HELEN OF

TROY
Presenter: Nguyen Thi Diem Suong
Lecture: Ms. KATYSHEVTEVA ELENA
Day: 11/11/2019
HELEN
 She was the most beautiful
woman in the ancient Greek
world

 The daughter of The king of the

gods - Zeus and Leda in Greek
mythology.

 The cause of the 10-year Trojan

War between Troy and Sparta.
 HELEN AND PARIS
 In the wedding of Thetis and
Peleus, who invited all the Gods
and Goddesses to their wedding,
except Eris, who was the
Goddess of discord.

 Eris was furious that she was not

invited to the wedding and she
threw an apple that said “For The
Most Beautiful” into the
ceremony.
Feast of the Gods (Marriage of Peleus & Thetis)
 BATTLE AMONG GODNESSES
Hera- wife of Zeus
Hera offered to make him rich and
powerful and provide him with a
kingdom he could rule as his own
Athena - goddess of heroism
Athena offered to make him a
powerful leader who was capable
of fighting
Aphrodite- the goddess of love and
beauty
She told him she could ensure he
would marry the most beautiful
and coveted woman on Earth
 As Aphrodite promised, upon meeting Prince Paris, Helen fell in love with Paris
and agreed to be with him in marriage.

"Paris flirting with Helen", Jacques-Louis “Paris And Helen Escape From The Court Of
David, 1788. Menelaus”,  Angelica Kauffmann, circa 1780
 THE TROJAN WAR
 When the couple went to Troy, King Menelaus was
furious.
 He put together a huge army about 70,000 - 130,000
troops to went to Troy to fight and get Helen back.
 The Greeks and the Trojans fought for 10 years.
However, the Greeks could never get past the wall
surrounding Troy
 The Greeks built a gigantic wooden horse and left it
for the Trojans as a peace offering. The Trojans were
very excited and thought they had won the war. They
pulled the horse into the city without thinking twice.
 Later that night, when Troy was asleep, Greek soldiers
emerged from inside the horse. They opened the city
gates and let the entire Greek army in.
 Troy was finally defeated. Helen had to go back home
to King Menelaus.
 "Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood, 2009” of Laurie Maguire lists
the following 11 men as husbands of Helen in ancient literature
1. THESEUS

 Pirithous is Theseus' best friend.

 After Helen's abduction was

complete, they did not know
who she belonged to, so the
two men played the dice game
to choose.
"Theseus and Pirithous throwing dice to win Helen", 7
1846, Odorico Politi
"Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood, 2009” of Laurie Maguire lists
the following 11 men as husbands of Helen in ancient literature
2. MENELAUS

 Helen is rescued from Theseus by

her brothers and returns to Sparta
where suitors from all over
Greece compete for her hand.

 The suitors take an oath to

support the eventual winner. And
then Menelaus was chosen.

Menelaus holding the body of Patroclus in Loggia dei 8

Lanzi Florence
"Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood, 2009” of Laurie Maguire lists
the following 11 men as husbands of Helen in ancient literature
3. PARIS
4. DEIPHOBUS
5. HELENUS
6. ACHILLES
7. ENARSPHORUS
8. IDAS
9. LYNCEUS
10. CORYTHUS
11. THEOCLYMENUS
 WHAT DO WRITERS SAY ABOUT HELEN?

Bettany Hughes is an Oxford University “Helen is a sinful character, a wandering

scholar, in her book she wrote: woman, a woman who does not stand still,
"I believe all three people - The Princess, The who is the source of war, and brings nothing
Goddess And The Whore - are in Helen." to men but troubles”
Do, Y. (2012). Hy Lạp cổ đại: Cuộc chiến thành Troy. https://www.ucan.vn. Retrieved from https://www.ucan.vn/thu-vien/hy-lap-co-
dai-cuoc-chien-thanh-troy-885.html?fbclid=IwAR13PTVToYVa5YRdliQy920wh7gLDbwnXaRN9lp4HjlM26fbFBG6sqgSTlc

Baomoi.com (2019). Giật mình mỹ nhân gây ra cuộc chiến thành Troy. https://baomoi.com. Retrieved from https://baomoi.com/giat-
minh-my-nhan-gay-ra-cuoc-chien-thanh-troy/c/30041887.epi.

Gill, N. (2019). Biography of Helen of Troy, Cause of the Trojan War. https://www.thoughtco.com. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/helen-of-troy-historical-profile-112866

Helen. (n.d.). https://www.greekmythology.com, Retrieved from

https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Helen/helen.html.

KAMIL, M. (2019). Helen of Troy, The Beauty Who Sparked the Trojan War. ancient-origins.net, Retrieved from https://www.ancient-
origins.net/myths-legends/helen-troy-beauty-sparked-trojan-war-002076.

Le, P. (2011). Helen – Thảm họa chân dài. soi.today. Retrieved from http://soi.today/?p=46331.

Kienthuc.net.vn (2017). Người phụ nữ tuyệt trác nổi tiếng của thành Troy lại không hề có thật?. Retrieved from
https://kienthuc.net.vn/kho-tri-thuc/nguoi-phu-nu-tuyet-trac-noi-tieng-cua-thanh-troy-lai-khong-he-co-that-939161.html.

Trojan War: Everything You Need To Know. (n.d.). ancient-code.com. Retrieved from https://www.ancient-code.com/trojan-war/.

Maguire, L. (2009). Helen of Troy from Homer to Hollywood. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

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