Helen+of+Troy

Helen of Troy[[image:HELEN.JPG width="323" height="452"]]
By: Anna How would you like to be the most beautiful girl in the world so enchanting that you caused of one of the greatest historical wars? Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world and the Trojan War was started over her. Her beauty and story will be carried on for many more years for she started one of the greatest historical wars. We all know of this great war that lasted for ten whole years, for other longer, but what started this battle that sent 1000 ships to troy? It was Helen who started this whole big event. She perhaps was one of the "most inspired characters in all literature."(About) And how did this all start, what created this important character? Well her mother was Leda she was the queen of Sparta and she too was beautiful. Her husband the king of Sparta was although not the father of Helen. It happened so that Lenda was raped by the God Zeus in the form of a swan. Yes, this now means that the beautiful girl is also immortal. Then came Helen, she was said to be hatched from an egg. She had three other siblings, Polydeuces, Castor, and her sister Clytemnestra. Apparently it has been said that there was quite a bit jealousy between the sisters. (About) Why all this fuss over a girl? What made this one girl so special? Helen was irresistibly beautiful. She was one of the most beautiful non-goddess characters of all time. It was almost impossible for any man to resist her. Now not only was she beautiful but she was also the daughter of Zeus. This made her immortal but not a goddess. Helen had a not so normal life, she was royal and lived in Sparta. Her mother was said to have killed herself after birth but there are so many different versions to that part of the story it is hard to tell. Helen had three other siblings, two brothers, one sister. When she reached puberty Helen was kidnapped by Thesesus, King of Athens. He had kidnapped her because he wanted to have sex with a daughter of Zeus before he died (About). It is really almost certain that Thesus did take her virginity; after all, that was his goal. Soon after a troop marched to Athens and retrieved Helen. When she returned many suitors started to arrive in hopes of marrying her. Although it wasn’t a small price to pay for such a beauty, only the wealthy and powerful men would her father see fit to have her. Her father chose Menelaus, who was the brother of Agamemnon, who is Helens brother-in-law. "Menelaus had wealth and power but did not offer good looks and glamour"(About). Another character then steps into her life. It is Paris of Troy, he was by nature handsome and charming. Menelaus met him in Troy and was accompanied back by him to Sparta. Before hand Paris was promised the most beautiful girl in the world by the goddess Aphrodite. He had many times to see the beautiful woman he was promised. Suddenly Menelaus had to leave to Crete. He left Paris to be entertained by his wife. "It was impossible for Helen not to fall in love with this superb young man."(Iliad) The lovers immediately departed on Paris's ship not long after Menelaus left. Helen of Troy was one of the most beautiful immortal women in the world. Her beauty and story will be carried on for many years to come, after all it did start the Trojan war. “Her story was far better than she ever was.”(About)