Who Was Helen of Troy?
I truly never tire of reading student writing. It is always original, always thoughtful, always interesting, if not always perfectly written. As we studied Ancient Greece this year, we read ‘The Iliad’ and learned about the gods and legends of Ancient Greece. Helen of Tory was likely a real person (or an amalgamation of a few people and stories). Depending on who you read- Homer, Aeschylus, or Greek Mythology, the depictions of her vary, from an unwilling victim, to a cunning seductress who lured Paris to her and then caused the Trojan War.
Here is one student’s exploration of the question, Who Was Helen of Troy?
Reading The Iliad~
A High School student considers this elusive question:
Who Was Helen of Troy? Did she indeed cause the Trojan War as Classical Literature suggests? Or was she an unwilling accomplice in a twisted political and economic conflict? Was she even real?
Lasting Infamy
Helen of Troy is the face that launched a thousand ships. She might also be called the face that inspired a thousand stories. Because there are so many tales about Helen, it is hard to judge who the character really was. In the myth of the Trojan War, Helen is what triggers the war. Paris, the son of the king of Troy, goes to Sparta on a mission with his army. Here he meets Helen and they travel to Troy together. Menelaus, Helen’s husband, is enraged and, in order to get his wife back, goes to war with the Trojans. Many have considered the Trojan War and its causes, both historically and fictionally, however, authors and scholars have never come to a consensus on who Helen was and if she was to blame for the Trojan War. As Matthew Grumpert says in his book Grafting Helen: the abduction of the classical past, “There is no definitive myth of Helen, then, but a host of Helen myths, all posing as truth.” The question of if Helen was to blame for the Trojan War remains unanswered. Authors and readers continue to consider whether the cause of the Trojan War was Helen’s unwilling abduction, or her active choice, and if she can be blamed for the deaths at Troy.
Some versions of Helen’s story tell of her being kidnapped by Paris. Gorgias suggests the possibility of her abduction in his Encomium of Helen. Though tales differ on how and why she left Sparta, there is little evidence that she had any option to remain. Some myths have told that when Paris and Helen travelled to Egypt before going to Troy, Helen sent an “eidolon”, a phantom double, to Troy while the real Helen stayed behind in Egypt. This story implies that Helen did not want to be with Paris and was taken against her will. The fact that Helen’s husband, Menelaus, accepted her back also shows that it may have been against her will that she traveled to Troy. Gorgias again emphasizes that if she were abducted she could not be blamed for the war. Instead, the blame would fall on Paris, who desired her for her beauty.
A common view is that Aphrodite caused Helen to fall in love and leave with Paris. Before Helen and Paris even met, Aphrodite, Athena and Hera fought for Paris to call one of them the fairest goddess. Eventually, Aphrodite won with her promise to make the most beautiful woman in the world fall in love with Paris. When Paris was sent to fight at Sparta, Aphrodite caused Helen to fall in love with Paris, leaving Sparta with him. In Euripides’ play The Trojan Women this is what Helen pleads, saying she could not withstand the enchantments of a goddess. The Odyssey also gives the implication that Helen was persuaded by Aphrodite to leave with Paris. Helen says in the Odyssey, speaking of her time in Troy, “My heart had changed by now, and I was for going back home again, and I grieved for that madness that Aphrodite bestowed when she led me there away from my own dear country.” If Aphrodite did cause Helen to fall in love, the fault would be the goddess’, not Helens.
The third version that some myths tell is that Helen left of her own choice. Sometimes Helen is portrayed as a woman with loose morals who does not love her husband and actively chose to leave with Paris. In the Trojan Women, when Hecuba, queen of Troy, refutes Helen’s defense, Hecuba claims that Helen chose this. Accusing Helen of greed Hecuba states, “Thy eye was fixed on Fortune, and by such practice wert thou careful to follow in her steps, careless of virtue’s cause.” Helen herself in The Iliad refers to herself with disgust to Priam saying that she should have died. She speaks so strongly that it implies that she regrets the decision she made to come with Paris. Helen acting on her free will makes the Trojan War her fault and the blame would rightfully fall on her.
Helen remains somewhat of a mystery to readers of her myths. Opinions vary widely on whether she should be blamed for the Trojan War. The essential question is: was Helen an active or passive member of her journey to Troy? Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen attempts to remove blame from Helen by turning her into a passive figure, unable to control the forces that led her to Troy. If, however, she actively chose Paris over her husband, she is guilty of the blame she often receives. Despite often being blamed for the Trojan War, Helen has become a legendary figure in mythology, even being worshipped as a goddess by later Greeks. Regardless of whether Helen was innocent or responsible for the deaths in Troy, she is undoubtedly an iconic picture of the destruction that female beauty can cause and we will continue to read her story for centuries.
What do you think? Does this beautiful woman and what her true character might have been intrigue you? Is this story relatable to students of the 21st century? I think so!!
Are you inspired to learn more and consider the question for yourself? You could dive into The Iliad’, or get a different viewpoint and read ‘The Trojan Women’ (much shorter!), or read Helen’s story in Edith Hamilton’s ‘Mythology’. In any of these gems, if you read thoughtfully, you might get a more relatable understanding of the women of ancient history!