As legend has it, it was the weather in Greece in about 1,220 BC that nearly ruined the chances of the Greek army in the Trojan War.

The most well known myth based on the Trojan War is that of the curse on the House of Atreus, dramatised by Aeschylus in the tragic trilogy 'The Oresteia'. Weather plays a major part in Greece's expedition against Troy, and also is the key to all the murders that make up the curse on the House of Atreus that are to follow the end of the Trojan War.

The Trojan War was a war fought over a woman - Helen, who was seduced and stolen from a member of the House of Atreus by Paris of Troy. A great force was mobilised to capture Troy and restore Helen to her rightful husband. This war was a great strain on both sides, as it lasted ten years, and in Greece's victory a lot of Trojans were horribly murdered - which, as the myth unfolds, may have been prevented altogether if the strong winds had not abated.

The expedition, led by Agamemnon - the King of Greece, assembled at Aulis on the eastern coast of Greece, but was unable to sail for Troy because of strong winds. The wind, delaying the sailing of Greek ships, was giving the enemy time to get ready for the approaching war. A fortune-teller accompanying the army declared that the goddess Artemis was responsible for the strong winds. She could only be appeased by the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia. At first, Agamemnon did not want to carry out this command, but the growing pressure from other officers and the urgency to sail finally saw the sacrifice of Iphigenia. After this the winds changed and the army boarded its ships and set sail for Troy. The result of the winds and the sacrifice was the start of the curse of House of Atreus and the murder of four further members of the family.

The weather frequently plays a major part in classical mythology, particularly in myths about war. Often officers and leaders appealed to those gods that controlled the weather to help them in their conquests. These gods included: Zeus - god of the sky who was represented by thunder and lightning; and Poseidon - god of the oceans and weather at sea.

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