Who did the Greeks fight in the Trojan War?

Answer 1

Legend:

A large army of Greek soldiers and heroes sailed to the great city of Troy, where they were going to fight the Trojan soldiers to rescue Helen of Sparta.

A dose of Reality:

The Greeks went on a ten-year plundering and looting spree in the eastern Aegean Sea. They had an initial crack at the richest prize, Troy, failed, turned to the other cities and looted and enslaved them for nine years, and in the 10th year came back to Troy again, this time successfully.

But even the legendary account has Helen avidly running off with Trojan Paris, stealing her husband King Menelaus' treasures to take with her to cement her relationship with Paris. In The Iliadaccount, during the final siege, the Trojan king offers to give Helen back if the Greeks will go home. The response was 'what about the stolen treasure'; Trojan King Priam's response 'no way', so the siege continued. Obviously a mere woman was of little value - the objective was the treasure.