What kind of character is Helen?
Personality… hopeful, romantic, and weary. Helen tells Paris that he’s younger than she ever was even though they are the same age. She’s not afraid of dying, she’s afraid of what tomorrow might bring – that, the gods forbid, she might never see Paris again.
What does the Helen symbolize?
In Greek mythology, Helen is said to represent the ultimate in human beauty. Aphrodite herself identifies Helen as the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen may also symbolize wavering loyalty, as seen when she assists both sides during the Trojan War.
How is Helen portrayed?
Despite her pivotal role, depictions of Helen are varied and conflicting, with her degree of blame in the Trojan War unclear. Some saw her as merely a passive receiver of the will of the gods, while others showed her as a complicit runaway, either seduced or already interested in the flight to Troy.
How is Helen described in the Iliad?
Helen. Reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the ancient world, Helen was stolen from her husband, Menelaus, and taken to Troy by Paris. She loathes herself now for the misery that she has caused so many Trojan and Achaean men. Although her contempt extends to Paris as well, she continues to stay with him.
What is unique about Helen of Troy?
Helen of Troy, Greek Helene, in Greek legend, the most beautiful woman of Greece and the indirect cause of the Trojan War. She was daughter of Zeus, either by Leda or by Nemesis, and sister of the Dioscuri. She was also the sister of Clytemnestra, who married Agamemnon.
Is Helen an antagonist?
This shows Helen feels guilty of all the loss of life she has caused. When Helen watches the fight, she feels a longing for her original husband, Menelaus. Helen becomes increasingly contrary and antagonistic with Paris. Her feelings for Paris cool during the story, while his indifference becomes even more evident.
Is Helen a victim or villain?
Now, at the end of ten years of battle, the other characters, Hecuba and Menelaus especially, blame her for all the lives lost and the destruction wrought. In her own words, Helen was merely a victim of fortune, first bewitched by Aphrodite who brought Paris to her, and then held in Troy by force.
What was special about Helen of Troy?
Known For: She was the most beautiful woman in the ancient Greek world, the daughter of the king of the Greek gods, and the cause of the 10-year Trojan War between Troy and Sparta.
What does Homer say about Helen?
Terrible is the likeness of her face to immortal goddesses” (3.156-1538). According to Homer, Helen is a woman of god-like beauty. She iwas so beautiful that some of the most intelligent men in Troy understood why the two sides were fighting over a single woman.
What did Helen of Troy do?
In Greek mythology, Helen was the most beautiful woman from the age of the heroes. She was the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta (one of several Greek kingdoms). After Helen ran away with Paris, prince of Troy, the Greek armies fought a ten year long war against Troy to win her back.
What made Helen of Troy so beautiful?
It is made clear in the Iliad that Helen’s beauty is more than just ordinary, mortal beauty; instead, her beauty is supernatural and otherworldly. The reason why Helen is so beautiful is because she is the daughter of Zeus himself and she is therefore partly divine.
What was the character of Helen in the Trojan Women?
Still, she can be played as sympathetic, a well-meaning woman swept along by chance, or as self-absorbed, an active agent in her own life who eloped of her own free will and stayed with Paris because she wanted to, caring little for the lives lost on her behalf. The The Trojan Women quotes below are all either spoken by Helen or refer to Helen.
Who is Helen and what did she represent?
For one, Helen is referred to in statue form, as a representation of mythology, history, and the culture of pride, shame, and trauma that always come together to create a national identity. She is also Helen, the woman, who was allegedly human and had memories, feelings, and a physical body.
How is Helen a symbol of beauty and memory?
One, that Helen inspires desire as a symbol of beauty, but also has a mind of her own. Secondly, she reminds men of their violence, and she both symbolizes and experiences memory, defying the temptation to forget.
What is the end of the poem Helen?
The poem ends with the bleak prognosis that Helen, a symbol of all women, is only safe from objectification, vitriol, and contempt once she ceases to exist. GradeSaver “Helen “Helen” Summary and Analysis”. GradeSaver, 31 August 2021.