HELEN OF TROY

HELEN OF TROY is a character in Homer’s classic epic poem, the “Iliad”,written in the 8th century about the the Trojan War, imagined by the Greeks to have occurred about 500 years earlier.

She was the most beautiful woman in the ancient Greek world, the daughter of the king of the Greek gods,Zeus, and the cause of the 10-year Trojan War between Troy and Sparta.

Her story is one of the most dramatic love stories of all time and is said to be one of the main reasons for a 10-year war between the Greeks and Trojans, known as the Trojan War.
In the “Iliad,” Helen’s name is a battle cry, but her story is not told in detail: the “Iliad” is chiefly a man’s story of the conflicting passions and struggles of men on opposing sides of a great battle. The Trojan War was central to the early history of ancient Greece. Details of Helen’s story are provided in a group of poems known as the “epic cycle” or the “Trojan War Cycle,” written in the centuries after Homer.
The legendary beauty of Helen attracted men from afar and also those close to home who saw her as a means to the Spartan throne. The first likely mate of Helen was Theseus, the hero of Athens who kidnapped Helen when she was still young.
Later Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean King Agamemnon, married Helen. Agamemnon and Menelaus were sons of King Atreus of Mycenae and were therefore referred to as Atrides. Agamemnon married the sister of Helen, Clytemnestra, and became king of Mycenae after expelling his uncle.
The most famous mate of Helen was Paris of Troy. Paris (also known as Alexander or Alexandros) was the son of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba, but he was rejected at birth and raised as a shepherd on Mount Ida.
While Paris was living the life of a shepherd,the three goddesses , Hera , Aphrodite , and Athena , appeared and asked him to award the “fairest” of them the golden apple that Discord had promised one of them. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty had offered Paris the most beautiful woman on earth for his bride. That woman was Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was taken. She was the bride of the Spartan king Menelaus.
The love between Menelaus and Helen is unclear. In the end, they may have been reconciled, but meanwhile, when Paris came to the court of Menelaus as a guest, he may have aroused unaccustomed desire in Helen, since in the “Iliad,” Helen takes some responsibility for her abduction.
Menelaus received and extended hospitality to Paris. Then, when Menelaus discovered that Paris had taken off for Troy with Helen and other prized possessions Helen may have considered part of her dowry, he was enraged at this violation of the laws of hospitality. Paris offered to return the stolen possessions, even though he was unwilling to return Helen, but Menelaus wanted Helen, too.
But he wasn’t the last one. After Paris was killed , his brother Deiphobus married Helen. After Deiphobus , the son of Peleus, Achilles , married Helen.And perhaps Helen married five more other.
According to Laurie Macgurie , writing in “Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood”,Helen had 11 men as a husbands in the ancient literature.
But he wasn’t the last one. After Paris was killed , his brother Deiphobus married Helen. After Deiphobus , the son of Peleus, Achilles , married Helen.And perhaps Helen married five more other.
According to Laurie Macgurie , writing in “Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood”,Helen had 11 men as a husbands in the ancient literature.