Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

as Helena, was a figure in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

and Leda or

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

, and the sister of

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (, ; , ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Sparta. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan p ...

, Castor, Pollux,

Philonoe In Greek mythology, there were two women known as Philonoe () or Phylonoe (): *Philonoe, a Spartan princess as the daughter of King Tyndareus and Leda, daughter of King Thestius of Pleuron. She was the sister of Castor and Pollux, Helen, Clyte ...

, Phoebe and Timandra. She was married first to King

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; ) was a Greek king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', the Trojan war began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen, fleeing to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus was a central ...

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

"who became by her the father of Hermione, and, according to others, of Nicostratus also." Her subsequent marriage to Paris of Troy was the most immediate cause of the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. Elements of her putative biography come from classical authors such as

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

, and

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

(in both the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' and the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

''). Her story reappears in Book II of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

''. In her youth, she was abducted by

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

. A competition between her suitors for her hand in marriage saw Menelaus emerge victorious. All of her suitors were required to swear an oath (known as the ''Oath of

Tyndareus In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (; Ancient Greek: Τυνδάρεος, ''Tundáreos''; Attic Greek, Attic: Τυνδάρεως, ''Tundáreōs''; ) was a Spartan king. Family Tyndareus was the son of Oebalus (or Perieres (king of Messenia), Perieres ...

'') promising to provide military assistance to the winning suitor, if Helen were ever stolen from him. The obligations of the oath precipitated the Trojan War. When she married Menelaus she was still very young. In most accounts, including

's, Helen ultimately fell in love with Paris and willingly went to Troy with him, though there are also stories she was abducted by force. The legends of Helen during her time in Troy are contradictory: Homer depicts her ambivalently, both regretful of her choice and sly in her attempts to redeem her public image. Other accounts have a treacherous Helen who simulated Bacchic rites and rejoiced in the carnage she caused. In some versions, Helen does not arrive in Troy, but instead waits out the war in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Ultimately, Paris was killed in action, and in Homer's account Helen was reunited with Menelaus, though other versions of the legend recount her ascending to Olympus instead. A cult associated with her developed in Hellenistic

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

, both at Sparta and elsewhere; at Therapne she shared a shrine with Menelaus. She was also worshiped in

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

and on

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. Her beauty inspired artists of all times to represent her, frequently as the personification of ideal human beauty. Images of Helen start appearing in the 7th century BC. In classical Greece, her elopement—or abduction—was a popular motif. In medieval illustrations, this event was frequently portrayed as a seduction, whereas in Renaissance paintings it was usually depicted as a "rape" (i. e., a ''forced abduction'') by Paris.Interchangeable usage of the terms ''rape'' and ''elope'' often lends ambiguity to the legend.

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

's lines from his tragedy '' Doctor Faustus'' (1604) are frequently cited: "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?"However, the meeting with Helen in Marlowe's play and the ensuing

temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

are not unambiguously positive, since they are closely followed by Faust's death and descent to Hell.

Etymology

The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of Helen's name continues to be a problem for scholars. In the 19th century, Georg Curtius related ''Helen'' () to the moon (

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

; ). But two early dedications to Helen in the Laconian dialect of ancient Greek spell her name with an initial

digamma Digamma or wau (uppercase: Ϝ, lowercase: ϝ, numeral: ϛ) is an Archaic Greek alphabets, archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound but it has remained in use principally as a Greek numeral for 6 (number), 6. Whe ...

(Ϝ, probably pronounced like a w), which rules out any etymology originally starting with simple ''*s-''. In the early 20th century, Émile Boisacq considered Ἑλένη to derive from the well-known noun meaning "torch". It has also been suggested that the λ of arose from an original ν, and thus the etymology of the name would be connected with the root of ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

''. Linda Lee Clader, however, says that none of the above suggestions offers much satisfaction. More recently, Otto Skutsch has advanced the theory that the name Helen might have two separate etymologies, which belong to different mythological figures respectively, namely ''*Sṷelenā'' (related to

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''svaraṇā'' "the shining one") and ''*Selenā'', the first a Spartan goddess, connected to one or the other natural light phenomenon (especially St. Elmo's fire) and sister of the

Dioscuri Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda (mythology), Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal ...

, the other a vegetation goddess worshiped in Therapne as Ἑλένα Δενδρῖτις ("Helena of the Trees").Skutsch, Otto
"Helen, her Name and Nature."
In: ''Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 107 (1987), pp. 188–193. Others have connected the name's etymology to a hypothetical

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

sun goddess, noting the name's connection to the word for "sun" in various Indo-European cultures including the Greek proper word and god for the sun,

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

. In particular, her marriage myth may be connected to a broader Indo-European "marriage drama" of the sun goddess, and she is related to the

divine twins The Divine Twins are youthful horsemen, either gods or demigods, who serve as rescuers and healers in Proto-Indo-European mythology. Like other Proto-Indo-European divinities, the Divine Twins are not directly attested by archaeological or writte ...

, just as many of these goddesses are. Martin L. West has thus proposed that ''Helena'' ("mistress of sunlight") may be constructed on the

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

suffix ''-nā'' ("mistress of"), connoting a deity controlling a natural element.

Prehistoric and mythological context

Helen first appears in the poems of

, after which she became a popular figure in Greek literature. These works are set in the final years of the Age of Heroes, a mythological era which features prominently in the canon of Greek myth. Because the Homeric poems are known to have been transmitted orally before being written down, some scholars speculate that such stories were passed down from earlier

Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was spoken on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B, a script first atteste ...

tradition, and that the Age of Heroes may itself reflect a mythologized memory of that era. Recent archaeological excavations in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

suggest that modern-day

was a distinct territory in the

Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, while the poets narrate that it was a rich kingdom. Archaeologists have unsuccessfully looked for a Mycenaean palatial complex buried beneath present-day Sparta. Modern findings suggest the area around

Menelaion The archaeological site of Menelaion (translit. Menelaeion) () is located approximately 5 km from the modern city of Sparta. The geographical structure of this site includes a hill complex (Northern hill, Menelaion, Profitis Ilias and Aetos ...

in the southern part of the

Eurotas In Greek mythology, Eurotas (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρώτας) was a king of Laconia. Family Eurotas was the son of King Myles of Laconia and grandson of Lelex, eponymous ancestor of the Leleges. The ''Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Bibliothe ...

valley seems to have been the center of Mycenaean Laconia.

Family

Helen and Menelaus had a daughter, Hermione. Hesiod says she was "a child unlooked for," and Homer writes she was Helen's first and only child. Different sources say she was also the mother of one or more sons, named Aethiolas, Nicostratus, Megapenthes and

Pleisthenes In Greek mythology, Pleisthenes or Plisthenes (), is the name of several members of the house of Tantalus, the most important being a son of Atreus, said to be the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Although these two brothers are usually considered ...

. Still, according to others, these were instead illegitimate children of Menelaus and various lovers. According to other sources that also contradict Homer, Helen and Paris had three sons, Bunomus, Aganus, Idaeus, and a daughter also called Helen. The three sons died during the Trojan War when an earthquake caused the roof of the room where they slept to collapse.

Mythology

Birth

In most sources, including the ''

'' and the ''

'', Helen is the daughter of

and of Leda, the wife of the Spartan king

' play '' Helen'', written in the late 5th century BC, is the earliest source to report the most familiar account of Helen's birth: that, although her putative father was Tyndareus, she was actually Zeus' daughter. In the form of a swan, the king of gods was chased by an eagle, and sought refuge with Leda. The swan gained her affection, and the two mated. Leda then produced an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

, from which Helen emerged. The First Vatican Mythographer introduces the notion that two eggs came from the union: one containing

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

; one with Helen and

. Nevertheless, the same author earlier states that Helen, Castor and Pollux were produced from a single egg.

Fabius Planciades Fulgentius Fabius Planciades Fulgentius () was a Latin writer of late antiquity. Four extant works are commonly attributed to him, as well as a possible fifth which some scholars include in compilations with much reservation. His mythography was greatly admi ...

also states that Helen, Castor and Pollux are born from the same egg.

Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: ), is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been ...

states that Leda had intercourse with both Zeus and Tyndareus the night she conceived Helen. On the other hand, in the ''

Cypria The ''Cypria'' (; ; ) is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature, which has been attributed to Stasinus and was quite well known in classical antiquity and fixed in a received text, but which subsequently was lost to view. It was part of ...

'', part of the

Epic Cycle The Epic Cycle () was a collection of Ancient Greek epic poems, composed in dactylic hexameter and related to the story of the Trojan War, including the '' Cypria'', the ''Aethiopis'', the so-called '' Little Iliad'', the '' Iliupersis'', the ' ...

, Helen was the daughter of Zeus and the goddess

.''Cypria'', fr. 9 ''PEG''. The date of the ''Cypria'' is uncertain, but it is generally thought to preserve traditions that date back to at least the 7th century BC. In the ''Cypria'', Nemesis did not wish to mate with Zeus. She therefore changed shape into various animals as she attempted to flee Zeus, finally becoming a goose. Zeus also transformed himself into a goose and raped Nemesis, who produced an egg from which Helen was born. Presumably, in the ''Cypria'', this egg was somehow transferred to Leda.In the 5th century comedy "Nemesis" by

Cratinus Cratinus (; 519 BC – 422 BC) was an Athenian comic poet of the Old Comedy. Life Cratinus won prizes for his plays on 27 known occasions, eight times at the City Dionysia, first probably in the mid-to-late 450s BCE (IG II2 2325. 50), and t ...

, Leda was told to sit on an egg so that it would hatch, and this is no doubt the egg that was produced by Nemesis (Cratinus fr. 115 ''PCG''; Gantz, ''Early Greek Myth'', ''ibid''). Later sources state either that it was brought to Leda by a shepherd who discovered it in a grove in

, or that it was dropped into her lap by

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

. Asclepiades of Tragilos and Pseudo-Eratosthenes related a similar story, except that Zeus and Nemesis became swans instead of geese.

Timothy Gantz Timothy Nolan Gantz (23 December 1945 – 20 January 2004) was an American classical scholar and the author of ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources''. Education and career Gantz received his Bachelor of Arts from Haverford ...

has suggested that the tradition that Zeus came to Leda in the form of a swan derives from the version in which Zeus and Nemesis transformed into birds. Pausanias states that in the middle of the 2nd century AD, the remains of an egg-shell, tied up in ribbons, were still suspended from the roof of a temple on the Spartan acropolis. People believed that this was "the famous egg that legend says Leda brought forth". Pausanias traveled to Sparta to visit the sanctuary, dedicated to Hilaeira and Phoebe, in order to see the relic for himself. Pausanias also says that there was a local tradition that Helen's brothers, "the

" (i.e. Castor and Pollux), were born on the island of Pefnos, adding that the Spartan poet

Alcman Alcman (; ''Alkmán''; fl. 7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric Poets. He wrote six books of choral poetry, most of which is now lost; h ...

also said this, while the poet

Lycophron Lycophron ( ; ; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and miscellaneous works He was born at Chalcis in Euboea, a ...

's use of the adjective "Pephnaian" (''Πεφναίας'') in association with Helen, suggests that Lycophron may have known a tradition which held that Helen was also born on the island.

Youthful abduction by Theseus

Two

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Pirithous Pirithous (; or , derived from ; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus. Biography Pirithous was a son of "heavenly" Dia, fathered either ...

, thought that since they were sons of gods, they should have divine wives; they thus pledged to help each other abduct two daughters of

. Theseus chose Helen, and Pirithous vowed to marry

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

, the wife of

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

. Theseus took Helen and left her with his mother Aethra or his associate Aphidnus at Aphidnae or

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Theseus and Pirithous then traveled to the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, the domain of Hades, to kidnap Persephone. Hades pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast, but, as soon as the pair sat down, snakes coiled around their feet and held them there. Helen's abduction caused an invasion of Athens by Castor and Pollux, who captured Aethra in revenge, and returned their sister to Sparta. In

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'', Centaur

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

is said to have aided the Dioscuri brothers in returning Helen home. In most accounts of this event, Helen was quite young;

Hellanicus of Lesbos Hellanicus (or Hellanikos) of Lesbos (Greek language, Greek: , ''Hellánikos ho Lésbios''), also called Hellanicus of Mytilene (Greek language, Greek: , ''Hellánikos ho Mutilēnaîos''; 490 – 405 BC), was an ancient Greece, Greek logographe ...

said she was seven years old and

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, b ...

makes her ten years old. On the other hand,

Stesichorus Stesichorus (; , ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek Greek lyric, lyric poet native of Metauros (Gioia Tauro today). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions about his life, such as hi ...

said that

Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artem ...

was the daughter of Theseus and Helen, which implies that Helen was of childbearing age. In most sources, Iphigenia is the daughter of

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

and

, but

Duris of Samos Duris of Samos (or Douris) (; BCafter 281BC) was a Greek historian and was at some period tyrant of Samos. Duris was the author of a narrative history of events in Greece and especially Macedonia from 371BC to 281BC, which has been lost. Othe ...

and other writers, such as

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...

, followed Stesichorus' account.

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Heroides The ''Heroides'' (''The Heroines''), or ''Epistulae Heroidum'' (''Letters of Heroines''), is a collection of fifteen epistolary poems composed by Ovid in Latin elegiac couplets and presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroin ...

'' give us an idea of how ancient and, in particular, Roman authors imagined Helen in her youth: she is presented as a young princess wrestling naked in the

palaestra A palaestra ( or ; also (chiefly British) palestra; ) was any site of a Greek wrestling school in antiquity. Events requiring little space, such as boxing and wrestling, occurred there. ''Palaistrai'' functioned both independently and as a part ...

, alluding to a part of girls' physical education in classical (not Mycenaean) Sparta. Sextus Propertius imagines Helen as a girl who practices arms and hunts with her brothers:

Suitors

When it was time for Helen to marry, many kings and princes from around the world came to seek her hand, bringing rich gifts with them or sent emissaries to do so on their behalf. During the contest, Castor and Pollux had a prominent role in dealing with the suitors, although the final decision was in the hands of Tyndareus. Menelaus, her future husband, did not attend but sent his brother,

, to represent him. He was chosen as he had the most wealth.

Oath of Tyndareus

Tyndareus was afraid to select a husband for his daughter, or send any of the suitors away, for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel.

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

was one of the suitors, but had brought no gifts because he believed he had little chance to win the contest. He thus promised to solve the problem, if Tyndareus in turn would support him in his courting of

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

, the daughter of Icarius. Tyndareus readily agreed, and Odysseus proposed that, before the decision was made, all the suitors should swear a most solemn oath to defend the chosen husband against whoever should quarrel with him. After the suitors had sworn not to retaliate, Menelaus was chosen to be Helen's husband because he was the "greatest in possessions" and had offered the most gifts. As a sign of the importance of the pact, Tyndareus sacrificed a horse. Helen and Menelaus became rulers of Sparta, after Tyndareus and Leda abdicated. Menelaus and Helen rule in Sparta for at least ten years; they have a daughter, Hermione, and (according to some myths) three sons: Aethiolas, Maraphius, and

. The marriage of Helen and Menelaus marks the beginning of the end of the age of heroes. Concluding the catalog of Helen's suitors, Hesiod reports Zeus' plan to obliterate the race of men and the heroes in particular. The Trojan War, caused by Helen's elopement with Paris, is going to be his means to this end.

Seduction or kidnapping by Paris

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, a Trojan prince, came to Sparta to claim Helen, in the guise of a supposed diplomatic mission. Before this journey, Paris had been appointed by Zeus to judge the most beautiful goddess;

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

, or

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

. In order to earn his favour, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Swayed by Aphrodite's offer, Paris chose her as the most beautiful of the goddesses, earning the wrath of

and

. Although Helen is sometimes depicted as being forcibly abducted by Paris, most Ancient Greek sources, following

, believed that Helen fell in love with the Trojan prince, and went to Troy willingly. In

, Helen herself says she followed Paris, or that she was led to Troy by Aphrodite. Herodotus, who says Paris "carried off" (''ἁρπάσαντος'') Helen, states Paris "got her to fly" with him. The ''Cypria'' simply mentions that after giving Helen gifts, "Aphrodite brings the Spartan queen together with the Prince of Troy."

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

says Paris persuaded Helen to leave with him, and

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

argues that Helen willingly left behind Menelaus and their daughter, Hermione, to be with Paris:

Dio Chrysostom Dio Chrysostom (; ''Dion Chrysostomos''), Dio of Prusa or Cocceianus Dio (c. 40 – c. 115 AD), was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Eighty of his ''Discourses'' (or ''Orations''; ) are ...

gives a completely different account of the story, questioning Homer's credibility: after Agamemnon had married Helen's sister, Clytemnestra, Tyndareus sought Helen's hand for Menelaus for political reasons. However, Helen was sought by many suitors, who came from far and near, among them Paris who surpassed all the others and won the favor of Tyndareus and his sons. Thus he won her fairly and took her away to Troia, with the full consent of her natural protectors. ''Cypria'' narrate that in just three days Paris and Helen reached Troy. Homer narrates that during a brief stop-over in the small island of Kranai, according to ''Iliad'', the two lovers consummated their passion. On the other hand, ''Cypria'' note that this happened the night before they left Sparta. Girolamo Genga L'enlèvement d'Hélène.JPG, '' The Abduction of Helen'', painting by Girolamo Genga, circa 1510 ( Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg). File:Francesco Primaticcio 003.jpg, In western painting, Helen's journey to Troy is usually depicted as a forced abduction. ''The Rape of Helen'' by

Francesco Primaticcio Francesco Primaticcio (; April 30, 1504 – 1570) was an Italian Mannerism, Mannerist Painting, painter, architect and sculpture, sculptor who spent most of his career in France. Biography Born in Bologna, he trained under Giulio Romano ( ...

(c. 1530–1539,

Bowes Museum The Bowes Museum is an art museum, art gallery in the town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham in northern England. It was built to designs by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson to house the art collection of John Bowes (art collector), Jo ...

) is representative of this tradition. File:Enlèvement d'Hélène, Reni (Louvre INV 539) 09.jpg, In

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

's painting (1631, Louvre, Paris), however, Paris holds Helen by her wrist (as he already did in Genga's painting shown here on the left), and they leave together for Troia. File:Tintoretto Rape of Helen.jpg, ''The Rape of Helen'' by

Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...

(1578–1579,

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

); Helen languishes in the corner of a land-sea battle scene. File:Enrique Simonet - El Juicio de Paris.jpg, '' El Juicio de Paris'' by

Enrique Simonet Enrique Simonet Lombardo (February 2, 1866 – April 20, 1927) was a Spanish Painting, painter. Early life Simonet was born in Valencia, Spain, Valencia. His first vocation of childhood was religious studies, but he abandoned it to devote hi ...

, c. 1904. This painting depicts Paris' judgement. He is inspecting Aphrodite, who is standing naked before him. Hera and Athena watch nearby. In her book ''Helen of Troy: Myth, Beauty, Devastation'', Ruby Blondell posits, "Though elen'sdeparture is typically referred to as an 'abduction', none of our sources claims that Paris took Helen by force against her will. Her complicity is essential to her story".

In Egypt

At least three Ancient Greek authors denied that Helen ever went to Troy; instead, they suggested, Helen stayed in Egypt during the Trojan War. Those three authors are Euripides, Stesichorus, and Herodotus. In the version put forth by Euripides in his play '' Helen'',

fashioned a likeness ('' eidolon'', εἴδωλον) of Helen out of clouds at Zeus' request,

took her to Egypt, and Helen never went to Troy, but instead spent the entire war in

. An ''eidolon'' is also present in

' account, but not in Herodotus' rationalizing version of the myth. In addition to these accounts,

(822) states that

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

was the first to mention Helen's ''eidolon''. This may mean Hesiod stated this in a literary work, or that the idea was widely known/circulated in early archaic Greece during the time of Hesiod and was consequently attributed to him.

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

adds weight to the "Egyptian" version of events by putting forward his own evidence—he traveled to Egypt and interviewed the priests of the temple (''Foreign Aphrodite'', ξείνη Ἀφροδίτη) at Memphis. According to these priests, Helen had arrived in Egypt shortly after leaving Sparta, because strong winds had blown Paris's ship off course. King

Proteus of Egypt In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) was an ancient Ancient Egypt, Egyptian king who was associated with the island of Lighthouse of Alexandria, Pharos, his residence in Homer, Homer's ''Odyssey''. Virgil, however, instead of Pharos, mentions the is ...

, appalled that Paris had seduced his host's wife and plundered his host's home in Sparta, disallowed Paris from taking Helen to Troy. Paris returned to Troy without a new bride, but the Greeks refused to believe that Helen was in Egypt and not within Troy's walls. Thus, Helen waited in Memphis for ten years, while the Greeks and the Trojans fought. Following the conclusion of the Trojan War, Menelaus sailed to Memphis, where Proteus reunited him with Helen.

In Troy

When he discovered that his wife was missing, Menelaus called upon all the other suitors to fulfill their oaths, thus beginning the Trojan War. The Greek fleet gathered in Aulis, but the ships could not sail for lack of wind.

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

was enraged by a sacrilege, and only the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter,

, could appease her. In Euripides ''

Iphigenia in Aulis ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' or ''Iphigenia at Aulis'' (; variously translated, including the Latin ''Iphigenia in Aulide'') is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripides. Written between 408, after ''Orestes'', and 406 BC, the year of Eu ...

'', Clytemnestra, Iphigenia's mother and Helen's sister, begs her husband to reconsider his decision, calling Helen a "wicked woman". Clytemnestra tries to warn Agamemnon that sacrificing Iphigenia for Helen's sake is, "''buying what we most detest with what we hold most dear''". File:Leighton Helen of Troy.jpg, ''Helen on the Ramparts of Troy'' was a popular theme in late 19th-century art – seen here a depiction by Frederick Leighton. File:Helen Moreau.jpg, In a similar fashion to Leighton,

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism ...

depicts an expressionless Helen; a blank or anguished face. File:Often she would stand upon the walls of Troy.jpg,

Lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

ic illustration by Walter Crane File:Hélène.jpg, Paul Dujardin after Gustave Moreau, ''Hélène'', photogravure, 1880 Before the opening of hostilities, the Greeks dispatched a delegation to the Trojans under Odysseus and Menelaus; they endeavored without success to persuade

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Most scholars take the e ...

to hand Helen back. A popular theme, ''The Request of Helen'' (Helenes Apaitesis, Ἑλένης Ἀπαίτησις), was the subject of a drama by

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

, now lost.Ancient writers do not agree on whether the embassy was dispatched before the gathering of the Greek army in Aulis or after it reached Tenedos or Troia. In Herodotus' account the Trojans swore to the Greek envoys that Helen was in Egypt, not in Troy; but the Greeks did not believe them, and laid siege to the city, until they took it.

Homer paints a poignant, lonely picture of Helen in Troy. She is filled with self-loathing and regret for what she has caused; by the end of the war, the Trojans have come to hate her. When

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

dies, she is the third mourner at his funeral, and she says that, of all the Trojans, Hector and

alone were always kind to her: These bitter words reveal that Helen gradually realized Paris' weaknesses, and decided to ally herself with Hector. There is an affectionate relationship between the two, and Helen has harsh words for Paris when she compares the two brothers: After Paris was killed in combat, there was some dispute among the Trojans about which of Priam's surviving sons she should remarry:

Helenus In Greek mythology, Helenus (; , ''Helenos'', ) was a gentle and clever seer. He was also a Trojan prince as the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and the twin brother of the prophetess Cassandra. Mythology Early years In the ...

Deiphobus In Greek mythology, Deiphobus () was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam's sons after Hector and Paris. Deiphobus killed four men of fame in the Trojan War. Description Deiphobus was described by ...

, but she was given to the latter.

During the Fall of Troy

During the fall of Troy, Helen's role is ambiguous. In

's ''

'', Deiphobus gives an account of Helen's treacherous stance: when the

Trojan Horse In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse () was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer, Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending ...

was admitted into the city, she feigned Bacchic rites, leading a chorus of Trojan women, and, holding a torch among them, she signaled to the Greeks from the city's central tower. In the ''

'', however, Homer narrates a different story: Helen circled the Horse three times, and she imitated the voices of the Greek women left behind at home—she thus tortured the men inside (including Odysseus and Menelaus) with the memory of their loved ones, and brought them to the brink of destruction. After the deaths of Hector and Paris, Helen became the paramour of their younger brother, Deiphobus; but when the sack of Troy began, she hid her new husband's sword, and left him to the mercy of Menelaus and Odysseus. In ''Aeneid'',

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

meets the mutilated Deiphobus in

; his wounds serve as a testimony to his ignominious end, abetted by Helen's final act of treachery. However, Helen's portraits in Troy seem to contradict each other. From one side, we read about the treacherous Helen who simulated Bacchic rites and rejoiced over the carnage of Trojans. On the other hand, there is another Helen, lonely and helpless; desperate to find sanctuary, while Troy is on fire. Stesichorus narrates that both Greeks and Trojans gathered to stone her to death. When Menelaus finally found her, he raised his sword to kill her. He had demanded that only he should slay his unfaithful wife; but, when he was ready to do so, she dropped her robe from her shoulders, and the sight of her beauty caused him to let the sword drop from his hand.According to the ancient writers, it was the sight of Helen's face or breasts that made Menelaus drop his sword. See, ''inter alia'', Aristophanes, ''Lysistrata''
155
''Little Iliad'', fr. 13 EGF.
* Maguire, ''Helen of Troy'', 52

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

wails:

Fate

Helen returned to

and lived with Menelaus, where she was encountered by Telemachus in Book 4 of ''

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

''. As depicted in that account, she and Menelaus were seemingly reconciled and had a harmonious married life—he holding no grudge at her having run away with a lover and she feeling no restraint in telling anecdotes of her life inside besieged Troy. According to another version, used by

in his play ''

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

'', Helen had been saved by

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

from Orestes and was taken up to

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

almost immediately after Menelaus' return. She was then made a sea goddess, who watches over sailors alongside her brothers,

. A curious fate is recounted by Pausanias the geographer (3.19.11–13), which has Helen share the afterlife with Achilles. Pausanias also has another story (3.19.9–10): "The account of the Rhodians is different. They say that when Menelaus was dead, and

still a wanderer, Helen was driven out by Nicostratus and Megapenthes and came to

, where she had a friend in

Polyxo Polyxo (; Ancient Greek: Πολυξώ ''Poluxṓ'') is the name of several figures in Greek mythology: *Polyxo, one of the 3,000 Oceanids, water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oceanus and his sister-wife Tethys. *Polyxo, one of the Hyades.''Hy ...

, the wife of Tlepolemus. For Polyxo, they say, was an Argive by descent, and when she was already married to Tlepolemus, shared his flight to Rhodes. At the time she was queen of the island, having been left with an orphan boy. They say that this Polyxo desired to avenge the death of Tlepolemus on Helen, now that she had her in her power. So she sent against her when she was bathing handmaidens dressed up as

Furies The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take v ...

, who seized Helen and hanged her on a tree, and for this reason the Rhodians have a sanctuary of Helen of the Tree." There are other traditions concerning the punishment of Helen. For example, she is offered as a sacrifice to the gods in Tauris by Iphigeneia, or

Thetis Thetis ( , or ; ) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as a Nereid in Cl ...

, enraged when Achilles dies because of Helen, kills her on her return journey. Tlepolemus was a son of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

and Astyoche. Astyoche was a daughter of Phylas, King of Ephyra who was killed by Heracles. Tlepolemus was killed by

Sarpedon Sarpedon (; ) is the name of several figures in Greek mythology * Sarpedon, a son of Zeus, who fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War. Although in the ''Iliad'', he was the son of Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Gre ...

on the first day of fighting in the ''

''. Nicostratus was a son of Menelaus by his concubine Pieris, an Aetolian slave. Megapenthes was a son of Menelaus by his concubine Tereis, with no further origin. In

's tragedy ''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' (, lit. "The Female Trojans") is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece, Greek playwright Euripides, produced in 415 BCE. Also translated as ''The Women of Troy,'' or as its transliterated Greek title ''Troades, The Trojan Women'' ...

'', Helen is shunned by the women who survived the war and is to be taken back to Greece to face a death sentence. This version is contradicted by two of Euripides' other tragedies, ''

'', which predates The Trojan Women, and '' Helen'', as Helen is described as being in Egypt during the events of the Trojan War in each.

Artistic representations

From Antiquity, depicting Helen would be a remarkable challenge. The story of Zeuxis deals with this exact question: how would an artist immortalize ideal beauty? He eventually selected the best features from five virgins. The ancient world starts to paint Helen's picture or inscribe her form on stone, clay and bronze by the 7th century BC. Homer attributes her with white skin, while

describes her as "''xanthe''", which is translated as "golden" and is used towards individuals with light hair, which includes blond, red and brown hair, and

says she had "gold 'xanthes''curls". Her eyes were described as "κυάνεος" (kuaneos), which is usually translated as "dark" or "dark-blue". However, scholarly interpretation holds that "κυάνεος" likely denoted brown eyes, contrasting with "γλαυκός" (glaukos), the term used for gray or blue eyes. A later Latin account, probably from the fifth century CE, falsely attributed to

Dares Phrygius Dares Phrygius (), according to Homer, was a Trojan priest of Hephaestus. He was later thought to have been the author of an account of the destruction of Troy. A work in Latin, purporting to be a translation of this, and entitled ''Daretis Phry ...

, describes Helen as "She was beautiful, ingenuous, and charming. Her legs were the best; her mouth the cutest. There was a beauty-mark between her eyebrows"; she was said to resemble her brothers Castor and Pollux, who according to the account were "blond haired, large eyed, fair complexioned", while

mentions their mother Leda was famed for her black hair. Bettany Hughes notes that Helen and other Homeric heroes tend to be described and depicted by ancient Greeks as being ''xanthos'' ("golden-haired"), and she argues that such look was linked with the connections of ancient heroes and heroines to the gods, as light-haired individuals were less common in ancient Mediterranean than dark-haired ones. Helen is frequently depicted on Athenian vases as being threatened by Menelaus and fleeing from him. This is not the case, however, in Laconic art: on an Archaic

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

depicting Helen's recovery after the fall of Troy, Menelaus is armed with a sword but Helen faces him boldly, looking directly into his eyes; and in other works of Peloponnesian art, Helen is shown carrying a wreath, while Menelaus holds his sword aloft vertically. In contrast, on Athenian vases of c. 550–470, Menelaus threateningly points his sword at her. The abduction by Paris was another popular motif in ancient Greek vase-painting; definitely more popular than the kidnapping by Theseus. In a famous representation by the Athenian vase painter Makron, Helen follows Paris like a bride following a bridegroom, her wrist grasped by Paris' hand. The

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

, who had a sophisticated knowledge of Greek mythology, demonstrated a particular interest in the theme of the delivery of Helen's egg, which is depicted in relief mirrors. In

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

painting, Helen's departure from Sparta is usually depicted as a scene of forcible removal (rape) by Paris. This is not, however, the case with certain secular medieval illustrations. Artists of the 1460s and 1470s were influenced by Guido delle Colonne's '' Historia destructionis Troiae'', where Helen's abduction was portrayed as a scene of seduction. In the ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' Paris and Helen are shown departing arm in arm, while their marriage was depicted into Franco-Flemish tapestry. In

's '' Doctor Faustus'' (1604),

conjures the

shade Shade, Shades or Shading may refer to: * Shade (color), a mixture of a color with black (often generalized as any variety of a color) * Shade (shadow), the blocking of sunlight * Shades or sunglasses * Shading, a process used in art and graphic ...

of Helen. Upon seeing Helen, Faustus speaks the famous line: "Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium." (Act V, Scene I.) Helen is also conjured by Faust in Goethe's ''Faust''. In

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play

Troilus and Cressida ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ), is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forc ...

, Helen is a minor character who adores Troilus. In

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...

art, Helen is often shown with shining curly hair and ringlets. Other painters of the same period depict Helen on the ramparts of Troy, and focus on her expression: her face is expressionless, blank, inscrutable. In

's painting, Helen will finally become faceless; a blank ''eidolon'' in the middle of Troy's ruins.

Cult

The major centers of Helen's cult were in Laconia. At Sparta, the urban sanctuary of Helen was located near the Platanistas, so called for the plane trees planted there. Ancient sources associate Helen with gymnastic exercises or/and choral dances of maidens near the Evrotas River. This practice is referenced in the closing lines of

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', ) is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city ...

, where Helen is said to be the "pure and proper" leader of the dancing Spartan women.

Theocritus Theocritus (; , ''Theokritos''; ; born 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings ...

conjures the song

epithalamium An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' "nuptial chamber") is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This fo ...

Spartan women sung at Platanistas commemorating the marriage of Helen and Menelaus: Helen's worship was also present on the opposite bank of Eurotas at Therapne, where she shared a shrine with Menelaus and the Dioscuri. The shrine has been known as the

(the shrine of Menelaus), and it was believed to be the spot where Helen was buried alongside Menelaus. Despite its name, both the shrine and the cult originally belonged to Helen; Menelaus was added later as her husband. In addition, there was a festival at the town, which was called Meneleaeia (Μενελάεια) in honour of Menelaus and Helen.

Isocrates Isocrates (; ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching and writte ...

writes that at Therapne Helen and Menelaus were worshiped as gods, and not as heroes. Clader argues that, if indeed Helen was worshiped as a goddess at Therapne, then her powers should be largely concerned with fertility, or as a solar deity. There is also evidence for Helen's cult in Hellenistic Sparta: rules for those sacrificing and holding feasts in their honor are extant. Helen was also worshiped in Attica along with her brothers, and on

as Helen ''Dendritis'' (Helen of the Trees, Έλένα Δενδρῖτις); she was a vegetation or a

fertility goddess A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops. In some cases these deities are directly associated with these experiences; in others they are more abstract symbols. Fertility rites may a ...

.A shared cult of Helen and her brothers in Attica is alluded to in Euripides, ''Helen''
1666–1669
See also Edmunds, ''Helen's Divine Origins'', 26–29. Concerning Helen Dendritis, Gumpert (''Grafting Helen'', 96), and Skutsch (''Helen'', 109) support that she was a vegetation goddess. Meagher (''The Meaning of Helen'', 43 f.) argues that her cult in Rhodes reflects an ancient fertility ritual associated with Helen not only on Rhodes but also at Dendra, near Sparta. Edmunds (''Helen's Divine Origins'', 18) notes that it is unclear what an ancient tree cult might be. Martin P. Nilsson has argued that the cult in Rhodes has its roots to the

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

, pre-Greek era, when Helen was allegedly worshiped as a vegetation goddess. Claude Calame and other scholars try to analyze the affinity between the cults of Helen and

Orthia, pointing out the resemblance of the terracotta female figurines offered to both deities.

In popular culture

Pre-modern

Helen frequently appeared in Athenian comedies of the fifth century BC as a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

's mistress

Aspasia Aspasia (; ; after 428 BC) was a ''metic'' woman in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles, with whom she had a son named Pericles the Younger. According to the traditional h ...

. In Hellenistic times, she was associated with the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

due to the similarity of her name to the Greek word Σελήνη ('' Selēnē''), meaning "Moon, goddess of the moon". One

Pythagorean Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to: Philosophy * Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras * Ne ...

source claimed that Helen had originally come from a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

on the moon, where people were larger, stronger, and "fifteen times" more beautiful than ordinary mortals. She is one of the eponymous women the tragedy ''

'' produced in 415 BC by the Greek playwright

absolved Helen of guilt for the Trojan War by making Paris her first, original husband and claiming that the Greeks started the war out of jealousy.

, in his ''

'', makes

the one to spare Helen's life, rather than Menelaus, and instead portrays the act as a lofty example of self-control. Meanwhile, Virgil also makes Helen more vicious by having her betray her own husband Deiphobos and give him over to Menelaus as a peace offering. The

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

Lucian of Samosata Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syria (region), Syrian satire, satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with whi ...

features Helen in his famous ''Dialogues of the Dead'', in which he portrays her deceased spirit as aged and withered. In the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, after the rise of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, Helen was seen as a pagan equivalent to

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

. Helen was so beloved by early medieval Christians that she even took on some of the roles of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Modern

During the

, the French poet

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet known in his generation as a "Prince des poètes, prince of poets". His works include ''Les Amours de Cassandre'' (1552)'','' ''Les Hymnes'' (1555-1556)'', Les Disco ...

wrote 142 sonnets addressed to a woman named Hélène de Surgères, in which he declared her to be the "true", French Helen, rather than the "lie" of the Greeks. Dante's '' Inferno'' has Helen tormented in the circle of lust alongside Paris.

Helen of Troy in Christopher Marlowe's ''Doctor Faustus''

Helen appears in various versions of the

myth, including

's 1604 play ''

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus ''The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus'', commonly referred to simply as ''Doctor Faustus'', is an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe, based on German stories about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in e ...

'', in which Faustus famously marvels, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" upon seeing a demon impersonating Helen. The line, which is frequently quoted out of context, is a paraphrase of a statement from Lucian's ''Dialogues of the Dead''. It is debated whether the phrase conveys astonishment at Helen's beauty, or disappointment that she is not more beautiful. Helen appears in Marlowe's play as a voiceless image conjured by

Mephistopheles Mephistopheles ( , ), also known as Mephostophilis or Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore, originating as the chief devil in the Faust legend. He has since become a stock character appearing in Mephistopheles in the arts and popular ...

. Helen first appears displayed to scholars as a vision to admire. Her second appearance is when Faustus calls for her in despair. Not speaking herself, Faustus shows she is an object of desire and destruction. She walks about to parade her beauty silently, tempting Faustus. In connection to the myth of Helen of Troy, Helen is often blamed with causing the Trojan War; Marlowe's portrayal of Helen may function as a test of Faustus’ damnation. It is undetermined if the Helen in ''Doctor Faustus'' is the real Helen or merely a disguised entity that mimicks her beauty, blurring the lines of blame for Faustus' temptation. Marlowe's portrayal of Helen blurs the line between a beautiful, angel-like figure and an evil, dangerously tempting figure, allowing her to be ambiguous in regard to her role in Faustus' damned fate. The German poet and polymath

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

re-envisioned the meeting of

and Helen. In '' Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy'', the union of Helen and Faust becomes a complex allegory of the meeting of the classical-ideal and modern worlds. In 1803, when French zoologist

François Marie Daudin François Marie Daudin (; 29 August 1776 in Paris – 30 November 1803 in Paris) was a French zoologist. Biography With legs paralyzed by childhood disease, he studied physics and natural history but ended up being devoted to the latter. Daudin w ...

was to name a new species of beautifully colored snake, the trinket snake (''Coelognathus helena''), he chose the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''helena'' in reference to Helen of Troy.

In 1864, Paris saw the premiere of the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

. Helen of Troy is a minor character in the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Mefistofele ''Mefistofele'' () is an opera in a prologue and five acts, later reduced to four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was lib ...

'' by

Arrigo Boito Arrigo Boito (; born Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) was an Italian librettist, composer, poet and critic whose only completed opera was ''Mefistofele''. Among the operas for which he wrote the libretto, libretti ar ...

, which received its premiere in Milan in 1868. In 1881,

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

published a poem entitled "The New Helen", in which he declared his friend

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...

to be the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

of Helen of Troy. Wilde portrays this new Helen as the antithesis of the Virgin Mary, but endows her with the characteristics of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

himself. The Irish poet

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

compared Helen to his muse, Maude Gonne, in his 1916 poem "No Second Troy". The anthology '' The Dark Tower'' by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

includes a fragment entitled "After Ten Years". In Egypt after the Trojan War, Menelaus is allowed to choose between the real, disappointing Helen and an ideal Helen conjured by Egyptian magicians. The English

painter Evelyn De Morgan portrayed a sexually assertive Helen in her 1898 painting ''Helen of Troy''.

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

was obsessed with Helen of Troy from childhood and saw his wife

Gala Dalí Gala Dalí (born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova, Елена Ивановна Дьяконова; – 10 June 1982), usually known simply as Gala, was the wife of poet Paul Éluard and later of artist Salvador Dalí, who were both prominent in s ...

and the surrealist character Gradiva as the embodiments of Helen. He dedicates his autobiography ''Diary of a Genius'' to "my genius Gala Gradiva, Helen of Troy, Saint Helen, Gala Galatea Placida." Minor planet 101 Helena discovered by

James Craig Watson James Craig Watson (January 28, 1838 – November 23, 1880) was a Canadians, Canadian-Americans, American astronomer, discoverer of comets and minor planets, director of the University of Michigan's Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor, and awarded ...

in 1868, is named after Helen of Troy.

20th century

John Erskine's 1925 bestselling novel ''The Private Life of Helen of Troy'' portrayed Helen as a "sensible,

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

heroine", but the 1927

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

of the same name, directed by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

, transformed Helen into "a shopaholic fashion maven". In 1928, Richard Strauss wrote the German opera ''Die ägyptische Helena'' (''The Egyptian Helena''), which is the story of Helen and Menelaus's troubles when they are marooned on a mythical island. The 1938 short story, "Helen O'Loy", written by Lester del Rey, details the creation of a synthetic woman by two mechanics. The title is wordplay that combines "Helen of Troy" with "alloy". The 1951 Swedish film ''Sköna Helena'' is an adapted version of La belle Hélène, Offenbach's operetta, starring Max Hansen (tenor), Max Hansen and Eva Dahlbeck. In 1956, a Franco-British epic titled ''Helen of Troy (film), Helen of Troy'' was released, directed by Oscar-winning director Robert Wise and starring Italian actress Rossana Podestà in the title role. It was filmed in Italy, and featured well-known British character actors such as Harry Andrews, Cedric Hardwicke, and Torin Thatcher in supporting roles. The 1971 film ''The Trojan Women (film), The Trojan Women'' was an adaptation of the play by Euripides in which Irene Papas portrayed (a non-blonde) Helen of Troy. In the 1998 TV series ''Hercules (1998 TV series), Hercules'', Helen appears as a supporting character at Prometheus Academy as a student. Helen is caring and enthusiastic. She was the most popular girl in the academy and Adonis' girlfriend. Helen tries her best to keep Adonis from behaving stupidly, but mostly fails. She likes Hercules, but as a friend. She is a princess as in the myth but is not a half-sister of Hercules in the series. She was voiced by Jodi Benson.

21st century

A 2003 television version of Helen's life up to the fall of Troy, ''Helen of Troy (TV miniseries), Helen of Troy'', in which she was played by Sienna Guillory. In this version, Helen is depicted as unhappy in her marriage and willingly runs away with Paris, with whom she has fallen in love, but still returns to Menelaus after Paris dies and Troy falls. Helen was portrayed by Diane Kruger in the 2004 film ''Troy (film), Troy''. In this adaptation, as in the 2003 television version, she is unhappily married to Menelaus and willingly leaves with Paris, whom she loves. However, in this version she does not return to Sparta with Menelaus (who is killed by Hector), but escapes Troy with Paris and other survivors when the city falls. Inspired by the line, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...?" from Christopher Marlowe, Marlowe's ''The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Faustus'', Isaac Asimov jocularly coined the unit "millihelen" to mean the amount of beauty that can launch one ship. Canadian novelist and poet Margaret Atwood re-envisioned the myth of Helen in modern, feminist guise in her poem "Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing". In the ''Legends of Tomorrow'' episode "Helen Hunt", Helen is portrayed by Israeli-American model and actress Bar Paly. In the episode, Helen is an anachronism appearing in 1930s Hollywood. She lands a job as an actress and unintentionally starts a war between two film studios. The Legends travel to the 1930s and try to get Helen back to the Bronze Age. She regretfully goes along, telling the team she wishes to stay away due to men constantly fighting and dying over her. After analyzing historical records of Helen's impact on history, Zari Tomaz finds the best time to take her away from the fighting of her time and takes her to Themyscira (DC Comics), Themyscira. Helen reappears in the season three finale, "The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly", as an Amazon warrior who assists the Legends in defeating the demon Mallus's army.

Notes

References

Additional references

Primary sources

, ''

''. For an English translation see th
Perseus Project
*

, ''De inventione'' II.1.1–2 * ''

'', fragments 1, 9, and 10. For an English translation see th
Medieval and Classical Literature Library
*

, ''Discourses''. For an English translation, se
Lacus Curtius
*

, '' Helen''. For an English translation, see th
Perseus Project
* Euripides, ''

''. For an English translation, see th
Perseus project
* Euripides, ''

''. For an English translation, see th
Perseus Project
*

, ''Histories (Herodotus), Histories'', Book II. For an English translation, see th
Perseus Project
*

, ''Catalogs of Women and Eoiae''. For an English translation see th
Medieval and Classical Literature Library
*

, ''

'', Boo
III
''

'', Book
IV
an
XXIII
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, Hyginus, ''Fables''. Translated in English b
Mary Grant
*

, ''Helen''. For an English translation, see th
Perseus Project
* Maurus Servius Honoratus, Servius, ''In Aeneida'' I.526, XI.262 * Lactantius Placidus, ''Commentarii in Statii Thebaida'' I.21. * ''Little Iliad'', fragment 13. For an English translation, see th
Medieval and Classical Literature Library
*

, ''

''
XVI.Paris Helenae
For an English translation, see th
Perseus Project
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', Book III. For an English translation, see th
Perseus Project
* Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Bibliotheca'', Boo
III

Epitome
'. *

, fragment 16. * Sextus Propertius, ''Elegies''
3.14
Translated in English b

*

, ''Idylls'', XVIII (''The Epithalamium of Helen''). Translated in English b
J. M. Edmonds
*

, ''Aeneid''. Boo
VI
For an English translation see th
Perseus Project

Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
Internet Archive
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rozokoki, Alexandra. "The Significance of the Ancestry and Eastern Origins of Helen of Sparta". ''Quaderni Urbinati Di Cultura Classica'', New Series, 98, no. 2 (2011): 35–69
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ANCESTRY AND EASTERN ORIGINS OF HELEN OF SPARTA
* * * *

External links

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bKwTQf25o&t=9s Helen of Troy:history and facial reconstruction] o
Royalty Now Studios
* * {{Authority control Helen of Troy, Princesses in Greek mythology Queens in Greek mythology Children of Zeus Women of the Trojan war Characters in the Odyssey Kidnapped people Mythological rape victims Mythological Laconians Deeds of Aphrodite Divine twins Ancient Spartan queens consort Children of Leda (mythology) Atreidai Trojans