--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight…" description: "\"“Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What made the son of Atreus gather the host and bring them? Was it not for the sake of Helen? Are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg" --- # Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What… ![“Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What made the son of Atreus gather the host and bring them? Was it not for the sake of Helen? Are the sons of Atreus the only men in the world who love their wives? Any man of common right feeling will love and cherish her who is his own, as I…” quote by Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg) > ““Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What made the son of Atreus gather the host and bring them? Was it not for the sake of Helen? Are the sons of Atreus the only men in the world who love their wives? Any man of common right feeling will love and cherish her who is his own, as I this woman, with my whole heart”” [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker questions why the Greeks fight the Trojans, suggesting love for Helen drives the conflict, and reflects on marital love as universal. **In simple terms:** War is driven by love for Helen; marriage love is universal. Key Takeaway Recognize personal motives behind larger conflicts. Themes war love marriage conflict loyalty Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family disputes - relationship counseling - historical analysis - literary study Key Concepts Greek mythology human motivation marital devotion Questions to Reflect On - What personal motives drive your actions? - How do societal expectations shape conflict? A Different Perspective It overlooks political and honor motives beyond personal love. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aphrodite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphrodite/) ## Related quotes > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Oh, dear Hazel.” Aphrodite folded her fan. “Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/oh-dear-hazel-aphrodite-folded-her-fan-such-optimism-yet-you-have/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [The great and amorous sky curved over the earth, and lay upon her as a pure lover. The rain, the humid flux descending from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-great-and-amorous-sky-curved-over-the-earth-and-lay-upon-her-as-a/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“The marriage of Zeus and Hera can hardly be reframed into a "happy one" and yet Hera is the Goddess of marriage. Hera and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-guggenb-hl-craig/the-marriage-of-zeus-and-hera-can-hardly-be-reframed-into-a-happy-one/) Adolf Guggenbühl-Craig > [Nefertiti is like Athena born from the brow of Zeus, a head-heavy armored goddess. She is beautiful but desexed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/nefertiti-is-like-athena-born-from-the-brow-of-zeus-a-head-heavy/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Sitting on a cloud like Zeus, just skype it and I saw my bitch bad light Aphrodite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-ink/sitting-on-a-cloud-like-zeus-just-skype-it-and-i-saw-my-bitch-bad/) [Kid Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-ink/) > [“Sometimes, the youthful Hebe would insist on scattering her father's seed further afield, & to various places, inside & outside Greece, & even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/sometimes-the-youthful-hebe-would-insist-on-scattering-her-father-s/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [Aphrodite: Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart. Percy: But... I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/aphrodite-pfft-that-s-not-the-point-follow-your-heart-percy-but-i-don/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Relax your panties”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-c-cast-kristin-cast/relax-your-panties/) [P.C. Cast Kristin Cast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-c-cast-kristin-cast/) > [“And when Aphrodite was told about Cupid's rapid progress, she asked Zeus whether he would take her other son, Hymen, along too, since Hymen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/and-when-aphrodite-was-told-about-cupid-s-rapid-progress-she-asked/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [“I believe in Aphrodite, I believe in insane thinkers, I believe in roaring free-spirits, I believe in full-throated poetry, I believe in feverish sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-gentile/i-believe-in-aphrodite-i-believe-in-insane-thinkers-i-believe-in/) [Laura Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-gentile/) > [“Paris had heard of Helen of Sparta’s beauty, and though she was married to the warlike Menelaus, he immediately consented to awarding Aphrodite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/paris-had-heard-of-helen-of-sparta-s-beauty-and-though-she-was/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [“Greek women were not allowed to be: free and untamed. In fact, Artemis is a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/greek-women-were-not-allowed-to-be-free-and-untamed-in-fact-artemis/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Nice dress Zoey. It looks just like mine. Oh, wait! It used to be mine. Aphrodite laughed a throaty, I'm-so-grown-and-you're-just-a-kid laugh. I really hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nice-dress-zoey-it-looks-just-like-mine-oh-wait-it-used-to-be-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Eros, who was awakened when the girdle was cast aside, thought it unfitting that the Goddess of Love should turn herself into a Goddess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/eros-who-was-awakened-when-the-girdle-was-cast-aside-thought-it/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) ## More by Homer > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Boy, everyone is stupid except me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/boy-everyone-is-stupid-except-me/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“With that the dream departed, leaving him there, his heart racing with hopes that would not come to pass. He thought he would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/with-that-the-dream-departed-leaving-him-there-his-heart-racing-with/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/tell-me-o-muse-of-that-ingenious-hero-who-travelled-far-and-wide/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/my-life-is-more-to-me-than-all-the-wealth-of-ilius/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies And sure he will for Wisdom never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/urge-him-with-truth-to-frame-his-fair-replies-and-sure-he-will-for/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Explore all 639 Homer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More Aphrodite quotes > [Oh, dear Hazel.” Aphrodite folded her fan. “Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/oh-dear-hazel-aphrodite-folded-her-fan-such-optimism-yet-you-have/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Nice dress Zoey. It looks just like mine. Oh, wait! It used to be mine. Aphrodite laughed a throaty, I'm-so-grown-and-you're-just-a-kid laugh. I really hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nice-dress-zoey-it-looks-just-like-mine-oh-wait-it-used-to-be-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Greek women were not allowed to be: free and untamed. In fact, Artemis is a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/greek-women-were-not-allowed-to-be-free-and-untamed-in-fact-artemis/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Paris had heard of Helen of Sparta’s beauty, and though she was married to the warlike Menelaus, he immediately consented to awarding Aphrodite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/paris-had-heard-of-helen-of-sparta-s-beauty-and-though-she-was/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [“I believe in Aphrodite, I believe in insane thinkers, I believe in roaring free-spirits, I believe in full-throated poetry, I believe in feverish sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-gentile/i-believe-in-aphrodite-i-believe-in-insane-thinkers-i-believe-in/) [Laura Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-gentile/) > [“And when Aphrodite was told about Cupid's rapid progress, she asked Zeus whether he would take her other son, Hymen, along too, since Hymen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/and-when-aphrodite-was-told-about-cupid-s-rapid-progress-she-asked/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [“Relax your panties”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-c-cast-kristin-cast/relax-your-panties/) [P.C. Cast Kristin Cast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-c-cast-kristin-cast/) > [Aphrodite: Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart. Percy: But... I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/aphrodite-pfft-that-s-not-the-point-follow-your-heart-percy-but-i-don/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Sometimes, the youthful Hebe would insist on scattering her father's seed further afield, & to various places, inside & outside Greece, & even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/sometimes-the-youthful-hebe-would-insist-on-scattering-her-father-s/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [Sitting on a cloud like Zeus, just skype it and I saw my bitch bad light Aphrodite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-ink/sitting-on-a-cloud-like-zeus-just-skype-it-and-i-saw-my-bitch-bad/) [Kid Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-ink/) > [Nefertiti is like Athena born from the brow of Zeus, a head-heavy armored goddess. She is beautiful but desexed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/nefertiti-is-like-athena-born-from-the-brow-of-zeus-a-head-heavy/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“The marriage of Zeus and Hera can hardly be reframed into a "happy one" and yet Hera is the Goddess of marriage. Hera and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-guggenb-hl-craig/the-marriage-of-zeus-and-hera-can-hardly-be-reframed-into-a-happy-one/) Adolf Guggenbühl-Craig > [The great and amorous sky curved over the earth, and lay upon her as a pure lover. The rain, the humid flux descending from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-great-and-amorous-sky-curved-over-the-earth-and-lay-upon-her-as-a/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“Eros, who was awakened when the girdle was cast aside, thought it unfitting that the Goddess of Love should turn herself into a Goddess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/eros-who-was-awakened-when-the-girdle-was-cast-aside-thought-it/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) [Browse all 184 Aphrodite quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphrodite/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What made the son of Atreus gather the host and bring them? Was it not for the sake of Helen? Are the sons of Atreus the only men in the world who love their wives? Any man of common right feeling will love and cherish her who is his own, as I this woman, with my whole heart”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Homer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-the-trojans-what-made-the-son/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aphrodite" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-the-trojans-what-made-the-son/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/homer-357_aphrodite_why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-th_2025492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What made the son of Atreus gather the host and bring…” — Homer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Homer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Why, pray, must the Argives needs...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-the-trojans-what-made-the-son/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/why-pray-must-the-argives-needs-fight-the-trojans-what-made-the-son/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```