The Iliad was written by a bard named Homer. A bard is a story writer. One day, Paris, the prince of Troy, came to visit Menelaus, king of Sparta, and Helen, queen of Sparta. Helen was considered to be the most beutiful women in all the world. Many men fought to win her hand in marriage. Helen’s father told all the men that if anyone steals her, you all have to team up against him. One night, Paris kidnapped Helen and took her to Troy. King Menelaus went to Troy to rescue Helen. He took with him Agamemnon, the high king Odysseus the wisest, Ajax an impressive warrior, and Achilles, the strongest, along with many other warriors. One day some warriors built a horse called the Trojan horse. It was so big, 20-30 men could fit inside. Also, The inside fo it was hollow. Some of the men hid inside and the others pretended to get away, but they actually went a quarter of a mile away. At night, the men got out of the Trojan horse and opened the gates, and the others came in and destroyed the city. The Trojan war lasted ten years.