In this version, Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen Helen before he knows who she is. Rudely received by the royal Greeks, he must flee...but fate and their mutual passions lead him to take Helen along. This gives the Greeks (treated here as plunder-hungry belligerents) just the excuse they need for much-desired war. The long, wasting conflict and climactic treachery are portrayed with large-scale spectacle.