  in greek mythology, menelaus (; , menelaos) was a king of mycenaean (pre-dorian) sparta, the husband of helen of troy, and a central figure in the trojan war. he was the son of atreus and aerope, brother of agamemnon, king of mycenae and, according to the iliad, leader of the spartan contingent of the greek army during the war. prominent in both the iliad and odyssey, menelaus was also popular in greek vase painting and greek tragedy; the latter more as a hero of the trojan war than as a member of the doomed house of atreus. ==etymology and indo-european roots== "menelaus" is thought to be derived of the proto-indo-european root *má¸hânÌ¥s, "moon", from which the english moon, the scandinavian mÃ¡ni, the baltic meness and several other words for the moon come fromdexter, 1984, 139-40. combined with possible solar connections in regards to helen of troy, it is possible that historical reccordings of the king may be influence by residual proto-indo-european lunar deity myths. ==ascension and reign== although early authors such as aeschylus refer in passing to menelausâ early life, detailed sources are quite late, post-dating 5th-century bc greek tragedy.the chief sources for menelaus' life before the trojan war are hyginus' fabulae and the epitome of the bibliotheca. according to these sources, menelaus' father, atreus, had been feuding with his brother thyestes over the throne of mycenae. after a back-and-forth struggle that featured adultery, incest and cannibalism, thyestes gained the throne after his son aegisthus murdered atreus. as a result, atreusâ sons, menelaus and agamemnon, went into exile. they first stayed with king polyphides of sicyon, and later with king oeneus of calydon. but when they thought the time was ripe to dethrone mycenaeâs hostile ruler, they returned. assisted by king tyndareus of sparta, they drove thyestes away, and agamemnon took the throne for himself. when it was time for tyndareusâ step-daughter helen to marry, many kings and princes came to seek her hand. among the contenders were odysseus, 
Characters_in_the_Iliad Characters_in_the_Odyssey Greek_mythological_hero_cult Greek_mythology Mythological_kings_of_Sparta People_of_the_Trojan_War