Helen (1)

Helen of Argos; one of the most important figures in Greek history and mythology.

Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda and the half-sister of the infamous Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra), Phoibe (Phoebe), Kastor (Castor) and Polydeukes (Polydeuces or Pollux).

Helen entered the legends and hearts of the Greeks when she was kidnapped from her home by two men who were otherwise regarded as noble individuals; the legendary king of the Lapithae, Pirithous, and the Athenian hero, Theseus, were responsible for the kidnapping of Helen when she was a young girl.

While in the city of Sparta, the two men saw Helen dancing in the temple of the goddess Artemis; they were captivated by her childlike beauty and took the girl; after they had successfully eluded their pursuers, the two villains drew lots to see who would be allowed to marry Helen; Theseus won the draw and his plan was to hide Helen until she was of marrying age; she was rescued by her brothers, Kastor and Polydeukes and assisted by another Athenian hero, Akademus (Academus).

Although Helen’s father is assumed to be Zeus, she was raised by Tyndareus who was the king of Sparta and husband of Helen’s mother, Leda; when Helen was ready to marry, Tyndareus was besieged with offers from men of wealth and influence; he knew that Helen had a profound influence on these proud men and that there would be endless bickering and bloodshed when her husband was finally chosen; Tyndareus made all the suitors swear a solemn oath that they accept and defend Helen’s husband regardless of who he might be and that they would avenge anyone who tried to take her from her rightful home.

Helen married a young Spartan named Menelaos (Menelaus); years later, when Menelaos was away from home, Helen entertained a visitor named Alexandros (Paris) and, enchanted by Aphrodite (goddess of Love), the two fled Sparta for the city of Troy; there are two divergent stories regarding Helen of Argos after she left Sparta with Alexandros:

In Homer’s version, she accompanied Alexandros to Troy and was rescued by Menelaos after ten years of fighting; and
• In Herodotus’ version, she stayed in Egypt and was rescued by Menelaos after the fall of Troy.

Herodotus relates that, after fleeing Sparta, the two lovers did not sail directly to Troy; contrary winds forced them to Egypt and into the Nile River; there was a shrine to Herakles (Hercules) in that part of Egypt where slaves could seek sanctuary; Alexandros’ slaves deserted their master and, with the protection of the shrine, denounced Alexandros and told the local governor the circumstances under which Helen had been taken from her home.

When the king of Egypt heard the story, he had Alexandros and Helen brought before him for judgment; the king, Proteus, questioned Alexandros as to how he and Helen came to be in Egypt; Alexandros lied to Proteus but the slaves revealed the truth to the king.

Proteus declared that Helen would be given asylum in Egypt but Alexandros was required to leave Egypt within three days; Alexandros returned to Troy alone; when the Greeks besieged Troy, the Trojans truthfully informed them that Helen was not there; the Greeks did not believe them until after they had sacked the city and saw the truth for themselves; Menelaos then went to Egypt and retrieved his wife.

Herodotus believed that the Immortals allowed the Greeks to destroy Troy in order to punish the Trojans for the foul deeds of Alexandros; of course, we are more familiar with Homer’s poetic version of Helen’s plight; in The Iliad, Helen and Alexandros returned to Troy and, when Menelaos demanded her return, Alexandros refused and the ten year Trojan War began; after the fall of Troy, Helen was released from the enchantment of Aphrodite and resumed her marriage with Menelaos; she and Menelaos had a daughter named Hermione.

Helen’s abduction was not an isolated event; the mainland Greeks and the Greeks who had colonized Asia Minor had a long history of kidnapping women from each other; a generation before the Trojan War, the famous Iason (Jason), in his quest for the Golden Fleece, had taken Medea from her home and, according to Herodotus, the failure to return Medea was one of a series of events used to justify the kidnapping of Helen.

Odyssey, book 4, line 126+

Histories, book 1, chapters 2 and 3; book 2, chapters 112-120