Black Ships Before Troy

Eris, the goddess of discord, is grumpy about not being invited to Peleus and Thetis’ wedding on Mount Olympus - so she appears and throws a golden apple inscribed with “the fairest” on the table, leaving the gods to fight over it.

Years later, the goddesses Aphrodite, Hera and Athena find King Priam’s abandoned son Paris and ask him to decide: who is the fairest? When he chooses the lovely Aphrodite, she gives him the beautiful Helen of Troy as a reward - but Paris and Helen’s love will come at a great price.

This stunning children’s version of The Iliad by the award-winning Rosemary Sutcliff and Alan Lee was first published in 1993 and is being republished now. Its rich illustration will look familiar to The Lord of the Rings fans, as Lee was the conceptual artist for the Peter Jackson films.

Featuring the stories of heroes Ajax, Achilles and Penthesilea (the Amazon Queen), this is high adventure at its best.