Useful URL on RTE implementation/Challenges

Useful Link on implementation/Challenges of RTE in CBSE Schools

  http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/keyword/rte-act

Information on RTE

In an important reversal of stand, the Centre has admitted that the Right to Education Act doesn't allow home schooling.
Admitting that the earlier stand was incorrect, the Centre last week urged Delhi high court to permit it to file a fresh affidavit clarifying its stand in respect of home schooling vis-a-vis the RTE Act.
The U-turn by the Centre came on a petition filed by a student who argued that individuals had the right to choose their mode of education. The petition, filed by one Shreya Sahai through her mother, contended that RTE does not cater to gifted or talented children who leave the schooling system, or those in alternative schools and this anomaly must be addressed.
In response, the Centre had claimed by way of an affidavit submitted in July this year that RTE equates schooling with education and said those who opt for home-schooling are free to do so. The RTE Act, which came into effect on April 1, 2010, makes it mandatory for every child (from six to 14 years old) to be enrolled in a formal school.
Intervening in the adjudication of the petition, Social Jurist advocate Ashok Agarwal had strongly objected to the Centre's stand and argued that the demand on the part of Sahai for home-schooling/alternative forms of schooling and the stand taken by the Centre in support of such a demand is based on a completely casual and erroneous interpretation of the letter, spirit and intent of the RTE Act. Aggarwal contended this might lead to dismantling and weakening of the RTE Act.
In the latest hearing, the court gave time to the Centre to file a new affidavit. Earlier, the Centre had also said that National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) for children in the age group of 6-14 years will only be allowed to run up to 2015. "Parents who voluntarily opt for alternative forms of schooling may continue to do so. The RTE Act does not come in the way of such alternate schooling methodologies or declare such form of education illegal," it had stated.

                 RTE's stand is enabler, not restricter. It should only restrict itself to the matter when a school denies or discriminates against admitting a child. It should not interfere how an individual should obtain education. If RTE aims to enforce schooling, education should become a fundamental duty, not right! The very fact that open schooling is thriving is that people have lost faith in Governmental way of providing quality education, and restricting open schooling is not very much unlike internet censorship. As for the question of enrollment, govt should create separate enrollment system like NIOS for students who wants to opt out of regular schooling. After all, why restrict someone from achieving that he or she is capable of? Didn't Rabindranath Tagore and Indira Gandhi took private tuitions at home instead of going to school? Didn't Abhinav Bindra, India's only solo Olympic gold bearer took private coaching instead of governmental help? Govt have no right to fail someone who is capable of succeeding on his or her own. Full support to all gifted children including Shreya. And to those to who aspires to be gifted by studying at home

Nobody has actually stressed the point that by RTE act.the Govt. has conveniently shifted the burden to private schools.Municipal schools are being closed and many private schools are unaided.How can a govt. force a private institution not aided by it to take poor children who are not able to pay their fees,who cannot afford to buy books,uniforms etc?They have made a mockery of a noble thought poorly and cynically executed.

Right to Education (RTE)

The Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education Act came into force from April 1, 2010. This is was a historic day for the people of India as from this day the right to education will be accorded the same legal status as the right to life as provided by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Every child in the age group of 6-14 years will be provided 8 years of elementary education in an age appropriate classroom in the vicinity of his/her neighbourhood. Any cost that prevents a child from accessing school will be borne by the State which shall have the responsibility of enrolling the child as well as ensuring attendance and completion of 8 years of schooling. No child shall be denied admission for want of documents; no child shall be turned away if the admission cycle in the school is over and no child shall be asked to take an admission test. Children with disabilities will also be educated in the mainstream schools. The Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh has emphasized that it is important for the country that if we nurture our children and young people with the right education, India’s future as a strong and prosperous country is secure. All private schools shall be required to enroll children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities in their incoming class to the extent of 25% of their enrolment, by simple random selection. No seats in this quota can be left vacant. These children will be treated on par with all the other children in the school and subsidized by the State at the rate of average per learner costs in the government schools (unless the per learner costs in the private school are lower).

All schools will have to prescribe to norms and standards laid out in the Act and no school that does not fulfill these standards within 3 years will be allowed to function. All private schools will have to apply for recognition, failing which they will be penalized to the tune of Rs 1 lakh and if they still continue to function will be liable to pay Rs 10,000 per day as fine. Norms and standards of teacher qualification and training are also being laid down by an Academic Authority. Teachers in all schools will have to subscribe to these norms within 5 years. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been mandated to monitor the implementation of this historic Right. A special Division within NCPCR will undertake this huge and important task in the coming months and years. A special toll free helpline to register complaints will be set up by NCPCR for this purpose. NCPCR welcomes the formal notification of this Act and looks forward to playing an active role in ensuring its successful implementation. NCPCR also invites all civil society groups, students, teachers, administrators, artists, writers, government personnel, legislators, members of the judiciary and all other stakeholders to join hands and work together to build a movement to ensure that every child of this country is in school and enabled to get at least 8 years of quality education. Benefits of Right to Education Act, 2009 RTE has been a part of the directive principles of the State Policy under Article 45 of the Constitution, which is part of Chapter 4 of the Constitution. And rights in Chapter 4 are not enforceable. For the first time in the history of India we have made this right enforceable by putting it in Chapter 3 of the Constitution as Article 21. This entitles children to have the right to education enforced as a fundamental right.

www.education.nic.in/Elementary/free%20and%20compulsory.pdf

Read more at: http://www.icbse.com/right-to-education-act

CBSE circular about introduction of Vocational Courses in schools

        

 As you must be aware that CBSE is currently offering various skill based courses at senior secondary to impart knowledge and training that strengthen the core skills of the students’. To further strengthen this program of developing skills and competencies the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) starting from Class IX onwards, to be implemented in educational systems throughout schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities from 2013-14. The following programmes under various domains have been identified for implementation in schools starting from Level I i.e. from class IX onwards from the Session 2013-2014.

i. Retail

ii. Security

iii. Information Technology

iv. Automobile Technology

 All these courses of 200 hours each may be offered as an additional compulsory subject by rationalising the existing content for classes IX and X on pilot basis.

                    Also, as a pilot programme these courses have already been introduced in 42 schools   

                    affiliated to the Board  from the academic session 2012-13. The competency based 

                    curriculum package would consist of syllabus, student manual, trainers guide, aining         manual, teacher qualifications and multimedia packages and e- material to facilitat    facilitate the successful implementation of the courses. 
 

   In cognizance of shortage of trained professionals and the necessity for development   of     employability skills among the students, the Board has been offering a number of career oriented competency based courses at Senior Secondary level. Accordingly, theBoard has revised the curriculum of the following courses with revised scheme of studies (as appended below) by way of taking inputs from the industry experts and academicians.

1. Bakery and Confectionery

2. Dairying

3. Health and Beauty Studies

4. Library and Information Sciences

5. Office Secretaryship 

6. Transport Systems and Logistic Management

7. Travel and Tourism

8. Horticulture

In addition, Board has prepared curriculum for the new courses namely

1. Retail Operations & Services

2. Medical Diagnostics

3. Foundry Technology

4. Front Office Operations

5. Food Production

6. Food & Beverage Services

7. Geospatial Technology

8. Mass Media studies & Media production

  

 

 

 

     

The Wooden Horse, Famous Greek Stories/ part III

 

The Wooden Horse
The war between the Greeks and the Trojans is in its tenth year. The Trojans rejoice when they wake up one day to find that the Greek army has finally departed. They have left behind them a strange gift – a giant wooden horse. The Trojans are divided – should they set fire to the statue or should they honour and worship it?
The original for our adaption can be found in Book II of the Aeneid by the Roman Poet Virgil. The Greek poet Homer only mentioned it in passing. This partly explains the famous line with an anti-Greek sentiment, “I fear the Greeks, especially when they are bringing gifts.”

The happiest day in the history of Troy was when the Greek army sailed away. For ten long years the war had raged, and many of the finest and bravest warriors on both sides, had fallen in battle. How the Trojans rejoiced as they walked along the shore where the Greek enemy had camped! Here, cruel Achilles had set up his tent. There, the arrogant King Agamemnon had commanded his men. And now, for the first time in their lives, the children of Troy could run and play in the foam of the sea, and teenage boys and girls could walk hand in hand beneath the cliffs.

But little did they realise that the enemy army had not set sail for far away Greece. Instead, they had only taken their ships to the other side of the island called Tenedos, and there they were lurking, out of sight, but still not far away. It was all a cunning trick thought up by the wiliest of the Greeks, the red haired Odysseus (ode-iss-see-us), who was never short of a plan.
The Trojans saw that the Greeks had left behind a strange offering. It was a giant wooden horse with ribs made from the planks of fir trees. The people marvelled at the massive statue, but there were different opinions about what they should do with it. Some wise old men saw there was something not quite right about the horse, and advised that they should set fire to it straight away. Others warned that , the gods would be angry with them if they did not honour the statue. After all, the wooden horse was dedicated to grey-eyed Athena, the great goddess of wisdom, and nobody wanted to feel her wrath.

The crowd was wavering, and a white-bearded old Priest spoke out above the murmur. “Fellow citizens. Whatever this strange horse may be, remember this: it is always wise to fear the Greeks, especially when they are bringing gifts. By the Great God Poseidon, Lord of the Seas, and by everything that is sacred, let us not fall into this deadly trap, for that is what it surely is! ”

So saying, the old priest hurled a mighty spear at the horse, and and it flew into the beast’s side and quivered, and the guts of the horse reverberated with an eerie hollow sound like a long, deep moan. And had the Trojans decided there and then to set fire to that horse of death, their lovely city would be standing to this day, and the descendants of King Priam would be living in peace and happiness.
But just then, a Trojan patrol came upon the scene, and they brought with them a prisoner – a Greek called Sinon whom the army had left behind.
“Now we will find out the truth!” said the Trojan guards. “Let’s poke this wretched Greek spy with our bronze Spears until he tells us what this Greek gift is all about!”
When he heard this, the poor prisoner cried out: “No, please! Don’t harm me. I’ll happily tell you all you want to know, for cruel, scheming Odysseus is no more a friend of mine than he is of you.”
And so the Trojans listened to what Sinon had to say, and they tried to fathom whether or not he spoke the truth.
“Do you not think that the Greeks would have gladly given up this war before ten long years had had passed? Let me tell you that many times they planned to leave their sufferings behind, as they have done now. . But each time they prepared to sail way in their beaked black ships, the sea god Poseidon sent a terrible storm, and whipped up giant waves on the wine dark sea. They consulted a priest who told them the reason why the gods were inflicting such pain. You see, before he left his home in Argos, King Agamemnon, the great leader of men, waited an entire month for a wind to blow his ships to Troy. Eventually, he decided that the gods required a very special offering. And as usual, it was scheming Odysseus who thought up the plan. He sent for Agamemnon’s own daughter, his darling Iphigenia, and told her that she was to marry swift-footed Achilles. She came with great joy and gladness in her heart for Achilles was the handsomest and bravest of the Greeks, but it was all the most dreadful trick. Instead of marrying Achilles at the altar on the cliffs high up above the sea, the priest sacrificed the lovely white-skinned young maiden to the sea god. And straight away as the foul dead was done, the winds began to blow.
“Now, ten long years later, as we were waiting for a wind to take us back home, Odysseus came up with another plan. “I know,” he said, “Let’s sacrifice the most useless of those among us. Nobody will miss Sinon. He has only ever criticised our plans, and called us leaders wicked and foolish. We once sacrificed an innocent young girl, now let’s give the gods the life of a man, and you’ll see, they will send us a fair wind to blow us swiftly home.”
“But before Odysseus sent his guards to fetch me to my death, a rumour reached me of what he had said, and I ran into the woods and hid. And so the Greeks came up with a second plan to appease the gods. And you see the result before you. This magnificent wooden horse is their offering, to say how sorry they are for all the needless death and destruction they have caused. Only bring it inside your walls before night falls, because unless I am far wrong, there will be gold and treasure hidden deep inside the belly of that wooden horse.”
And when the Trojans had heard Sinon’s tale, many of them were greedy for treasure, and they believed his wicked lies – for he spoke most convincingly but still the crowd was uncertain what to do – until, that is, a most terriblel thing happened. The old priest who had thrown his spear at the horse, was standing by the sea, when a great monster came swimming into shore and carried him off its jaws. It all happened in a flash, and the Trojans were filled with a strange terror.
Sinon one again called out: “You see, Trojans. Nothing but the truth I spoke! The Gods have rightly punished that wicked old priest for sending his spear into the wooden horse!”
And now nobody dared to disagree. And the Trojans brought ropes and placed wheels beneath the statue’s feet, so that they might pull the wooden horse through the gates of their magnificent city. And as the ill-omened procession entered Troy, girls and boys danced around the horse singing holy chants. There was rejoicing in the city, and even the fortune teller, Casandra did not dare open her lips though she foresaw the imminent doom. For the gods had given Casandra the gift of clear-sighted prophesy but had decreed that not one person would believe her.
It was a clear moonlit night, and the Trojans carried on partying. Sinon the Greek had been set free, and nobody noticed that he lit a fire on the beach to signal to the army on the island of Tenedos that the wooden horse was within the walls of Troy. Next he returned to the city, and opened a secret door in the belly of the horse. And the Greek band of warriors, who had been hiding all that time within, let down a long rope- and they were led to the ground, by wily Odysseus, who was the first of them to stand in the central square of magnificent Troy.

It was not long before the Greek intruders had surprised the guards on the main gates and killed them. Soon the wide doors were open, and the Greek army was surging into Troy. The Trojans were either drunk or sleeping and in no way ready to fight. On every side the city was in turmoil. Soon the palace of King Priam was in the grip of fire, and Helen – the most beautiful woman in the world, for whom these ten years of war had been fought, was throwing herself at the feet of her Greek husband, King Menelaus, and protesting how she had been kidnapped and brought to Troy against her will. It was all lies, of course, but Menelaus was ready to believe his lovely wife and took her once more in his arms.

 

 

 

Battle of Troy/ Famous Greek Stories, Part II

Battle of Troy

This Storynory version for children is an extremely compressed retelling of Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad.

Each of the great cities of Greece sent an army to join the war against the Trojans – each, that is – except for one. The City of Thebes refused to join the war, saying that it had no quarrel with the far away Trojans. And so the Greek King Agamemnon (Aga-mem-non) decided to teach the Thebans a lesson. He ordered his men to destroy their beautiful city and take its treasure – and that is what they did. While the ruined city of Thebes was still burning, the greatest of the Greek warriors shared out the the prizes of war. King Agamemnon chose for himself one of the captives – a beautiful young girl, called Chryseis (Cry-see-is) – a priest’s daughter. Agamemnon told her that she must live with him from now on, and be his slave. The girl wept bitterly and begged to be returned to her father, but King Agamemnon had a cruel heart, and was unmoved by her tears.

Eventually, the Greek ships reached Troy, and the army set up a vast camp on the beach not far from the city. One evening, the good old priest who was the father of Chryseis, arrived at the camp and asked to meet King Agamemnon and all the greatest of the Greeks. And this is how he spoke:

“Oh Agamemnon, Leader of Men, may the Gods grant your wish to destroy the magnificent city of Troy, and may all the Greeks return home safely in their black ships, but grant me this favour: free my daughter and accept in her place a gift of great treasure that I have brought for you.”

The Greek army cheered the old man for his generous offer, and for the love that he had shown for his daughter, but Agamemnon flew into a rage. “Old man,” said he, “let me not find you hanging about our ships, nor coming here again. I will not free your lovely daughter. She shall grow old in my house, in Argos, far from her home. So get out of my sight right now, or it will be the worse for you!”

The priest was afraid and swiftly left but later that evening, he knelt down on the shore of the resounding sea and prayed to the immortal god, Apollo of the silver bow. And Apollo heard the good old man’s prayer for just revenge, and he took up his silver bow and fired arrows into the Greek camp. The arrows of Apollo brought disease, and many of the Greek soldiers fell ill.

By far the greatest of the Greek warriors was Achilles.(A-kill-ees) He was faster and stronger than any man alive, and also very proud.

When Achilles saw the Greek soldiers dying of disease, he called a meeting of all the generals and spoke as follows: “Noble Agamemnon, though you are our leader, I must speak the truth. It was wrong to threaten the priest, a good old man who came to you with a generous offer. The gods are angry with us for what you did, and matters must be put right. You must return the lovely Chryseis to her father.”

King Agamemnon, was surprised to hear such words, as he was not at all used to being told what to do.

“Great Achilles”, he said, “ Brave and strong you may be, but I am King and I shall do what I like and you shall know your place!”

To which Achilles replied, “You are too greedy! Why should all the Greeks suffer for your evil ways. I, for one, am not going to follow a leader like you into battle.”

Now King Agamemnon was absolutely furious but he also understood that something must be done to appease the gods and stop the plague that was destroying his army and so the next day he ordered a boat to take the young girl back to her father but he also sent messengers to the tent of Achilles and ordered him hand over his own slave girl. And from that moment on the pride of Achilles was so hurt that he refused to take part in the battle for Troy but instead stayed inside his tent and sulked while the Greeks went out and fought.

Soon after, the Trojans opened the great doors of their city and their army marched out - like a flock of wild birds swooping back and forth and calling with screeching voices.

Now the finest warrior among the Trojans was Prince Hector. He was the brother of Paris, but he was quite different in character. Hector was brave and noble, while Paris loved fine clothes and parties and enjoyed his riches to the full.

As they rode out to battle, Hector said to his brother, “Paris, it is for your sake that thousands of brave soldiers will die today. It is only because you ran away with the Greek Queen Helen that this great army has arrived at our gates with the aim of destroying our beautiful city, killing all the men, and carrying off the women and children as slaves. It were better that you had not been born, my brother.”

When he heard this, Paris felt ashamed and to make amends, he drove his chariot out in front the Trojan army and towards the enemy. In his fiercest voice, Paris called out to the Greeks to send forth their bravest warrior, and to fight him in single combat to decide the war – so that others need not suffer.

On the Greek side, King Menelaus (Menel-a-us) hated Paris more than any other man alive. And so Menelaus jumped out of his chariot and said. “I will gladly fight Paris, and and kill him with my spear that is made of ash wood and tipped with cruel bronze.”

And when Paris heard this, he was so frightened that he coiled back like a man who has seen a snake, and he shrank into the protection of his men. Great laughter arose from the Greek army, and the Trojans were furious with Prince Paris for bringing shame on them. And then Paris began to worry that if the beautiful Helen heard about his running away, she would not love him anymore. And so he gathered his courage, and went out once more in front of the army, and again shouted out to the Greeks, “I call on you men to lay your swords and spears on the ground while King Menelaus and I fight one another – hero against hero.”

And Menelaus did not give Paris time to change his mind. He hurled his spear at him so that it broke his shield, but just missed his body. Paris fell backwards, and soon Menelaus was on him, dragging him by the plume of his helmet towards the Greek army. But the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, who was fond of Paris, saw what was happening and came to his aid disguised as a cloud. She scooped him into her lovely arms, and whisked him back to his Palace where the fair and fragrant Helen was waiting for him.

And so the Greeks and the Trojans fought each other in battle. Many brave soldiers were killed and wounded on both sides, but so long as Achilles refused to help the Greeks, the Trojans were stronger and drove the Greeks back to their camp. At night, a thousand camp fires glowed upon the plain and by the light of each fire there sat fifty men while the horses champed oats and corn beside their chariots and waited for dawn to come.

The Greeks begged the great warrior Achilles to come out and fight, but still he refused to join the battle but his best friend, whose name was Patroclus, came up with a cunning plan. He secretly put on the magnificent armour of Achilles and went out into the battle, looking exactly like the great hero. He knew that when the Greeks saw him, they would gain courage at the sight of Achilles and fight with redoubled strength, and when the Trojans saw him and they would think that the warrior they most feared had returned, and would lose heart. When the Trojans saw Patroclus dressed like Achilles, Prince Hector, flew at him with his spear and killed him. Only then did he discover that it was not Achilles whom he had killed, but Patroclus.

When the mighty Achilles heard that his best friend had been killed by Hector, his anger and sorrow were great in equal measure, and he stood up before a meeting of the Greek army and said: “As you know, King Agamemnon has insulted me and I have every right not to fight in this stupid war. But now things have changed. My best friend has been killed by Prince Hector of Troy. It is for the sake of Petroclus – who was dearer to me than any other man – that I will take up the fight and avenge his death.”

And when the Greek army heard this, they all cheered and threw their helmets in the air, for they knew that with Achilles on their side, victory could be theirs.

When Prince Hector saw that Achilles stood once again at the head of the Greek army, he knew that there was only one thing for it. He must go out and fight Achilles, and decide the fate of Troy.

As he was leaving for battle, he went in search of his wife, the lovely Andromache (An-drom-a-kee). He found her walking along the great walls of the city, holding their little baby in her arms. When she saw her husband, Andromache said, “Brave Hector. I beg you. Do not go out today to fight Achilles. What will I do when you are gone? Think of your little son. What use is a father to him if he is dead?”

But Hector replied that he could not refuse to fight, as the Greeks and the Trojans would say he was a coward.

He stretched his arms towards his child, but when boy saw the horsehair plume that nodded fiercely from his father’s helmet, he was scared and cried, nursing his head into his mother’s bosom.

His father and mother laughed to see him, but Hector took the helmet from his head and laid it all gleaming upon the ground. Then he took his darling child, kissed him, and dangled him in his arms, praying over him to Zeus, the King of all the gods. “Mighty Zeus,” he said, ”May one day people say that this child is even braver than his father, and a mightier warrior in battle, so that their praise gladdens the heart of his mother.”

Hector rode out before the gates of Troy. Achilles, seeing him, started to run with all his might towards Hector, ready to hurl his spear at his hated enemy. Hector jumped from his chariot and stood firm, waiting to meet Achilles, but secretly he thought to himself:

“What, if I were to lay down my shield and helmet, lean my spear against the wall and go straight up to noble Achilles? What if I were to promise to hand back Helen, who was the cause of all this war, and to let the Greeks take half of all the treasure in the city? – but why argue with myself in this way? Were I to go up to him now, he would show me no mercy.”

As he pondered, the swift-footed Achilles charged up to him as if he were Aries himself, the plumed God of battle. The bronze tip of his spear gleamed around him like the rays of the rising sun. Fear came over Hector and he turned and ran while Achilles darted after him at his utmost speed. As a mountain hawk, swiftest of birds, swoops down upon some trembling white dove -that is how Achilles make straight for Hector with all his might, while Hector fled around the City walls as fast as his legs could carry him.

Achilles chased Hector three times around the walls of Troy until at last Hector turned and fought. First Achilles threw his spear at Hector and missed. Then Hector threw his spear at Achilles and hit his shield, but did not break it. Then they fell on each with clashing bronze swords, and Achilles, for he was the stronger hero, killed Hector.

When they heard the sad news, all the women of Troy wept for the loss of their greatest hero, but none wept more than his wife, Andromache.

Now that the finest hero of the Trojans was dead, the Greek army thought that they would soon win the war. King Priam of Troy greatly grieved the loss of his bravest son, and feared that the city would soon be defeated. But this is not how things turned out – not yet. For Apollo, the winged god of the Silver Bow, again decided to help the Trojans. One day, in the midst of battle, he came up to Prince Paris and spoke to him as follows: “Hail, Paris, Prince of Troy. Lift up your bow and fire an arrow into the Greek army. I will guide its point into Achilles and kill him.”

When he heard this, Prince Paris replied, “Almighty Apollo, I will gladly do as you ask. But will I not just waste my arrow? For everyone knows that when Achilles was a baby, his mother dipped him in the River Styx that runs through the Underworld – and as a result, no weapon can wound him, for the waters of the River Styx make a man immortal.”

And Apollo replied, “Paris, you speak the truth, but the gods gave the great Achilles a choice – he could lead a short and glorious life, or a long and boring one. He chose glory and so his life must be short.”
And so Paris dipped his arrow in deadly poison, and fired it into the air. It flew in an ark and its poisoned tip drove into Achilles’ heel. For when Achilles’ mother had dipped him in the river of the underworld, she had held him by his heel, and no water had touched it. And now Achilles fell from his chariot, and soon his great body lay on the ground, dead.

And that is the story of how the Greeks and the Trojans fought for nine years without either side gaining victory. Many brave warriors died on either side, and many tears were shed over lost sons and lost friends. Soon I will tell you how the war ended with a cunning trick. And Bertie is reminding me not to forget to tell you about the Wooden Horse. Sorry Bertie, there wasn’t time for this Wooden Horse this time, but I truly promise to tell everyone all about it soon.

 

Helen of Troy/ Famous Greek Stories, Part I

HELEN OF TROY

Paris, the handsome and fashionably dressed Prince of Troy, was asked to judge a divine beauty contest, and chose Aphrodite the Goddess of Love as the winner. As a reward, Aphrodite promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, none other than Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was married to the King of Sparta. The scene was set for the great war between the Greeks and the Trojans.

The Judgement of Paris was told by the Latin Poet Ovid in his Heroides XVI.

A long time ago, in the age of heroes, when gods and goddesses still took a close interest in human affairs, a great wedding was planned between a famous warrior called Peleus and a lovely sea nymph whose name was Thetis. All the kings and queens of the day were invited to the wedding feast, as well as all the immortal ones who lived on Mount Olympus – all, that is, except for one. For no invitation was sent to Eris, the goddess of strife. Now strife is when people argue, and it was generally thought a bad idea to invite strife to a wedding party, in case she caused the happy couple to quarrel. Eris was extremely annoyed about being overlooked, and as revenge, she decided to play a spiteful trick on the wedding guests. Just as the celebrations were at their height, she appeared in the banqueting hall dressed as a serving girl. A silver plate was in her hands, and on it was an apple on which she had written the words, “For the Fairest of them all”. This she placed on the table where the three loveliest goddesses were sitting . Their names were Hera, Athene and Aphrodite. Immediately that they saw the words on the apple, a quarrel broke out between the three goddesses.

Hera said to the others, “I am the Queen of all the immortal gods, and it follows that I must be far fairer than either of you two. So therefore the apple belongs to me”

“My dear Hera,” said Athene, “You might be Queen, but I am the goddess of wisdom, and therefore I know absolutely everything that is worth knowing. You must believe me when I say that you are quite mistaken. Wisdom is beauty, and beauty is wisdom. They are one and the same thing. So therefore the apple belongs to me.”

“Darlings,” purred Aphrodite. “It’s quite obvious that the apple belongs to me. I possess the power of love because, to put it quite simply, I am so much more beautiful than anybody else.”

The goddesses carried on arguing continuously for years after the wedding was over – for time means nothing to the immortal ones. The king of all the gods, mighty, thundering Zeus, became quite fed up with listening to their bickering. When, at length, he was at his wits’ end he suggested to the three lovely goddesses that they resolve the question once and for all with a beauty contest. And that is exactly what they did.

The three goddesses agreed on one thing: that the most handsome and fashionably dressed mortal who walked on the face of the earth was Paris, Prince of Troy. They decided to surprise him. One day when Paris was out hunting on the foothills of Mount Ida, he discovered three lovely goddesses standing beneath a tree. In all his life he had never seen such dazzling beauty. For a moment, he stood amazed. Then Hermes, who was the winged messenger of the gods, flew up to Paris and spoke to him as follows:

“ Hail Paris! Prince of Magnificent Troy. Lord Zeus, the King of all the gods, sends you his greetings. He wishes to bestow upon you a great honour. He asks that you give this apple to the fairest goddess of them all.”

Paris, who normally had a keen eye for beauty, found it hard to choose. Each goddess was so beautiful. Hera had the most lovely milky white skin ever seen. Athene had the most dazzling, dancing eyes. And Aphrodite had the most charming smile. Which should he pick?

At length, seeing that he was at a loss, Hera said to him:

“Prince Paris. Give the apple to me, and I will give you the gift of great power.”

Athene, not to be outdone by this offer, said, “Prince Paris, Give the apple to me, and I will give you the gift of great wisdom.”

But Aphrodite laughed and said. “Paris my dear, Don’t you listen to those two silly goddesses. What fun would you have with power or wisdom? Give the apple to me, and I will give you a gift that is much more to your liking. I shall give you the love of the most beautiful woman on earth.”

Now Paris no longer found the choice so hard to make. He had long been in love with the most beautiful woman on earth, whose name was Helen. It so happened, that Helen was married to King Menelaus, and Paris had thought up until that moment, that the possibility of his winning her love was beyond all hope, but now he understood that his chances could be greatly improved.

And so Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite. She giggled with delight, but the other two goddesses were furious and flew directly back to Mount Olympus in a great huff, where they complained long and bitterly to Zeus about the unfairness of the competition. Zeus had a dark feeling that there was trouble in store for humankind.
Paris set sail for the land of Sparta where Menelaus was king and lived with his beautiful queen Helen. Menelaus welcomed the famous prince into his palace, and while the two sat talking about the affairs of the world, Queen Helen came down from her perfumed room, looking as lovely as a goddess. The maid-servants brought her a seat and covered it with a soft lambswool rug, and she sat before her silver work box. But before she began to embroider, she glanced over at the visiting Prince, and questioned her husband:

“Shall I guess the name of this Prince who has come to visit us? Let us see if I am right or wrong? I have heard tell of a prince from far-off Troy who is famous the world over for his looks and fashionable style. Is it he, Paris, Prince of Troy who has come to stay with us?”

“My dear wife,” said Menelaus, “As always, you are quite right. It is indeed, Paris, Prince of Troy who is paying us the honour of his visit.”

And Paris acknowledged Queen Helen with a nod of his head.

At dinner that night, Helen added a special potion into the wine, so that anyone who drank it would forget all his cares, and be happy for the rest of the evening. They feasted and made merry and while Menelaus was busy laughing and joking with one of his generals, Paris spoke softly to Helen.

“Most beautiful queen,” he said, “I beg you, meet me tonight in the orchard beneath the palace walls and we shall sail away together in my ship, and head directly for Troy the most magnificent city in all the world.”

And because the goddess of love, Aphrodite, had wished it so, Helen could not help herself, and agreed to his suggestion.

When King Menelaus awoke in the morning, and he discovered that his guest and his wife had run away together, he flew into a rage, kicking the furniture and punching the walls of his chamber. He swore before all the Gods that that his revenge would be truly terrible. And so he went to see his elder brother, King Agamemnon of Argos, and spoke to him as follows:

“My dear brother. The honour of our family has been besmirched by this foreign peacock, this perfumed playboy, this prancing Prince of Troy. Let us gather together all the Kings of Greece and combine our armies into the greatest force that has ever been seen since the dawn of history, and let us sail to the far off city of Troy, and teach Prince Paris some manners.”

But Agamemnon was wise and he knew that it is always a terrible mistake to rush headlong into conflict. He suggested first that they send an ambassador to Troy to request the return of Queen Helen, whom he was sure had been abducted against her will. He knew that Paris’ father, King Priam of Troy was a good man, and he was sure that he would order his son to release her. And so they sent a message to Troy in the name of peace and reconciliation, but Helen did not wish to go home, and Prince Paris refused to return the lovely Queen to her husband, saying that they had been brought together by the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite herself.

And so that meant War. King Agamemnon, the brother of the wronged Menelaus, summoned all the Kings of Greece and prepared a navy of a thousand ships, the greatest military force to ever set sail. And that is the story of how the great war between the Greeks and the Trojans was started by Prince Paris and Queen Helen.

 

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