Week 3 Story: The True Beginning of the Trojan war: The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships
This is the story of how the great Trojan War started. Many people think they know the cause of this great war that ended in the demise of Prince Hector the great and the most powerful man in battle Achilles. Many do not know that the story people commonly know of how the great war began is not the complete truth. Through this story, you will learn how this war truly started and it was all because of the wrath of the most beautiful woman, Helen.
Helen the daughter of the Spartan king was the most beautiful of all the women in Greece. She stole the heart of any man who set eyes on her and was even compared to have the beauty of Aphrodite herself. This was because Aphrodite had blessed this child with great beauty. Helen's mother prayed to aphrodite and honored her greatly and the goddess had a great affection for Helen's mother. She was so pleased that she blessed Helen with radiant beauty unlike any other. After her mothers passing early in Helen's life, aphrodite still watched and loved Helen dearly. Helen was not only blessed with beauty but with great intelligence and wisdom beyond her years. Although Helen lived a beautiful life and had great beauty, she was not happy. She would weep in the isolation of her room for no one saw her truly other than her outward appearance. She wondered how could so many people see her but not know her. Many women did not like her for their envy was great for her and the princes who chased her only did so because of the way she looked. Every day she realized this more and became more disheartened.
One day her father announced to her that the time came for her to pick a husband and she grew even more saddened. Her father told her " My beautiful Helen Aphrodite has favored you with such beauty so now you will have the choice of any man in Greece for there is no one who would not come with a great hurry to have your hand in marriage. I will not live forever my daughter and I want to know that you will be safe and spoken for when I am gone. Whoever you will choose I will declare to every man to take an oath to me to be kind to this lucky fellow and to protect you from other men who will dare to steal you. If they do dare to steal you and enchant you with charming words and you leave, every man will be bound by their oath to me to return you to your husband. So choose wisely my darling, the time has come for you to be wed."
As Helen contemplated her future she could not help but weep because she will never truly have someone love her for who she is and she grew angry at the men around her. The worst of them was Menelaüs the great brute who only spoke of vulgar things of women. Especially of her, for he only saw her appearance and that's all he wished to possess a man like that would never learn to love. He wanted power in every way he could possess. He was as greedy as his brother and as easily angered. As she cried more and more she felt the warm touch of a hand on her back and a beautiful voice like the sounds of the sirens that enchant men to their doom saying " My beautiful Helen why do you weep, are you not happy with the life that has been given to you?" Helen turned and saw the most beautiful woman ever to be seen, her beauty surpassed Helens greatly. There are truly no words to summarize the beauty that she emanated.
Helen asked, " Who with such beauty greater than my own is before me?"
The beautiful woman responded " Aphrodite the goddess of beauty and love. I had great affection for your mother for she honored me greatly and I blessed you with great beauty because of her and have seen you grow from Olympus."
Helen cried " You gave me a curse disguised as a blessing oh goddess. If you can bless with such beauty surely you can take it away. So that I may live a normal life and be loved truly."
Aphrodite saddened by this said " I cannot do this, my child. You must know that there is a cost in something when another aspect is gained. For you my child you hold such great beauty that your beauty will be known by everyone and will be talked about forever but nothing else will be known of you, Helen. You must know that your beauty can also give you great power my dear for men is enchanted easily by such beauty. You can be powerful beautiful Helen.
With those final words, Aphrodite disappeared. Her words resounded in Helen's mind and she grew courage in her heart and thought of the most powerful revenge that she could prey on the men who want her beauty and the women who envy it. Thinking also of the oath the princes made to her father she made her choice.
She then wed Menelaüs and lived in Sparta for many years waiting for the best opportunity. When the king of Sparta then died Menelaüs took his father-in-law's place on the throne with Queen Helen by his side. She despised that he sat where her great father once did. He was not fit to be a king and she prayed to aphrodite for an opportunity. Aphrodite hearing her prayers had put in the heart of Menelaüs to host the prince of Troy, Paris.
Aphrodite sent the arrow of love to strike Paris as soon as he saw Helen and he instantly pursued her in secret. Helen did not refuse his compliments and enchanted him further. She then pleaded for Paris to take her from Sparta and Menelaüs for she spoke false words to him and said she loved Paris like she loved no other. She knew in her heart that Paris only saw her just as any man ever did and that he would not refuse.
Paris then left the following morning and in his ships, he hid fair Helen along with many of her valuables. As Helen saw her city of Sparta grow smaller she knew Menelaüs would rage and call upon the men who made the oath to her father. Menelaüs who was the brother of the chief of kings of Greece, Agamemnon, would call for his brother and all of Greece to fight for her. For the day Aphrodite appeared to her she knew she was powerful and decided if she would be miserable because of her beauty then all of Greece would too. That was the day the great Trojan war began and how she became the face that launched a thousand ships.
When I was searching for a picture I found this one and found out that Aphrodite did have a hand in the Trojan war. Apparently, Paris was known for his good judgment and three goddesses chose him to be the judge of who is the fairest of them all. The goddesses were Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. Each goddess bribed Paris with many treasures and Aphrodite offered him, Helen, the fair. The only problem was that Helen was married to Menelaüs.
Authors Note: I was inspired by How the War With Troy Began story from the Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church. This story tells how the war began because of Paris and Helen falling in love and how he stole her from Menelaüs. Menalaüs realizing this called upon Greece and his brother Agamemnon to get her back from him. Ultimately leading to the death of many men including Achilles. I told the beginning of this story in her perspective and made the cause of the war her revenge on everyone. I thought that was an interesting point of view because we don't really know much of Helen beside that she was very beautiful. I was actually pleased with how the story developed and ended because it seemed to actually tie with the actual story as well. I hope whoever reads it enjoys it!
Bibliography: These stories is part of the Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907). How the War With Troy Began
Helen the daughter of the Spartan king was the most beautiful of all the women in Greece. She stole the heart of any man who set eyes on her and was even compared to have the beauty of Aphrodite herself. This was because Aphrodite had blessed this child with great beauty. Helen's mother prayed to aphrodite and honored her greatly and the goddess had a great affection for Helen's mother. She was so pleased that she blessed Helen with radiant beauty unlike any other. After her mothers passing early in Helen's life, aphrodite still watched and loved Helen dearly. Helen was not only blessed with beauty but with great intelligence and wisdom beyond her years. Although Helen lived a beautiful life and had great beauty, she was not happy. She would weep in the isolation of her room for no one saw her truly other than her outward appearance. She wondered how could so many people see her but not know her. Many women did not like her for their envy was great for her and the princes who chased her only did so because of the way she looked. Every day she realized this more and became more disheartened.
One day her father announced to her that the time came for her to pick a husband and she grew even more saddened. Her father told her " My beautiful Helen Aphrodite has favored you with such beauty so now you will have the choice of any man in Greece for there is no one who would not come with a great hurry to have your hand in marriage. I will not live forever my daughter and I want to know that you will be safe and spoken for when I am gone. Whoever you will choose I will declare to every man to take an oath to me to be kind to this lucky fellow and to protect you from other men who will dare to steal you. If they do dare to steal you and enchant you with charming words and you leave, every man will be bound by their oath to me to return you to your husband. So choose wisely my darling, the time has come for you to be wed."
As Helen contemplated her future she could not help but weep because she will never truly have someone love her for who she is and she grew angry at the men around her. The worst of them was Menelaüs the great brute who only spoke of vulgar things of women. Especially of her, for he only saw her appearance and that's all he wished to possess a man like that would never learn to love. He wanted power in every way he could possess. He was as greedy as his brother and as easily angered. As she cried more and more she felt the warm touch of a hand on her back and a beautiful voice like the sounds of the sirens that enchant men to their doom saying " My beautiful Helen why do you weep, are you not happy with the life that has been given to you?" Helen turned and saw the most beautiful woman ever to be seen, her beauty surpassed Helens greatly. There are truly no words to summarize the beauty that she emanated.
Helen asked, " Who with such beauty greater than my own is before me?"
The beautiful woman responded " Aphrodite the goddess of beauty and love. I had great affection for your mother for she honored me greatly and I blessed you with great beauty because of her and have seen you grow from Olympus."
Helen cried " You gave me a curse disguised as a blessing oh goddess. If you can bless with such beauty surely you can take it away. So that I may live a normal life and be loved truly."
Aphrodite saddened by this said " I cannot do this, my child. You must know that there is a cost in something when another aspect is gained. For you my child you hold such great beauty that your beauty will be known by everyone and will be talked about forever but nothing else will be known of you, Helen. You must know that your beauty can also give you great power my dear for men is enchanted easily by such beauty. You can be powerful beautiful Helen.
With those final words, Aphrodite disappeared. Her words resounded in Helen's mind and she grew courage in her heart and thought of the most powerful revenge that she could prey on the men who want her beauty and the women who envy it. Thinking also of the oath the princes made to her father she made her choice.
She then wed Menelaüs and lived in Sparta for many years waiting for the best opportunity. When the king of Sparta then died Menelaüs took his father-in-law's place on the throne with Queen Helen by his side. She despised that he sat where her great father once did. He was not fit to be a king and she prayed to aphrodite for an opportunity. Aphrodite hearing her prayers had put in the heart of Menelaüs to host the prince of Troy, Paris.
Aphrodite sent the arrow of love to strike Paris as soon as he saw Helen and he instantly pursued her in secret. Helen did not refuse his compliments and enchanted him further. She then pleaded for Paris to take her from Sparta and Menelaüs for she spoke false words to him and said she loved Paris like she loved no other. She knew in her heart that Paris only saw her just as any man ever did and that he would not refuse.
Paris then left the following morning and in his ships, he hid fair Helen along with many of her valuables. As Helen saw her city of Sparta grow smaller she knew Menelaüs would rage and call upon the men who made the oath to her father. Menelaüs who was the brother of the chief of kings of Greece, Agamemnon, would call for his brother and all of Greece to fight for her. For the day Aphrodite appeared to her she knew she was powerful and decided if she would be miserable because of her beauty then all of Greece would too. That was the day the great Trojan war began and how she became the face that launched a thousand ships.
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| Aphrodite offering Helen to Paris |
When I was searching for a picture I found this one and found out that Aphrodite did have a hand in the Trojan war. Apparently, Paris was known for his good judgment and three goddesses chose him to be the judge of who is the fairest of them all. The goddesses were Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. Each goddess bribed Paris with many treasures and Aphrodite offered him, Helen, the fair. The only problem was that Helen was married to Menelaüs.
Authors Note: I was inspired by How the War With Troy Began story from the Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church. This story tells how the war began because of Paris and Helen falling in love and how he stole her from Menelaüs. Menalaüs realizing this called upon Greece and his brother Agamemnon to get her back from him. Ultimately leading to the death of many men including Achilles. I told the beginning of this story in her perspective and made the cause of the war her revenge on everyone. I thought that was an interesting point of view because we don't really know much of Helen beside that she was very beautiful. I was actually pleased with how the story developed and ended because it seemed to actually tie with the actual story as well. I hope whoever reads it enjoys it!
Bibliography: These stories is part of the Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907). How the War With Troy Began
Hi Emily! I love what you've done with Helen and the story of the Trojan War. Adding these new layers and wrinkles gives the tale a new spin. A couple of semesters ago I took Gods and Heroes in Ancient Epic which spent most of the course covering Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. These are interesting stories but the truly fascinating part is that so much of these epics were lost to time. I think you've done a great job filling in some of those gaps.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! I loved the twist you gave to the story. It is a common trend from ancient stories to talk briefly about its females characters, so very often the women in Greek stories barely have a back story. I think it is great that you gave Helen a more developed story and a purpose to her decision to flea with Paris. If you are interested in learning more about Helen you should read about her mother Leda. Zeus wanted her and seduced her/raped her turning himself into a swan, so she lay two eggs out of which came out two pairs of twins: from one egg came the immortal twins Castor and Pollux, and from the other the mortal twins Helen and Clytemnestra, who actually became Agamemnon's wife! Hope this helps put Helen's story in context!
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