Helen of Troy
Helen, also known as Helen of Troy or Helen of Sparta, was a Spartan queen and the wife of the Greek king Menelaus. In Grecian myth, she was the daughter of Zeus, though later accounts made her mortal. She was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. (PROSE: The Squire's Crystal [+]Loading...["The Squire's Crystal (novel)"])
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Helen was captured by the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus challenged him to a duel, but Paris refused. The Greek army, under Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, began a war with Troy over Helen. (TV: The Myth Makers [+]Loading...["The Myth Makers (TV story)"])
After Paris died, Helen was made to marry his brother, Deiphobus. She ultimately betrayed him to the Greeks when they took over Troy. (PROSE: The Squire's Crystal [+]Loading...["The Squire's Crystal (novel)"])
Ten years after the onset of war, Menelaus was not interested in getting Helen back. He just wanted the war to end. However, the Greeks, with the help of the First Doctor, eventually defeated Troy and sacked it, retrieving Helen. (TV: The Myth Makers [+]Loading...["The Myth Makers (TV story)"])
According to Vicki Pallister, Menelaus was glad to have Helen back. (PROSE: Apocrypha Bipedium) Though he had sworn to kill Helen for having incited the decade-long war, Menelaus found himself unwilling to destroy such beauty. He forgave her. (PROSE: The Squire's Crystal [+]Loading...["The Squire's Crystal (novel)"])
Helen was among the notable women of Earth's history whom were invited by Missy to join MADAM. (PROSE: Girl Power! [+]Loading...["Girl Power! (short story)"])
Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1873, Heinrich Schliemann discovered the Jewels of Helen while excavating Troy. (PROSE: Past Reckoning [+]Loading...["Past Reckoning (short story)"])
In fiction[[edit] | [edit source]]
Helen was featured in the play Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare, which was set during the Trojan War. In this story, Paris persuaded Helen to leave her husband and return with him to Troy. At its start, the Prologue explained that sixty-nine rulers were on their way "to ransack Troy, within whose strong immures the ravish'd Helen, Menelaus' queen, with wanton Paris sleeps".
In Act II Scene II, Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris and Helenus discussed a message they had received from Nestor of the Greeks which promised a peaceful resolution to the conflict if the Trojans simply returned Helen. Hector advocated to let Helen go, noting their high casualty rate, but Troilus disagreed as he valued the honour of their father above such things. Cassandra later arrived and prophesied Troy's destruction if Helen was not released. (PROSE: Troilus and Cressida [+]Loading...["Troilus and Cressida (short story)"])
Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go."
In a variant version of the play, the entire conversation was overheard by the Prologue who was concealed within an urn. He reflected upon hearing Hector's advice that his Trojan Horse would see no use if they decided to yield Helen to the Greeks. (PROSE: Troilus and Cressida [+]Loading...["Troilus and Cressida (short story)"])
City of the Saved[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the City of the Saved, Helen married World War II-era pilot Terrence Moody. In the early stages of the City of the Saved Civil War, she once again became caught up in the fight between the Greeks and Trojans. (PROSE: Apocalypse Day [+]Loading...["Apocalypse Day (short story)"])
