Helen of Troy, the Catalyst for the Trojan War

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 13 September 2022

The story of Helen of Troy, and the Trojan war specifically, is best known from the Iliad, by Homer, after the abduction by Paris of Troy, which was ultimately the catalyst for the ten-year Trojan War. The most common version of the birth of Helen is that her parents were Leda, the Queen of Sparta, and Zeus, the king of the gods. The beautiful Helen obviously had many suitors, but she ended up marrying Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon. Considering her beauty, Tyndareus sacrificed a horse and then made all of the Greek leaders swear that Helen was rightfully Menelaus’ wife, and that they would protect his daughter from harm.

In certain Greek states like Sparta, Rhodes, Attica, and Therapne, Helen was worshipped as divine which is a bit at odds with the way that most of the ancient world saw her: as a symbol of moral failure since she valued lust above reason in abandoning her family for her lover. No one in antiquity thought it was a good thing for a woman to behave like Helen.

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
1:00 The Birth and Family of Helen
4:47 From Helen of Sparta to Helen of Troy
8:27 The Cult of Helen
10:24 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Helen of Troy https://www.worldhistory.org/Helen_of_Troy/
Helen (Play) https://www.worldhistory.org/Helen_(Play)/
Troy https://www.worldhistory.org/troy/
Menelaus https://www.worldhistory.org/Menelaus/
The Iliad https://www.worldhistory.org/iliad/
The Trojan War https://www.worldhistory.org/Trojan_War/

— WATCH NEXT —
History of the Iliad and the Trojan War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38xMffvYdAo
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSna4tLyq-A
The Adventure of Jason and the Argonauts from the Argonautica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHCMlswf5eM
Hades, Tartarus and the Underworld in Greek Mythology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maMe1JADqwI
The Greek Goddess Hera, Queen of the Olympian Gods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMTJ14MiGxs

— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/the-ancient-tale-of-helen-of-troy-images-and-attributions-10991

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helene_Paris_Louvre_K6.jpg
User:Bibi Saint-Pol, own work, 2007-06-15
Public Domain - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

World History Encyclopedia
www.worldhistory.org

#helenoftroy #trojanwar #helenandparis

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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, September 13). Helen of Troy, the Catalyst for the Trojan War. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2832/helen-of-troy-the-catalyst-for-the-trojan-war/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "Helen of Troy, the Catalyst for the Trojan War." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 13, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2832/helen-of-troy-the-catalyst-for-the-trojan-war/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "Helen of Troy, the Catalyst for the Trojan War." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 13 Sep 2022. Web. 08 Oct 2024.

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