Helen of Troy

Not to be confused with Helloi.

Canova - Helen of Troy, 1819, Н.ск-825

In Greek mythology, Helen, also known as Helen of Troy (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη, Helénē), was said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. The queen of Sparta, Helen was married to Menelaus, but later eloped with Prince Paris of Troy (most often depicted as being kidnapped) and taken to Troy, resulting in the Trojan War as the Achaeans set out to bring her back to Sparta. She was believed to be the daughter of Zeus and Leda, the wife of King Tyndareos of Sparta, and was the sister of twins Castor and Pollux, and Clytemnestra.

Helen Of Troy Media

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  Map of Homeric Greece; Menelaus and Helen reign over Laconia

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  Helen of Troy wearing a pileus

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  Theseus pursuing a woman, probably Helen. Side A from an Attic red-figure bell-krater, c. 440–430 BC (Louvre, Paris).

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  In this painting by Maarten van Heemskerck Helen, queen of the Greek city-state Sparta, is abducted by Paris, a prince of Troy in Asia Minor. The Walters Art Museum.

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  Meeting between Paris and Helen. Antique fresco in Pompeii, the House of the Golden Cupids

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  Helen and Menelaus: Menelaus intends to strike Helen; captivated by her beauty, he drops his sword. A flying Eros and Aphrodite (on the left) watch the scene. Detail of an Attic red-figure krater c. 450–440 BC (Paris, Louvre)

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  Zeuxis et les Filles de Crotone (François-André Vincent, 1789, Paris, Louvre). The scene tells the story of the painter Zeuxis who was commissioned to produce a picture of Helen for the temple of Hera at Agrigentum, Sicily. To realize his task, Zeuxis chose the five most beautiful maidens in the region.

Other websites

• "Ancient Egyptian Mythology: The Greek Princess". egyptianmyths.net.

Media related to Helen at Wikimedia Commons