Helen By George Seferis
Obviously upset with the mayhem Helen created, and unafraid to announce it to his audience, George Seferis describes Helen as a woman unaware of the lasting repercussions of her actions. Painting her first as a beautifully voiced nightingale in the beginning, and then as a woman in pure denial middle to end as he writes:
'It isn't true, it isn't true,' she cried
'I didn't board the blue-bowed ship.'
'I never went to valiant Troy.' (Helen)
On the Walls By Rhina Espaillat
Writing from Helen's perspective, Rhina Espaillat describes her pushover-like attitude as she willingly goes to Troy with Paris, despite her growing disapproval of him. Near the end of the poem we are enlightened to Helen's lack of regret as she explains that every Sparta has its Troy:
'Regret? What for? The future finds its Troys
in every Sparta, and your fate was spun
not by old crones, but pretty girls and boys.' (On the Walls)
Helen by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)
Focusing in on Helen's stunning attributes and undeniable beauty, Hilda Doolittle describes her body and the strong emotions of hatred it evokes among her people.
Troy, Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Based on the legendary tale written by Homer, Helen of Sparta is blindly sweet-talked into leaving her husband, Menelaus, and retreating to the land of Troy with Paris. Mirroring Homer's plotline, Menelaus is outraged and arranges for a fleet of one-thousand ships to go to Troy and retrieve his wife, launching the beginning of the ten-year battle of the Trojan War.
Helen of Troy, Painting by Howard David Johnson
This painting portrays Helen as a young woman anticipating the arrival of her husband, Menelaus, on the shores of Troy. Anticipating the arrival of Menelaus, Paris of Troy prepares for the battle of Helen.
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Last updated October 23, 2005