Helen of Troy 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, 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. Paris, a Trojan prince, came to Sparta to
1647 Menelaus 1647 Menelaus 1647 Menelaus ( ), provisional designation "", is a mid-sized Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 23 June 1957 by American astronomer Seth Nicholson at the Palomar Observatory in California, and later named after the Spartan King Menelaus from Greek mythology. The dark asteroid has a rotation period of 17.7 hours. It is the principle body of the proposed Menelaus cluster, which encompasses several, mostly tentative Jovian asteroid families. "Menelaus" is a dark Jovian asteroid in a 1:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter. It is located in the leading Greek camp at