llest and strongest of men; or as
Diomede, the friend of Ulysses; or as his own brother, Agamemnon, the
King of the rich city of Mycenae, who was chief over all other princes,
and general of the whole army in war. The great lions carved in stone
that seemed to guard his city are still standing above the gate through
which Agamemnon used to drive his chariot.

The man who proved to be the best fighter of all, Achilles, was not
among the lovers of Helen, for he was still a boy, and his mother,
Thetis of the silver feet, a goddess of the sea, had sent him to be
brought up as a girl, among the daughters of Lycomedes of Scyros, in an
island far away. Thetis did this because Achilles was her only child,
and there was a prophecy that, if he went to the wars, he would win the
greatest glory, but die very young, and never see his mother again. She
thought that if war broke out he would not be found hiding in girl's
dress, among girls, far away.

So at last, after thinking over the matter for long, Tyndarus gave fair
Helen to Menelaus, the rich King of Lacedaemon; and her twin sister
Clytaemnestra, who was also very beautiful, was given to King Agamemnon,
the chief over all the princes. They all lived very happily together at
first, but not for long.

In the meantime King Tyndarus spoke to his brother Icarius, who had a
daughter named Penelope. She also was very pretty, but not nearly so
beautiful as her cousin, fair Helen, and we know that Penelope was not
very fond of her cousin. Icarius, admiring the strength and wisdom of
Ulysses, gave him his daughter Penelope to be his wife, and Ulysses
loved her very dearly, no man and wife were ever dearer to each other.
They went away together to rocky Ithaca, and perhaps Penelope was not
sorry that a wide sea lay between her home and that of Helen; for Helen
was not only the fairest woman that ever lived in the world, but she was
so kind and gracious and charming that no man could see her without
loving her. When she was only a child, the famous prince Theseus, whose
story is to be told later, carried her away to his own city of Athens,
meaning to marry her when she grew up, and, even at that time, there was
a war for her sake, for her brothers followed Theseus with an army, and
fought him, and brought her home.

She had fairy gifts: for instance, she had a great red jewel, called
'the Star,' and when she wore it red drops seemed to fall from it and
vanished before they touched and