It is rare that a feud confines its impact to the participants. Countless works of literature, from Romeo and Juliet to A Tale of Two Cities, are built on this fact. The Iliad is not an exception. Homer's initial description of the rage of Achilles, a rage directed towards Agamemnon, is one that is “murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,/ hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls” (1.2-3). The Achaeans referenced are the soldiers killed due to Achilles' retirement from the war. They are the collateral damage of the feud between the two Greek kings. Similarly the entire Trojan War is built on a personal conflict between two royals. The means by which the two armies attempt to mitigate mass violence is an apt illustration of the manner in which conflict escapes the interested parties.

The two combatants are the Spartan ruler, Menelaus, and Paris, the son of the Trojan king. The feud, again, is over a woman (the evolutionary psychologists must love this). Their first meeting is rather comedic. Paris, dressed in the trappings of a warrior with a leopard skin draped around his shoulders, struts before the lines of the Trojan army challenging any of the Achaeans to battle. But, as soon as Menelaus arrives, chomping at the bit to get his hands on Paris for the theft of Helen, Paris sinks back into the security of the Trojan army. He is a coward.

But, Paris has a brother who will not allow him to shirk his share of the load. After all, he is the cause of the war. Hector's reprimand for Paris' cowardice is brutal, even for a war story. He says it would be better if Paris had “never been born” and that he has “no pith, no fighting strength.” He tells Paris “[you are a] curse to your father, your city and all your people,/ a joy to our enemies, rank disgrace to yourself.” (3.58-59). Paris is spineless, but not a fool, saying, "you criticize me fairly, yes,/ nothing unfair, beyond what I deserve.”(3.69-70). Then, to salvage his character, he proposes a duel between himself and Menelaus, a fight to the death that will determine who keeps Helen.

Upon hearing this, “the Achaean and Trojan forces both exulted,/ hoping this would end the agonies of war.” (3.135-36). They are the collateral damage and they know it. While they will have their share of spoils if they manage to survive and somehow win the war the potential downside is large: loss of life and enslavement of their families. The risks don't match the reward. It is no surprise, then, that the common soldier hopes for a less bloody resolution. In this light a duel to the death between the two interested parties is a more civilized way to resolve the dispute.

Unfortunately, for all involved (except perhaps Paris), this is not the final outcome. To no one’s surprise Paris proves to be far less capable than Menelaus in hand to hand combat. Yet, at the crucial moment when he finds himself being dragged by his helmet to be slaughtered by Menelaus the strap around his neck is snapped by Aphrodite. The following scene is so odd that it merits relating exactly.

“Back at his man [Menelaus] sprang, enraged with brazen spear,

mad for the kill but Aphrodite snatched Paris away,

easy work for a god, wrapped him in swirls of mist

and set him down in his bedroom filled with scent.” (3.438-41)

While gods rescue warriors throughout the poem, this particular instance seems suspect. To begin with it matches the character of Paris that he would flee. He is a coward doing what a coward would do. Is Aphrodite's intervention a guise for Paris tucking his tail and running? Perhaps not. Homer, as though he foresaw this interpretation, mentions the ease of Aphrodite's rescue. This particular statement is important. Seeing as this is the first godly rescue of the poem, part of this aside clarifies the capacity for divine intervention. Yet, that is an insufficient explanation for its inclusion as Homer rarely feels the need to outline a god's power. Instead it serves as reassurance to the listener that it was actually a rescue. Thus, it saves the character (and skin) of Paris for the moment. He will subsequently ruin that reputation by his actions with Helen, but we will discuss that in the next section.

The botched duel causes a pause in the action in which Menelaus continues to demand restitution for his stolen wife. That doesn’t last long as a Trojan archer, again spurred on by one of the immortals, takes a shot at Menelaus, thereby inciting a resumption of the hostilities. The final result is a devastating prolongation of the sufferings of both the Achaeans and Trojans. Much like Agamemnon and Achilles' feud which refuses to be resolved by the two interested parties, so too this war between Paris and Menelaus will not be determined by themselves alone. That will bring with it large collateral payments of human life.