Editing Helen of Troy (section)

=== Oath of Tyndareus ===
Tyndareus was afraid to select a husband for his daughter, or send any of the suitors away, for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel. [[Odysseus]] was one of the suitors, but had brought no gifts because he believed he had little chance to win the contest. He thus promised to solve the problem, if Tyndareus in turn 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 him. After the suitors had sworn not to retaliate, Menelaus was chosen to be Helen's husband because he was the "greatest in possessions" and had offered the most gifts.<ref>[https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodCatalogues.html Catalogue of Women, frag. 68]</ref> As a sign of the importance of the pact, Tyndareus [[Horse sacrifice|sacrificed a horse]].<ref>Hesiod, ''Catalogs of Women and Eoiae'', fr. 204; Hyginus, ''Fables'', [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae2.html#78 78]; Pausanias, 3.20.[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+3.20.9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 9]; Apollodorus, 3.10.[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D10%3Asection%3D9 9]<br />* Cingano, ''A Catalog within a Catalog'', 128; Hughes, ''Helen of Troy'', 76</ref> Helen and Menelaus became rulers of Sparta, after Tyndareus and Leda abdicated. Menelaus and Helen rule in Sparta for at least ten years; they have a daughter, [[Hermione (mythology)|Hermione]], and (according to some myths) three sons: [[Aethiolas]], Maraphius, and [[Pleisthenes]].

The marriage of Helen and Menelaus marks the beginning of the end of the age of heroes. Concluding the catalog of Helen's suitors, Hesiod reports Zeus' plan to obliterate the race of men and the heroes in particular. The Trojan War, caused by Helen's elopement with Paris, is going to be his means to this end.<ref>''Cypria'', fr. 1; Hesiod, ''Catalogs of Women and Eoiae'', fr. 204.96–101<br />* Edmunds, ''Helen's Divine Origins'', 7–8</ref>