"Madmen, all of you who strive for the glory of combats, and believe that the lances of war will ease the burdens of mortals. Never, if blood be arbitress of peace, strife between cities of men shall find an ending." (Captive maidens in Troy. Euripides, Helen 1150). This quote portrays the conviction pertaining that war never establishes peace, but merely further war. So many instances and examples from the Iliad, as well as what we know from during and after the Trojan war, proves this belief to be indeed fact.
The War against Troy began with a seemingly petty cause; a love affair between king Menelaus' wife, Argive Helen, and the handsome Trojan prince, Paris. According to Carlos Parada, in the "Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology," "love, some believe, has no cause; and existing on his own right, he is instead the cause of many things."(Greek Mythology Link, "The Trojan War:" Causes of war.) Similarly, war, having a preeminence of its own, cannot be invented by warriors, instead, war inspires and rules them; Warriors make warfare visible to themselves, and others and are ultimately changed, created into some rough, iron-hearted version of themselves, by the effects of war. "And a cause is not needed for war in order to naturally break out; for any circumstance, relevant or insignificant, may be turned into a cause." (Greek Mythology Link, "The Trojan War:" Causes of war.)
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