How did the war start and end?
The tension between everyone began after the Trojan prince, Paris, abducted Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. When Menelaus demanded her return, the Trojans refused. Therefore, they prepared to start a war. There is no actual dates of when the war started or ended. However, "Major excavations at the site of Troy in 1870 under the direction of German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann revealed a small citadel mound and layers of debris 25 meters deep. Later studies have document more than 46 building phases grouped into nine bands representing the site’s inhabitation from 3,000 B.C. until its final abandonment in A.D. 1350. Recent excavations have shown an inhabited area 10 times the size of the citadel, making Troy a significant Bronze Age city. Layer VIIa of the excavations, dated to about 1180 B.C., reveals charred debris and scattered skeletons—evidence of a wartime destruction of the city that may have inspired portions of the story of the Trojan War. In Homer’s day, 400 years later, its ruins would have still been visible." The War was traditionally dated from 1194-1184 BC. The war ended when the Greeks defeated the Trojans.