Summary of Helen of Troy
In the field of Greek mythology, the Trojan War is one of the most outstanding confrontations. Armies of Achaeans participated in it in the city of Troy. This is described by Homer as a punitive expedition where the reason for the war was Helena's escape from Sparta with Prince Paris of Troy.
Even the Trojan War was narrated from the archaic times through epic poems, of which 2 of them are world famous today. These are the literary works of the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are attributed to Homer.
It's worth noting that the Iliad describes part of the Trojan War, while the Odyssey narrates the journey home of Odysseus, the Greek leader. Over time, many Greek and Roman writers have written different accounts of the war.
Helena of Troy
In this summary, it is obviously important to describe who this well-known character from Greek mythology is. She is considered to be the most controversial female character of Antiquity, especially since she is considered to be the reason for the Trojan War to take place.
This character has had great importance in heroic poems, as well as in legends related to Troy. Although much of what is related to her is related to the well-known war, it is essential to make a summary of Helen of Troy.
Her name means tea or torch. She was very beautiful, so she had a lot of suitors, many of them heroes. In fact, one of them was Paris, the prince of Troy, which caused the Trojan War to begin.
Nacimiento
When Zeus became a swan, Leda (daughter of the King of Aetolia, Testio and wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta) was seduced by him and was with her the same night that she was also with her husband Tyndareus.
This caused Leda to lay two eggs. One produced Helen and Pollux, both immortal, as they were considered children of Zeus. The other produced Clytemnestra (wife of Agamemnon and queen of Mycenae) and Castor, who were mortal because they were considered descendants of Tyndareus.
In fact, Castor and Pollux were considered as twins, who were called Dioscuri. In the summary of Helen of Troy, it is also important to note that she had other sisters, which were Timandra and Filónoe.
Alternative versions of the birth
According to another version related to the birth of Helena and that is part of the summary of Helena de Troya, she was born due to the union of Nemesis (goddess of Ramnunte) and Zeus, who had become a goose and a swan. So the egg that Nemesis laid was located by a shepherd who gave it to Leda.
Therefore, Leda took care of the egg from which Helen was born and treated her as if she were her mother. In addition, it is also described that in the sanctuary of the Leusipides in Sparta, there was an egg cast from the ceiling, held by ribbons and it was said that it was the one in which Leda gave birth.
Theft of Helen by Theseus and Pirithous
Since she was very young, she attracted attention because she was very beautiful. She was once participating in a sacrifice dancing at the Sanctuary of Artemis Ortia in Sparta and was robbed by Theseus (hero of Athens and son of Etra and Aegeus) and her friend Pirithous (descendant of Ixion and Dia).
Theseus reciprocated her love, but when they returned to Athens, the inhabitants would not allow her to enter the city, so Theseus sent her to Aphidna with her mother Aethra. Theseus and Pirithous then went to Hades (the Greek underworld) to steal Persephone (daughter of Zeus and Demeter) so that she would be with Pirithous. When they found themselves in Hades, the Dioscuri went and rescued her sister Helen.
More of the kidnapping of Helena
Taking as prisoner Etra, Theseus's mother and Pirithous's sister, which they took to Sparta to be Helena's slaves.
According to some versions of the summary of Helen of Troy, she and Theseus are described as having had a daughter whom they named Iphigenia, but when the Dioscuri freed Helen, she gave her daughter to her sister Clytemnestra who was the wife of Agamemnon (son of King Atherus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope and brother of Menelaus). However, much of the texts of Greek mythology attribute that Iphigenia was the natural daughter of Clytemnestra and King Agamemnon.
Marriage with Menelaus
In the summary of Helen of Troy, it should be noted that she was well known both for her beauty and for the Trojan War, of which she was the cause. Besides that, after being stolen by Theseus, her impurity did not cause her to have a lot of suitors to ask for her hand.
In fact, when she was old enough to marry, a large number of suitors from Greece turned to her, captivated by her beauty and also because Helena along with her future husband were going to be the rulers of Sparta.
Helen and Menelaus
Her father, who received advice from Ulysses (whom he promised to help him get his niece Penelope as a wife) and also to prevent Helena from being kidnapped again, made all the suitors go to the Temple of Minerva, forcing them to to be under solemn oath.
The oath was based on the fact that apart from the fact that each of them had to agree with Helena's choice, they should also defend her and her husband from anyone who wanted to offend them.
All the princes swore the oath. There is a version referring to the summary of Helen of Troy, which describes her as choosing Menelaus. However, there is also a version that tells us that Tyndareus was the one who chose Menelaus as Helen's husband, the brother of Agamemnon (king of Mycenae), who was the husband of his other daughter, Clytemnestra. Menelaus and Helen also had a daughter, whom they named Hermione.
seduction of paris
One of the great stories around the summary of Helen of Troy is the one related to her relationship with Paris. Even the goddess Aphrodite promised this Trojan prince Helen's love as a prize. Which is because he chose Aphrodite in the beauty contest he had with Hera and Athena.
When Menelaus was already 3 or 4 years old with Helen, he offered hospitality to Paris, who was visiting Sparta. During Paris's stay, Menelaus had to make a trip to the island of Crete, as he had to attend the funeral of Catreus (King of Crete) and his maternal grandfather.
At that moment, Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, sensuality, and love) caused Helen to fall in love with Paris, and the two escaped Sparta together, even taking Helen's riches with them. They were together for the first time on the island of Cranae. However, Hera sent a storm as they crossed Cyprus and Phoenicia, but they managed to reach Troy.
Another version of the relationship between Helena and Paris
A version also related to the summary of Helen of Troy, describes that Helen at no time went to Troy with Paris, since Zeus, Hera or Proteus (god of the sea), made a spirit of her and it was she who traveled with Paris. So the original Helen was taken to Egypt by Hermes.
There is also another version of this part of the summary of Helen of Troy, which describes that Paris kidnapped Helen and took her by force to Troy. In this way, Menelaus went to all those who had sworn to protect him and his wife to find her, starting the famous Trojan War. Also learn about the mayan jaguar.
Trojan war
There are versions that describe that when Helena and Paris arrived at Troy they received them badly, but some also say that they received them well, especially the brothers of Paris and queen Hecuba.
There is also a version that the Trojans fell in love with Helen and in fact King Priam swore an oath that he would not let her go. Even the fortune-teller Cassandra (daughter of Hecuba and Priam) predicted that Helena was going to be the one who would lead the city to ruin, but no one believed her.
It should be noted that prior to the start of the Trojan War, Menelaus and Odysseus went to Troy as ambassadors who would go looking for Helen and the treasure she had taken. However, the inhabitants of Troy did not want to return it, and they were not killed because the old Trojan councilor Antenor intervened.
This advisor to King Priam of Troy, gave the solution between the Greeks and the Trojans, suggesting a confrontation between Paris and Menelaus. For his part, the Greek writer Partenio de Nicaea describes in his work the Sufferings of love, that those who claimed Helena were Diomedes (king of Argos) and Acamante (son of Theseus and Phaedra).
Herodotus version
Another version that is related to the summary of Helen of Troy and which was described by the Greek historian Herodotus, refers to the fact that the inhabitants of Troy said that they did not have Helen or her treasures, so everything was in Egypt with him. King Proteus.
However, the Greeks thought that the Trojans were making fun of them, they conquered Troy but Helen was not there and it was when they believed the Trojans that they decided to send Menelaus to Egypt.
According to that version, the historian Herodotus described that if Helen had been in Troy on that occasion, she would have been returned to the Greeks, since neither Priam nor the inhabitants of Troy would risk having a war, just to please Paris.
Herodotus also describes how contrary winds forced Helen and Paris to travel to Egypt, where they were warmly received by King Proteus, who was unaware of what had happened. When the king learned of the incident, he expelled Paris and held Helen hostage until Menelaus returned after the Trojan War.
There is another version of this story, which relates that while the Trojan War was taking place, Aphrodite and Thetis (sea nymph) arranged a meeting between Helen and Achilles.
There is also the version of Euripides, which has some variations of what happened. This is based on the fact that after the confrontation over beauty, Hera, who was very upset, replaced Helen with a ghost and Hermes kept her in the palace of Proteus where they guarded her until Menelaus returned.
The Iliad and Helen
The summary of Helen of Troy evidently includes what is related to the work of the Iliad. This is because she was highly respected by King Priam and by the Trojan prince Hector, who was also in charge of defending the city in the Trojan War.
In addition, the Trojans admired her for her beauty but also attributed to her the reason that caused the Trojan War. Her presence in this literary work is described when she introduced the most prominent Achaean leaders of the city to Priam, an episode that is described as Techoskopy.
From that site he witnessed the confrontation between Menelaus and Paris. He also had an argument with Aphrodite, because the goddess hints that he has to go with Paris when the duel ends, although later, fearing Aphrodite's threats, she ends up giving in.
At the end of the poem, Helena grieves over the death of her brother-in-law Hector and describes how she had been in Troy for 20 years. she knows the world myths and legends.
Helena in the events that occurred after those reported in the Iliad
Another important aspect regarding the summary of Helen of Troy is related to what happened after what was narrated in the literary work of the Iliad. One of the facts was that Córito, who was the son of Paris and the nymph Oenone, was in love with Helena, which was said to be a mutual love. So when Paris found out he killed his son.
However, another version describes that Córito was one of the children that Helena and Paris had. Another reported fact is related to the fact that when the Trojan War occurred, Paris died and Helena was forced to marry Deíphobo (son of Priam and Hecuba, as well as Hector's brother).
Helen and Odysseus
This caused Helenus (also son of Priam and Hecuba) to leave Troy, because he too was in love with Helen. Furthermore, since he had the gift of divination, like his sister Cassandra, and also Calchas, a Greek soothsayer, he was aware that he knew about the oracles that guarded the city. Odysseus decided to capture him, so he was forced to tell what the oracles contained.
In addition to this, another important fact related to the summary of Helen of Troy is that she recognized Odysseus when he entered Troy to spy on him disguised as a homeless man, although she didn't accuse him. In fact, in order to gain entry to Troy, the Achaeans built an enormous wooden horse with many warriors inside. So the Trojans let the horse pass, even though they didn't know what was inside.
But before the warriors left the horse, Helen, cunning and knowing the Achaeans' plan, imitated the voices of the Greek warriors' wives. While this was happening, she circled the horse, accompanied by Deiphobus. This way, she could see if the Achaeans would respond when they were on horseback, but they didn't, because it would give them away.
The torch of Helen of Troy
Another version related to Helen describes her as the one who waved a torch during the night while in her room. This was the signal to the Achaeans that the gates of Troy would be opened by the warriors who had been inside the wooden horse.
The Trojan War ended when the Achaean alliance won. Menelaus killed Deiphobus and spared Helen because he had once again fallen in love with her beauty, so he forgave her. Another version describes Helen as the one who killed Deiphobus, and Menelaus forgave her upon seeing her bare breasts.
Another version also describes how, on a return trip to Sparta, they had to spend a long time in Egypt. In fact, there is an island in Attica that was called Helen's Island. This was because it was believed that she had been there on her return to Hellas. It was there that she and Menelaus had Nicostratus.
Helen in the Odyssey
This Greek female character also appeared in some parts of this literary work. One of them was when Telemachus arrives in Sparta and there he talks with Helena and Menelaus, who were once again the rulers of the place. In addition, she and her husband remember some moments of the Trojan War.
