... Helen in return. Different traditions exist regarding what happened to Helen after the Trojan War. During an absence of Menelaus, however, Helen fled to Troy with Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, an act that ultimately led to the Trojan War. From classical sources, it can be said that the Trojan War started after the elopement (or abduction) of the queen of Sparta, Helen by Paris, the Trojan prince. Aphrodite had no interest in being married at … In this way, Menelaus and Agamemnon were not only brothers but brothers-in-law, just as Helen and Clytemnestra were sisters-in-law. While none of them have survived to this day, they were summarized in the second century CE by the Latin grammarian Proclus and in the ninth century CE by the Byzantine historian Photius. Others name Nemesis (pronounced NEM-uh-sis), the goddess of revenge, as her mother. It was a war started by the Greeks on the city of Troy, it lasted a little over the course of 10 years. When she pleads for mercy it is a woman, Queen Hecuba of Troy, who persuades Menelaus to stand firm. However, Priam, Paris’ father, refused. The Trojan War can be said to have started shortly after the abduction of Helen. This resulted in the ten-year conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans known as the Trojan War. After Helen ran away with Paris, prince of Troy, the Greek armies fought a ten year long war against Troy to win her back. The Greek fleet then set sail for Troy, with the object o… Everyone knows how the Trojan War ended: with a bunch of guys piling out of a giant horse. Helen is not merely the beauty who passively started the Trojan War, whatever her actual role in her abduction was, but she is also a symbol of the fears and anxieties non-womanly women produced. Hector, Paris’ brother, was the leader of the Trojans. Clytemnestra was the sister of Helen, but her father wasn't Zeus, but rather Tyndareus. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Troy was a real city, but that does not mean the Trojan War really happened as described in Greek mythology. Menelaus received and extended hospitality to Paris. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Agamemnon was able to get other Greek heroes, such as Odysseus, Ajax, Nestor, and Achilles, to join him on this adventure. When the Trojans refused to return her, the Greeks formed an army, led by Agamemnon, including Achilles, Odysseus and the two Ajaxes. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Who led the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece? Formerly of Sparta and wife of the warrior King Menelaus, Helen eloped to Troy with Paris, causing the Trojan War. She was the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta (one of several Greek kingdoms). This group crossed the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor to lay siege to Troy and demand Helen… The Iliad's story of the Trojan war, told from the Trojan viewpoint. The first likely mate of Helen was Theseus, the hero of Athens who kidnapped Helen when she was still young. The characters in the Iliad and the Odyssey and in later Greek legends about the war are all almost certainly fictional, including Helen. 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. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Helen-of-Troy, Ancient Origins - Helen of Troy, The Beauty Who Sparked the Trojan War, Helen of Troy - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Helen of Troy - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The abduction of Helen, Greek bas-relief; in the Lateran Museum, Rome. Helen was renowned throughout Greece for her beauty, and was admired by almost every man. The abduction of beautiful Helen, wife of Spartan King Menelaus, by Paris of Troy triggers a long war. This was the ancient 'World War' involving men, semi-divine 'heroes', and the gods/goddesses. In Greek mythology, Helen was the most beautiful woman from the age of the heroes. But they were caught and confined in Hades until Heracles came and released Theseus.…, His seduction of Helen (the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta) and refusal to return her was the cause of the Trojan War. Of these appearances, probably the best known was the elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War.Later in the war, he fatally wounds Achilles in the heel with an arrow as foretold by Achilles's mother, Thetis.. Helen is said to have been a daughter of the king of the gods, Zeus. 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. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe, but the bribe offered by Aphrodite appealed to Paris most, so Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. In exchange, Theseus descended to the Underworld with Pirithous to help his friend rescue Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter. In Greek mythology , Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world. It began when Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, kidnapped Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. N.S. Unlike her mythological counterpart, this version of Helen of Troy is not the mortal daughter of Zeus and half-sister of Hercules. She was daughter of Zeus, either by Leda or by Nemesis, and sister of the Dioscuri. Near the beginning of the tale, the Trojan prince Paris falls in love with the Spartan queen Helen, who is married to King Menelaus. Helen of Troy is a character in Homer's classic epic poem, the "Iliad," written in the 8th century about the Trojan War, imagined by the Greeks to have occurred about 500 years earlier. A sacrifice was made to Apollo, and the god sent an omen: a snake appeared from the altar and slithered to a bird's nest, where it ate the mother and her nine babies before it was turned to stone. In both The Trojan Women and Orestes Helen is condemned for her role in the Trojan War. The site of ancient Troy has been found, across the … In most sources, including the Iliad and the Odyssey, Helen is the daughter of Zeus and of Leda, the wife of the Spartan king Tyndareus. Helen was worshipped and had a festival at Therapnae in Laconia; she also had a temple at Rhodes, where she was worshipped as Dendritis (the tree goddess). The criticism of her is particularly harsh in The Trojan Women where, in the aftermath of the war, Helen is condemned to death by her former husband Menelaus. Helen’s suitors—including Odysseus—came from all parts of Greece, and from among them she chose Menelaus, Agamemnon’s younger brother. It finally ended when the Greeks retreated from camp and left behind a large wooden horse outside the … That woman was Helen. Navigate parenthood with the help of the Raising Curious Learners podcast. The name Paris is probably of Luwian origin, and comparable to Pari-zitis, attested as a Hittite scribe's name. The Trojan War was caused by the alleged abduction of a women named Helen, she was said to have been kidnap by Prince Paris, who was the son of King Priam. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). When Paris was killed in the war, Helen married his brother Deïph… The Trojan War, in Greek tradition, started as a way for Zeus to reduce the ever-increasing population of humanity and, more practically, as an expedition to reclaim Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon. It is mostly known through the Iliad, an epic poem written by the Ancient Greek poet Homer . …love of, and eloped with, Helen, wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta.…, …to carry off the child Helen. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature , … Pollux shared a father with Helen and Castor with Clytemnestra. Now, at the end of ten years of battle, the other characters, Hecuba and Menelaus especially, blame her for all the lives lost and the destruction wrought. Zeushad taken the form of a swan and caused an eagle to chase him through the air; the god eventually sought shelter in the arms of Leda, wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta, afterwhich he assumed his mortal form and lied with her. The Achaean leaders first gathered at the port of Aulis. With Emilia Fox, James Callis, Daniel Lapaine, Nigel Whitmey. 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. Leda then produced an egg, from … Corrections? 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. Helen of Troy. Agamemnon, Menelaus’ brother, led the Greek army. There were various stories about this helpful pair of brothers, including one about how they saved the Romans at the Battle of Regillus.. Laurie Macguire, writing in "Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood," lists the following 11 men as husbands of Helen in ancient literature, proceeding from the canonical list in chronological order, to the 5 exceptional ones: 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. In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy is known as the woman whose beauty sparked the Trojan War. In the original Greek mythology, Helen was the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. She was the bride of the Spartan king Menelaus. Poor Helen was married to the king of Sparta. Later Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean King Agamemnon, married Helen. Before Menelaus won out in the bid for Helen, all the leading princes and unmarried kings of Greece had sought to marry Helen. It happened between the Trojans and the Greeks. Menelaus then called on Helen’s former suitors to keep their promise and help get Helen back. Implied Storyline: Trojan War. After Paris was killed, his brother Deiphobus married Helen. According to a variant of the story, Helen, in widowhood, was driven out by her stepsons and fled to Rhodes, where she was hanged by the Rhodian queen Polyxo in revenge for the death of her husband, Tlepolemus, in the Trojan War. Trojan War War between the Greeks and Trojans, lasting 10 years. Menelaus and Helen then returned to Sparta, where they lived happily until their deaths. Agamemnon and Menelaus were sons of King Atreus of Mycenae and were therefore referred to as Atrides. During the war Paris seems to have had a secondary role: a good warrior but inferior to his brother Hector and to the Greek leaders…. 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. Euripides' 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. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. Hers was the face that launched a thousand ships because of the vast number of warships the Greeks sailed to Troy to retrieve Helen. Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, was married to King Menelaus of Sparta at the time of Paris’ decision. Helen had a sister, Clytemnestra (pronounced klye-tem-NES-truh… Directed by Robert Wise. The Trojan War was central to the early history of ancient Greece. The myth has the war starting over a beauty contest between; Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Unfortunately, Helen was taken. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. Depending on the telling, she is either kidnapped or whisked away by Paris of Troy, which inevitably led to the Trojan War. Helen had two (twin) brothers, Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces). This is because Helen’s husband, Menelaus, got his brother, Agamemnon, to lead a voyage to find her and get her back. Helen of Troy, Greek Helene, in Greek legend, the most beautiful woman of Greece and the indirect cause of the Trojan War. 2016.05.03 | Darah Vann Helen of Troy is a complex character who transgresses traditional female roles, making her characterization unwomanly to the point of being non-female. 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. Who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Ares? The insistent connection between Paris, 'moon'/Helen, and volcanoes/'torch' brings up the idea of the Trojan War told in Greek mythology.