostilities of the Trojan War, his image is insignificant against the background of others ...
  • CHANGE in the Sex Lexicon:
    in Greek mythology, the king of Sparta, the husband of the beautiful Helen. For the sake of the return of his wife, kidnapped by the Trojan Paris, he achieved a speech by the united Greek. troops in ...
  • CHANGE in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    in Greek mythology, a participant in the Trojan War, the king of Sparta, the husband of Elena; organized a campaign near Troy to return the one kidnapped by the Trojan Paris ...
  • CHANGE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
    (????????) - the son of Atreus, the younger brother of Agamemnon. The brothers expelled by Tiestes fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, ...
  • CHANGE
    MENELAI, in Greek. mythology participant in the Trojan War, king of Sparta, husband of Elena; organized a campaign near Troy to return the one kidnapped by the Trojan Paris ...
  • CHANGE in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    MENELAI Alexandrian (1-2 centuries), ancient Greek. mathematician and astronomer. Tr. spherical geometry and trigonometry ("Spherical", book. ...
  • CHANGE in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
    (????????)? son of Atreus, younger brother of Agamemnon. The brothers expelled by Tiestes fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, ...
  • CHANGE in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
  • CHANGE in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
    in Greek mythology, a participant in the Trojan War, the king of Sparta, the husband of Elena; organized a campaign near Troy in order to return Elena, kidnapped by the Trojan Paris. ...
  • BERIA in the Biblical Encyclopedia of Nicephorus:
    (2Mac 13: 4) - The Syrian city between Hieropolis and Antioch, where the unworthy high priest Menelaus was executed by order of Antiochus Eupator. ...
  • 2 МАК 5
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 5 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • 2 МАК 4 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 4 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • 2 МАК 13 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 13 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • 2 МАК 11 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 11 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • EGISF in the Dictionary-reference book Myths of Ancient Greece:
    (Aegistus) is the son of Fiesta and his daughter Pelopia, who abandoned the child. He was brought up at the court of his uncle Atreus, the king of Mycenae, who ...
  • HELENA in the Dictionary-reference book Myths of Ancient Greece:
    - the fairest of women. Daughter of Leda and Zeus, who took the form of a swan, sister of Dioscuri and Clytemnestra (Castor and Clytemnestra were children ...
  • GLAVK in the Dictionary-reference book Myths of Ancient Greece:
    1) sea deity, son of Poseidon. According to the myth, he was a fisherman from Anfedon in Boeotia. He drank a witch's potion, after which he ended up in ...
  • HELENA in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
    In Greek mythology, the Spartan queen, the most beautiful of women. The ancient tradition calls Elena's father Zeus, mother - Leda or Nemesis. V …
  • DEMETRY I in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
    Poliorket King of Asia 306-301 BC King of Macedonia 294-287 BC Son of Antigonus I Cyclops. Genus. ...
  • EURIPIDES in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
    EURIPIDS is the third among the most famous Greek tragedians, Greek tragedians, whose dramas have survived in part. He was born according to the usual order in 480 BC ...

CHANGE

- the king of Sparta. Spouse of Elena the Beautiful, daughter of Leda and Zeus. The son of the king of Mycenae Atreus and Aeropa, the brother of Agamemnon, who was married to the sister of Helena Clytemnestra. He organized a military campaign near Troy in order to return Helen, kidnapped by the Trojan Paris, - this campaign became known as the Trojan War. Elena gave birth to his daughter Hermione. Father of Megapenta (from a slave). See about him in more detail.

Myths of Ancient Greece, reference dictionary. 2012

See also the interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is MEANELAY in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

  • CHANGE
    (2Mac 4:23) - High priest of the Jews in the time of the Maccabees. Having taken away the high priesthood from Jason, brother of Onias, he caused the Jews many calamities. Died ...
  • CHANGE in the Brief Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities:
    (Menelaus, ???? "????). The son of Atreus, the husband of the beautiful Elena, the father of Hermione, the younger brother of Agamemnon, the king of Sparta. Paris (see Paris) took Elena away, ...
  • CHANGE
    In Greek mythology, the son of Atreus and Aeropa, brother of Agamemnon, After the assassination of Atreus by Aegisthus, Menelaus and Agamemnon were forced to flee from ...
  • CHANGE in the Reference Dictionary Who's Who in the Ancient World:
    1) The younger brother of the Spartan king Agamemnon and the husband of Elena. In the hostilities of the Trojan War, his image is insignificant against the background of others ...
  • CHANGE in the Sex Lexicon:
    in Greek mythology, the king of Sparta, the husband of the beautiful Helen. For the sake of the return of his wife, kidnapped by the Trojan Paris, he achieved a speech by the united Greek. troops in ...
  • CHANGE in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    in Greek mythology, a participant in the Trojan War, the king of Sparta, the husband of Elena; organized a campaign near Troy to return the one kidnapped by the Trojan Paris ...
  • CHANGE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
    (????????) - the son of Atreus, the younger brother of Agamemnon. The brothers expelled by Tiestes fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, ...
  • CHANGE
    MENELAI, in Greek. mythology participant in the Trojan War, king of Sparta, husband of Elena; organized a campaign near Troy to return the one kidnapped by the Trojan Paris ...
  • CHANGE in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    MENELAI Alexandrian (1-2 centuries), ancient Greek. mathematician and astronomer. Tr. spherical geometry and trigonometry ("Spherical", book. ...
  • CHANGE in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
    (????????)? son of Atreus, younger brother of Agamemnon. The brothers expelled by Tiestes fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, ...
  • CHANGE in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
  • CHANGE in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
    in Greek mythology, a participant in the Trojan War, the king of Sparta, the husband of Elena; organized a campaign near Troy in order to return Elena, kidnapped by the Trojan Paris. ...
  • BERIA in the Biblical Encyclopedia of Nicephorus:
    (2Mac 13: 4) - The Syrian city between Hieropolis and Antioch, where the unworthy high priest Menelaus was executed by order of Antiochus Eupator. ...
  • 2 МАК 5
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 5 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • 2 МАК 4 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 4 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • 2 МАК 13 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 13 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • 2 МАК 11 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
    Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Bible. Old Testament. The second book of Maccabees. Chapter 11 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 ...
  • EGISF
    (Aegistus) is the son of Fiesta and his daughter Pelopia, who abandoned the child. He was brought up at the court of his uncle Atreus, the king of Mycenae, who ...
  • HELENA in the Dictionary-reference book Myths of Ancient Greece:
    - the fairest of women. Daughter of Leda and Zeus, who took the form of a swan, sister of Dioscuri and Clytemnestra (Castor and Clytemnestra were children ...
  • GLAVK in the Dictionary-reference book Myths of Ancient Greece:
    1) sea deity, son of Poseidon. According to the myth, he was a fisherman from Anfedon in Boeotia. He drank a witch's potion, after which he ended up in ...
  • HELENA in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
    In Greek mythology, the Spartan queen, the most beautiful of women. The ancient tradition calls Elena's father Zeus, mother - Leda or Nemesis. V …
  • DEMETRY I in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
    Poliorket King of Asia 306-301 BC King of Macedonia 294-287 BC Son of Antigonus I Cyclops. Genus. ...
  • EURIPIDES in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
    EURIPIDS is the third among the most famous Greek tragedians, Greek tragedians, whose dramas have survived in part. He was born according to the usual order in 480 BC ...

Menelaus (Μενέλαος), in Greek myth-making, the king of Sparta, the son of Atreus and Aeropa, the husband of Elena, the younger brother of Agamemnon. The brothers expelled by Tiestes fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, Elena, Menelaus married and inherited the throne of his father-in-law (Apollodorus, II 16). Menelaus's serene life with Elena lasted for about ten years; their daughter Hermione was nine years old when the Trojan prince Paris came to Sparta. Menelaus at this time went to Crete to participate in the funeral of his maternal grandfather Katrei. Having learned about the abduction of his wife and treasures by Paris, Menelaus and Odysseus went to Troy (Ilion) and demanded the extradition of the kidnapped wife, but to no avail.

Returning home, Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself put sixty ships, recruiting soldiers in Lacedaemon, Amikles and other lands of Hellas. In addition, after the abduction of his wife by Paris, Menelaus gathered all her former suitors, bound by a vow of mutual assistance, and began preparing, together with his brother Agamemnon, for the Trojan War. In relation to Agamemnon, he considered himself subordinate and recognized his supreme power in everything.

At the walls of Troy, Menelaus, with the help of Hera and Athena, proved himself to be a valiant warrior and a wise adviser. When Paris announced a challenge to single combat, Menelaus happily agreed and so fiercely rushed at the enemy that the latter was frightened and began to retreat. Hector put Paris to shame, and the single combat took place: Menelaus grabbed Paris by the helmet and drew him to the Achaean squads, but Aphrodite saved her favorite (Homer, Iliad, III 324-382). The victorious side began to demand the handover of Elena and the treasures taken with her, but Pandarus, who came out from the ranks of the Trojans, wounded Menelaus and thereby eliminated the possibility of a truce. Later, Menelaus is challenged to a single combat with Hector, but at the request of his friends, he abandons this dangerous plan; likewise, Antilochus kept him from competing with Aeneas. When Patroclus fell, Menelaus was among those who defended the body of the slain hero (Apollodorus, XVII 1 - 69, 553-581, 702-761). When the wooden horse was built, Menelaus, along with other Greek soldiers, came to the city of Troy.

Menelaus immediately went to the house of Deiphobus, where Helen lived. There he, together with Odysseus, entered into a bloody battle, and which of them killed Deiphobus remains unknown. Menelaus intended to execute his wife for treason, but her divine beauty shook his resolve, he lowered his sword and led Helen to the ships, completely forgiving her. Before returning, Menelaus, who believed that Athena was helping the Trojans too much, refused to make a sacrifice to the goddess, which displeased Agamemnon and the brothers parted in a quarrel. Menelaus was caught in a storm sent by Athena, the storm nailed his five ships off the coast of Egypt, carrying the rest of the fleet to Crete. During his eight-year wanderings, Menelaus ends up in Cyprus, Phenicia and Egypt, where he acquires great treasures (Homer, Odyssey, III 276-312).

After traveling for eight years in the East, Menelaus stayed for some time on the island of Pharos and endured hardships, until, on the advice of Eidothea, her father, the sea elder Proteus, helped him to sail home. The last stage of Menelaus's return to Sparta after an eighteen-year absence, according to epic tradition, proceeded without complications. Warned by Proteus about the murder by Aegisthus of Agamemnon, Menelaus is in a hurry to take revenge on Aegisthus, but Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, who killed Aegisthus and Clytemestra, is ahead of him, Menelaus keeps up only for their funeral (Homer, Odysseus, III 301-312, IV 546, 584). Returning to Sparta, Menelaus and Helen lived in Lacedaemon in peace, harmony and contentment until the very day when they - hand in hand - went to the Isles of the Blessed in Elysium. According to another version, they ended up in Taurida, where Iphigenia sacrificed both of them to Artemis. The tomb of Menelaus was shown in Ferapna, where his sanctuary was and took place in honor of his game (Pausanias, III 14, 6). In historical times, the maiden choir performed a ritual epithalamic at the burial place of Menelaus and Helena, similar to Theocritus, the poet of the third century BC, attested in one of the idylls.