Helen
Greek mythology · heroine · beauty, contested blame
Daughter of Zeus and Leda, the most beautiful woman in the world, whose flight, or abduction, to Troy launched a thousand ships. The tradition never settles whether she was cause, captive, or pretext; in one version she never went to Troy at all.
Stories
The Fall of Troy
After ten years of siege, Odysseus conceives the wooden horse and Troy drags its own doom through the gates. The city burns: Priam is cut down at his altar, Cassandra's warnings are vindicated too late, Menelaus reclaims Helen, and Aeneas escapes the flames carrying his father on his back.
The Judgment of Paris
Uninvited to a wedding, Eris rolls a golden apple marked "for the fairest" among the goddesses. Hera offers Paris empire, Athena victory, Aphrodite the most beautiful woman alive. He chooses Aphrodite, and Helen's face launches the Trojan War.