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Menelaus

From N.S. Gill's Ancient/Classical History Glossary, for About.com

Helen and Menelaus on at Attic red-figure crater from c. 540-440 B.C. at the Louvre.

Helen and Menelaus on an Attic Red-figure Krater, by the Menelaus Painter From c. 540-440 B.C. at the Louvre.

Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Commons.
Definition: Menelaus was the king of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon. When Menelaus married Helen, a promise was extracted from all the rejected suitor-princes that they would come to the aid of Menelaus should anyone try to abduct her. Paris, a prince of Troy was a guest in the palace of Menelaus when he decided to steal Helen. The Trojan War was fought to bring Helen back from Troy to Menelaus.

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Pronunciation: me-ne-lay'-os (noun)
Alternate Spellings: Menelaos
Examples: After the Trojan War, Menelaus and Helen entertained Odysseus' son Telemachus in The Odyssey.

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