Rhodes !

Andria Rhodes

Mrs. Dietrich

Honors English 10

6 March 2017

Helen of Troy

She is a whore! She craves mens attention, She is asking for trouble, She uses

men. These phrases are said in todays society that people have become accustomed to hearing.

However, when Helen of Troy was growing up, those phrases would get people in a lot of

trouble. If one were considered a whore, then she would be punished. Imagine being Helen of

Troy and being wrongly accused. Many people believe that Helen of Troy is considered the

whore who started the Trojan war, however the hardships she encountered affected her

emotionally, which changed her personality, while her emotional distress made Paris and

Aphrodites deal, a simple task of making Helen fall in love, suggests that the implication of the

Trojan war was not caused by Helen but by Paris and Aphrodite.

Helen of Troys story began with the conception of Helen through rape by the powerful

god, Zeus, She was flesh and blood certainly, but she was also immortal, since her father was

none other than Zeus. Her mother was the beautiful Leda, queen of Sparta, who was ravished by

the father of the gods in the form of a swan(Bell). Helen was born and grew up with her mother

Leda, and her mortal husband, Tyndareus. When Helen reached the age of puberty, she was

kidnapped and raped by Theseus. She was held captive by Theseuss mother until he left her for

another woman, then prompting her to return to her home of Greece. When she returned to

Greece, she was of the age to get married. Her mothers husband, Tyndareus, was the one who
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decided who her potential husband of Helen would be, Every red-blooded male in Greece who

had heard of the gorgeous Helen dreamed of possessing her(Bell). Many suitors came to try to

win over Tyndareuss attitude towards them, The roll call of suitors shows that they came from

all parts of Greece and represented the finest stock of heroes and heirs to property and

wealth (Bell). The suitors brought many goods to try to buy Tyndareuss approval. Among the

suitors were Odysseus, who brought no gifts because he did not expect to win. Instead of

marrying Helen, Odysseus married Helens cousin, Penelope. After going through the suitors,

Tyndareus finally had a decision, which did not excite Helen, Menelaus was a political choice

on her father's part. He had wealth and power, mainly through his brother Agamemnon, but for

Helen he did not offer the good looks and glamor of some of her other suitors (Bell). Without

Helens approval she was forced to marry Menelaus.

Helens disapproval for marrying Menelaus added on to the emotional distress caused by

her past. Helens conception was a rough start to her life because of the nature by which she was

conceived. Zeus came to Helens mother, Leda in a form of a swan and raped her. That forced

intercourse caused problems between Leda and her mortal husband. Helen grew up with her

mother, but was abducted when she just reached puberty. Helen was taken and raped by her

abductor. The aftermath of the rape must have effected Helen because of the cruel and horrifying

experience she endured. rainn.org states, Approximately 70% of rape or sexual assault victims

experience moderate to severe distress, a larger percentage than for any other violent crime. The

exposure to sex at her young age may have increased the attraction to sex and men.

traumarehabcenters.com states, Some individuals may develop sexual addictions, because it

makes them feel in control instead of powerless like during the instance of sexual abuse. She
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might have relied on the idea that men want her for sexual purposes which may have caused the

conceited personality she had and was noted for. Helen knew that everyone wanted her for

intentions of sexual pleasure. She strived off the attention she was given because of her beauty,

Helen who makes you shudder or makes you tremble. She is sweet poison-both dreadful and

delicious (Hughes). She uses her power and beauty to make up for the love she was deprived of

for so long.

Because of Helens deprivation of love for an extended amount of time, it was easy for

Paris and Aphrodite to use her. Years prior Paris had to decide which goddess was the fairest and

who would receive the golden apple, Three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite asked the

Trojan prince, Paris, to choose the most beautiful goddess between the three. Each goddess tried

to influence the prince, and in the end, he chose Aphrodite because she promised him his choice

of the most beautiful women (Trojan War). Paris chose Aphrodite so when he found a woman

that he wanted to marry he would talk to Aphrodite. When Paris saw Helen he told Aphrodite

that she was the woman that he wanted, Helen, soon fell under the influence of Aphrodite and

agreed to elope with Paris to Troy(Trojan War). Aphrodite tricked Helen into falling in love

with Paris as she promised she would do.

As indicated by myth, Helen was under the influence of love because of Aphrodite.

Therefore it was not Helens fault that the Trojan War started. The Trojan war began when Paris

came to Sparta, Paris then travelled to Sparta, where he stayed with Helen and her husband,

King Menelaus of Sparta (Trojan War). Menelaus departed for a funeral when Paris and Helen

fell in love, Menelaus had not been gone long before the lovers departed (Bell). Paris and

Helen left Sparta and started on their journey to Troy. When they arrived at Troy they had a
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marriage ceremony and became husband and wife. When Menelaus heard of the news of the

lovers departing and he was furious: Menelaus, extremely angered by the course of actions

called upon the Greeks to help him return his wife back to Sparta, since the Trojans refused to

return Helen(Trojan War). The Greeks traveled to Troy to demand that Helen is returned to

Sparta.

The Greeks, and their leader, Odysseus came over to Troy and fought the Trojans for the

return of Helen. The war was fought for around ten years until the war ended with the intelligent

idea the Odysseus came up with. His idea would result in The siege, punctuated by battles and

skirmishes including the storied deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the nearly invincible

Achilles, lasted more than 10 years until the morning the Greek armies retreated from their

camp, leaving a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy (history.com). The Trojans were

confused by the mysterious gift but later decided to pull it into the city. After the Trojans pulled

the horse into the city and the night came around the Greek soldiers, hidden inside the horse,

came out and attacked Troy from the inside. The Greeks won the war because of the Trojan

horse. After the Trojan defeat, Odysseus started his journey in the Odyssey and the Greeks

heroes slowly made their way home(history.com). Helen was taken back home with Menelaus

and pulled away from her lover. When she returned home many people were upset with her

because of the decisions she made with Paris. Helen is clearly not the sort of woman who

should go to heaven. She belongs in hell(Hughes). People called her a slut and believed she was

a horrible person because of what she did. The people believed that she was so conceited that she

did not care about Troy or the people who were dying over her. Helen was A vain and shallow

creature, lost in her own image while behind her Troy burns (Hughes). However, many people
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do not understand the horrific past she was put through and the desire of feeling loved. She was

always pushed around and never was able to be in love with someone because those decisions

were made for her. After the war ended she was forced to leave her lover, Paris and went home

with Menelaus. Though what she did was disgraceful, many people believe after Helen and

Menelaus returned they lived happily together. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus took Helen back

to Lacedaemon, where they lived an apparently happy married life once more (Hunter). While

Helen longed for Pariss presence, many people also believe that Paris was not killed in war, but

Aphrodite helped save him while fighting. Although the Greeks claimed victory in the Trojan

War, Aphrodite helped Paris escape the enraged Menelaus by sweeping Paris away in a

cloud (Trojan War). It is believed that after Menelauss death Helen was taken to the Island of

Rhodes and hung by a war widow. Though Helen was immortal because her father was Zeus,

many people still believe that the revengeful Trojan commoners wanted her to suffer like they

did. However, the suffering Trojan commoners were nothing like the suffering Helen was put

through since the day she was born. Though many people believed she was this monster, they

never realized that Helen was silently suffering and fighting her inner thoughts.

Ever since the beginning of time, women all over the world have been accused of being a

whore. Back in the time of Helen, one bad rumor and that woman could be stoned to death. In

todays society women are suffering mentally because of the mindset of getting mens attention

while not trying to be considered a whore. The hardships Helen has faced in her past and the

vulnerability she had made her an easy target for Paris and Aphrodite to get away with their plan.

It was not Helens fault for the cause of the Trojan war, and she was not a whore. However
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Helen is not a horrible person, but no other than a victim of her past having a desire to be loved

and be given affection, like everyone desires.