Helen of Troy - myths about Queen Helen the Beautiful. "The Wrath of Achilles during the Sacrifice of Iphigenia", Louis David
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Antonio Canova / Canova, Antonio (1757 - 1822) is Italian sculptor, painter. The greatest master of neoclassicism in European sculpture, 
a role model for 19th century academicians (like Thorvaldsen). The largest collections of his works are in the Paris Louvre and the St. Petersburg Hermitage. In the period from 1814 to 1822 Canova creates a series of portrait busts. In them he embodied his ideas about citizenship, moral ideals, sublime beauty human spirit as the true heir aesthetic ideals century of Enlightenment. Along with portrait busts, the master created 
and the so-called “ideal heads.” For example, “Helen of Troy.” Lord Byron saw this bust in the house of Countess d’Albrizzi in Venice. Captivated by the beauty of the work, he wrote the poem “To the bust of Helena, sculpted by Canova” (1816). It was first published in Volume 2 of Thomas Moore's Life, Letters and Diaries of Lord Byron in 1830. In a letter to Murray dated November 25, 1816, in which this poem was, Byron wrote: “Elena Canova, undoubtedly, in my opinion, is the most perfect in beauty of the creation of human genius, which has far left my ideas about the creative possibilities of man.”
Music: Joel Goldsmith – Helen on Display (Helen of Troy, 2003)
Elena - in Greek mythology Spartan queen, the most beautiful of women. According to the most popular version of the myth, Helen was the daughter of the mortal woman Leda and the god Zeus, who appeared to Leda in the form beautiful swan. From this union Leda gave birth to an egg from which Helena emerged. According to another version of the myth, Leda only kept an egg laid by the goddess of retribution Nemesis from her marriage to Zeus and found by a shepherd. When a girl emerged from the egg, Leda raised her as her daughter. In her youth, Helen was kidnapped by Theseus and Pirithous, but when they went to the kingdom of Hades for Persephone, Helen was freed and brought back by her brothers Dioscuri.
Rumors about Elena's beauty spread throughout Greece and several dozen come to woo her. the most famous heroes, including Odysseus, Menelaus, Diomedes, both Ajaxes, Patroclus. Helen's earthly father Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, in order to avoid offense among the suitors, on the advice of Odysseus, binds all of Helen's suitors with an oath to further protect the honor of her future husband. After this, Tyndareus chooses Menelaus as Elena's husband. This choice was clearly influenced by the fact that Clytaemestra (another daughter of Tyndareus) was married to Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.
Soon Tyndareus yielded royal power in Sparta to Menelaus and his daughter Helen. In her marriage to Menelaus, Helen gave birth to a daughter, Hermione. The serene life of Menelaus and Helen lasted about 10 years, until the Trojan prince Paris arrived in Sparta, to whom Aphrodite promised the most beautiful of women (Helen) as a reward for the fact that Paris recognized Aphrodite as the most beautiful of the goddesses. Paris, taking advantage of the absence of Menelaus, takes Helen to Troy. According to the most popular version of the myth, Aphrodite instilled in Helen a love for Paris that Helen could not resist. There was another version of the myth, expressed by the ancient Greek poet Stesichor. When he wrote a song about the abduction of Helen by Paris, he went blind that same night. The poet prayed to the gods asking for healing. Then Elena appeared to him in a dream and said that this was a punishment for writing such unkind poems about her. Stesichorus then composed a new chant - that Paris did not take Helen to Troy at all, but only her ghost, but the gods transferred the real Helen to Egypt, and she remained there, faithful to Menelaus, until the very end of the war. After this, Stesichorus regained his sight. The Greek playwright Euripides relied on this version of the myth in the tragedy “Helen”, and among modern writers, for example, Henry Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang in the novel “The Dream of the World”.
Arriving in Troy, Helen won the hearts of the Trojans with her beauty. Soon Menelaus and Odysseus arrive in Troy to return Helen peacefully, but the Trojans refuse to hand over Helen and a war begins that lasts 10 years.
Pierre Delrome. Hector, Helen and Paris. Hector calls on Paris to join the fight
In Homer's Iliad, Helen is burdened by her position, because... the spell of Aphrodite, which caused love for Paris, has already dissipated. In the 4th song of the Odyssey, Helen tells how during the war she helped Odysseus, who secretly entered the city:
Throwing the drug into the wine and ordering the wine to be spread,
This is how Helen, born of Zeus, began to speak:
235 "King Menelaus Atreid, pet of Zeus, and all of you,
Children of brave men! At will, Zeus sends
People have both evil and good, for everything is possible for Kronid.
Sitting here in the high hall, feast in joy, conversation
Amuse yourself, but I would like to tell you something suitable.
240 Labors of all Odysseus, in the suffering of a strong spirit,
I can neither tell you nor list them in detail.
But I’ll tell you what action he fearlessly dared to take.
In the distant Trojan region, where you, the Achaeans, suffered so much.
Having beaten his own body in a terribly shameful way,
245 Having covered your shoulders with pathetic rubble, like a slave,
He made his way into the wide-street city of hostile men.
Having hidden himself in such a way, he was like a completely different husband -
The beggar had never been seen near the courts before.
Having accepted the image, he went to Ilion, suspicious
250 Without arousing anyone. Only I recognized him immediately
She began to ask, but he cunningly avoided answering.
Only when I washed it and rubbed it with oil,
She dressed him in a dress and swore a great oath to him,
That only then will I hand over Odysseus to the Trojans when he
255 He will return to his camp, to the fast-flying Achaean ships, -
Only then did he reveal to me the whole plan of the cunning Achaeans.
In the city, many Trojans were beaten with long-bladed copper,
He returned to the Achaeans, bringing them knowledge of many things.
The other Trojan women wept loudly. But full of joy
260 There was my heart: for a long time I was eager to leave
Home again and mourned the blindness that
Aphrodite sent me, taking me away from my homeland,
Forcing her to leave her daughter, the marriage bedroom, and her husband,
Who could compete with everyone in spirit and appearance."
Also during the siege of Troy, Helen helps kidnap Odysseus and Diomedes from the local temple wooden statue goddess Athena.
After the capture of Troy, Menelaus is looking for Helen with a sword in his hand to execute her for treason, but when he sees Helen, shining with her former beauty, he lets go of the sword and forgives her.
In the Egyptian version of the myth, Menelaus arrives with the ghost of Helen in Egypt to find the real Elena. The ghost of Helen ascends to heaven, and the true Helen returns to Menelaus.
After her death, Helen was transferred to the island of Levka at the mouth of the Danube, where she was united in an eternal union with Achilles (according to one of the myths, Helen and Achilles met on the Trojan Plain shortly before the death of Achilles). However, another myth looks more plausible, according to which Achilles united in eternal union with Medea on the islands of the blessed. Passionate and strong Medea is much more similar to Penthesilea, once beloved by Achilles, than Helen, submissive to fate. Henry Rider Haggard, based on information about the meeting of Odysseus and Helen in Troy, in the novel “The Dream of the World,” forever connects the fate of Helen with another hero of the Trojan War - Odysseus.
Current page: 1 (book has 7 pages in total)
ANTIQUE
Volume 1
Photo album
Frozen in centuries
“The Rape of Proserpina”, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Galleria Borghese (Rome)
"The Rape of Proserpina", fragment. Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, Galleria Borghese (Rome)
"Artemis", author unknown
“Aphrodite of Knidos” (reconstruction), Praxiteles
"Aphrodite", Antonio Canova, Hermitage
"Aphrodite", fragment. Praxiteles
"Aphrodite", Praxiteles
"Aphrodite", unknown sculptor, Hermitage
“David”, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, Galleria Borghese (Rome)
"Apollo and Daphne", Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Galleria Borghese (Rome)
"Bacchante"
"Hector and Andromache" by Giovanni Benzoni
Helen of Troy, John Gibson
"Elena the Beautiful", Antonio Canova
"Menelaus"
Elena and Iphigenia in painting
Venus Gives Paris Helen by Gavin Hamilton
"The Wrath of Achilles during the Sacrifice of Iphigenia", Louis David
"Paris and Helen", Louis David
"Hector, Helen and Paris. Hector calls on Paris to join the fight."
"Clytemnestra learns that Iphigenia will be sacrificed"
“The Sacrifice of Iphigenia”, Abel de Pujols
"Sacrifice of Iphigenia", Jan Steen, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
"Sacrifice of Iphigenia"
"Sacrifice of Iphigenia", fresco from Pompeii
"Sacrifice of Iphigenia", Charles de Lafosse, Versailles
"Helen Recognizing Telemachus" by Jean-Jacques Lagrene
"Paris and Helen", Charles Meinier
"Aphrodite Offers Helen to Paris" by Henry Ryland
"The Rape of Helen", Guido Reni, Louvre
"Orestes and Iphigenia", Johann Tischbein
"Aphrodite Grants Helen to Paris" by Richard Westall
"Iphigenia", Anselm Feuerbach
"The Abduction of Helen", Juan de la Corte, Prado
Publius Ovid Naso
LYRICS
I. OVID'S BOOK OF LOVE
I. ELEGYI was going to glorify armor and war with a strict size,
All poems were equal. But suddenly Cupid laughed
He cleverly stole the foot from the second verse.
“Who, evil boy, gave you such power over poetry?
Prophetic singer Pierid, I am not your servant.
By the way, should Venus grab the armor of blond Minerva,
Is it fitting for her, the blond one, to fan the heat of a torch?
Who would praise if Ceres owned the forests?
Would a maiden with a quiver be the ruler of the fields?
I don’t even have an object of decent light size:
A youth or a dear girl with long curls.”
So I grumbled. But he, immediately dissolving the quiver,
On my grief, I chose a fatal arrow.
With a strong knee, bending the curved bow into a crescent,
“Now,” he said, “you can sing this, singer!”
Woe to the unfortunate me! like the boy's arrow marks:
A free heart burns, love reigns in it;
I’ll start with a six-foot verse and end with a pentameter.
To the iron battles and their songs I will say: forgive me!
Now decorate your golden curls with coastal myrtle,
Muse, and introduce only eleven feet into the song.
II. ELEGYV. ELEGY
What does this mean? Everything seems to be a hard bed for me,
And I can’t find a place for a blanket anywhere,
I spent the whole long night in languid insomnia,
No matter how much I toss and turn, does it hurt my tired bones?
I would feel, it seems, if I were yearning for love;
Or does she imperceptibly pour her poison into the heart?
Truly so! Thorny arrows pierced my heart,
And the evil Cupid confuses the defeated chest.
Well, should I give in? Or will fight fan an instant flame?
Yes, I'll give in. Submitting, the burden is more comfortable to carry.
I saw how suddenly a torch flared up from swinging,
I saw how it went out, no one disturbed it.
The oxen, still unaccustomed to the plow, endure blows,
Much more than those who submitted to the yoke;
The mouths of obstinate horses are torn with barbed bits,
Those who are submissive to the reins feel less rein,
Cupid wounds the soul of the disobedient much more angrily,
What kind of people swore to him to endure slavery?
You see, I recognized myself, Cupid! your prey.
I myself raise my humble hands to you,
I have no reason to fight, I ask for mercy and peace,
I am unarmed, what kind of praise is it to conquer me?
Crown your hair with myrtle, take a dove from your mother,
And your stepfather will give you a chariot for them.
In it you will stand; to the cry of the triumphant people,
You will guide the team of birds with a dexterous hand.
The captive youths will follow you, and the virgins will be led after you;
Their procession will be a most glorious triumph for you,
I myself, a recent prisoner, will go with a fresh wound,
Feeling your new chains as a captive soul.
Common Sense will be led by tying his hands behind his back,
Shame on everyone who rebelled against the Amur.
Everyone is afraid of you. And, raising my hands to you,
Let the people exclaim with a loud voice: Triumph!
The companions of flattery will go with you: delusion and insolence,
(This crowd is always ready to stand for you).
With this army you defeat people and gods;
Once their help is taken away from you, you are naked.
Glad for the filial triumph, mother on high Olympus
He will applaud and throw roses at you.
You've removed your wings like diamonds, you've removed your curls like diamonds,
On golden wheels you will stand golden.
Here, I know you, you will light up a lot of hearts,
And then you will hurt many people in passing.
Even if you wanted to, you are not able to stop your arrows;
The hot flame burns with its proximity.
Bacchus also walked, having conquered the borders of the Ganges,
He ruled the tigers, you rule the doves.
If part of yours I can make up a triumph,
So have mercy! Don’t waste your energy on me, winner!
Let Caesar, your relative, serve as an example for you:
With his victorious hand he protects the vanquished.
The sun was scorching, and only the noon hour had passed,
Giving my members rest, I lay down on the bed.
Some were slightly open, and some were closed at the shutters,
There was half-light in the room, the kind that happens in the forests.
Twilight shines through after the departing Phoebus,
Or when the night passes and the dawn has not risen.
Such a half-light should be prepared for a shy maiden,
Shame is where the timid one hopes to take refuge.
I see Corinna walking and there is no belt on her tunic,
Her shoulders turn white under her loose braid.
The luxurious Semiramis entered the bridal chamber like this.
Or Laisa, whose beauty is dear to many hearts.
I tore off my tunic; the transparent one did not interfere much.
Meanwhile, the maiden entered into a fight for her;
But how she fought, as if wanting victory,
It was easy to defeat the one who betrayed herself.
Then she appeared without any clothes,
Her whole body appeared immaculate.
What shoulders and what hands I saw then!
I just wanted to squeeze the shape of my elastic breasts.
How under a moderate chest the whole figure developed roundly!
What youth is visible in this luxurious thigh!
Why do I praise but parts? What I saw was wonderful.
I have pressed my naked body to myself many times.
Who doesn't know the end? Tired, we rested
If only I could see midday like this more often.
The stream fell silent at this point. All the exes were touched by the miracle.
The blasphemer raised the gullible gods to laughter
And unbridled in his heart, born of Ixion:
- “You weave tales and overdo the gods, Aheloy, do you think
Powerful, they are rivers, since they can give and take away forms.” -
Everyone was amazed; no one approved of such speeches:
But Lelex of all, matured in mind and years,
So he said: “The power of heaven is immeasurable and there is no limit to it,
And whatever the heavenly ones desire will happen.
So that you don't have doubts, it is, not far from the linden tree,
An oak tree on the Phrygian hills, surrounded by a small wall...
I saw that place myself, because I was sent by Pittheus
In Pelops, the land that his father once ruled.
There is a swamp nearby that was once a village,
Now those waters are loved by diving and swamp hens.
Jupiter appeared there in mortal form and also
Together with his father, Atlantis the wand-bearer, having left his wings;
In a thousand whole houses they sought lodging for the night:
Thousands of houses were under lock and key. They were allowed into one.
Small, covered only with reeds from the swamps and straw.
But old lady Baucis, and she’s a couple of years old,
Philemon, who was united in him in the days of his youth, in the same
The hates have grown old. They recognized poverty, it was easy for them
She did, and they bore her good-naturedly.
Whatever you do, you won’t find masters or servants here:
There are only two people in the whole house, they serve and give orders.
That's when the celestials reached poor shelter,
And, bending their heads, they entered through the low doors.
The old man invited them to rest their members, drawing up their chairs,
And Baucis covered him with a harsh cloth.
I immediately raked up the warm ashes and dug up yesterday's
Heat, put leaves with dry bark and flame
With her senile breath she made it flare up.
Blown away a small splinter from the attic and dried branches,
And, having chopped them, she moved them to a small pot.
She cut the leaves from the bunch that her husband brought from the garden,
Irrigated. He removes with a two-pronged fork
From a black pole, the back of a pig's head, hanging, smoked.
He cuts a little from a ham that has been stored for a long time
And the piece hurries to soften in the bubbling moisture.
Meanwhile, they shorten the hours by talking, interfering
Feel the slowdown. There was beech and a vat right there
Hanged on a wooden crutch by his strong ear.
Filled with warm water, he accepted their members, warming them.
In the middle was a bed of soft plants
Placed on the bed; The sides and legs are made of willow.
This one was covered with a carpet, which is only used on holidays.
They covered it, but also with something cheap and old
It was a carpet - there was no disdain on the willow bed.
The gods reclined on her. Tucked in, trembling, puts
oxbow table; but the third leg in the table was unequal.
The leg was leveled by a shard. When the lid was lifted,
Then she immediately rubbed it with green mint.
Fresh, colorful Minerva berries were placed here,
Also autumn cherries, prepared in liquid juice,
Radishes, individium, milk condensed into cottage cheese,
Yes, eggs that are only slightly tossed in the ashes, not ardently.
Everything is in clay dishes. Then the painted one was placed
A cup of the same silver and a glass, made of beech,
The inside of it was coated with yellowish wax.
How long to wait; Hot dishes appeared from the hearth.
Here they removed the wine of minor age so that
Clean the place for the second round of treats.
Here is a nut, here is a wrinkled date mixed with a fig,
Plums in baskets and fragrant apples next to them.
Likewise, the grapes that were removed from the vines painted with purple.
The honeycomb is golden in the middle. On top of everything, good-natured faces,
And at the same time there is a lot of hassle and cordiality.
Meanwhile, they see that no matter how much they draw, the cup
Everything is filled, and immediately the wine arrives.
The miracle makes them afraid; and, raising their hands, they cry out
And Baucis with a prayer and Philemon himself, terrified.
They ask forgiveness for the table and all the meager food.
There was only one goose, their poor yard watchman,
The elders decided to sacrifice him to the visiting gods.
He, nimble with his wings, has worn out those dejected by the years,
He hid from them for a long time and seemed to have gone under protection
To the very gods. The rulers forbade him to kill.
- “We are gods,” they said, the neighbors will pay
Punishment is a well-deserved sin, but it will be given to you to be innocent
To this evil, just leave your shelter immediately,
Yes, follow us and follow us up the mountain.
Together". - They both obeyed and stood, leaning on sticks,
There was a long climb along the road, climbing to the top.
Didn't reach the top as much as before
Maybe an arrow will fly. We looked around and saw everything
Submerged in a swamp, and only their roof remained.
So, while they marveled, feeling sorry for their neighbors,
Their old hut, in which the two were cramped,
Turned into a temple; supports became columns,
The straw has turned yellow and the roof is golden.
The doors became carved, and the ground was covered with marble.
Then Saturnius said, turning his face towards them:
“Righteous elder and you, worthy wife, are yours
Express your wishes." Having said two words to Baucis,
Philemon himself conveyed their general thoughts to the immortals:
“We wish to be priests and guardians of your temple
We, and since we have lived in harmony for years, let us
The same hour carries me away, even if I don’t see the grave
I’m a wife, And don’t let her bury me.”
As requested, it came true; as long as life lasted, there were
They are the guardians of the temple. When, weakened by age,
Once they stood at the sacred steps, narrating,
What happened on the spot, Philemon saw that Baucis,
And Baucis, that Philemon began to become covered with leaves.
Now the tops of their heads have risen under a pair of faces, here both
As best they could, they said to each other together: “Farewell,
O husband, O wife,” and the branches covered their faces.
It seems to passersby that he is still a resident of Tiania
Two adjacent trunks emanating from a double root.
Old people are trustworthy to me, there was no reason to lie to them,
That's what they said. Moreover, I myself saw them hanging
There are wreaths on those branches; and, having hung the fresh ones, I said:
“The meek are dear to the gods; whoever honors them will himself be honored.”
Euripides
ELENA
CHARACTERS
Elena, Spartan queen (I)
Servant of Menelaus(III)
Teucer, prince of Salamis
Theonoia, prophetess (III)
exile(III)
Theoclymenes, Egyptian king, brother
Choir captured Greek women Theonoi (III)
Menelaus, husband of Helen (II)
Herald, warrior Theoclymenes (II)
Gatekeeper prophetess Theonoi (III)
Dioscuri Castor And Pollux(I)
The action takes place in Egypt, near the sea, shortly after the fall of Troy. In the foreground of the scene is the austere tomb of the late King Proteus; behind it is the Kremlin wall of Cyclopean masonry, with battlements. The gates are wide open. Next is the hill on which the Theoclymena palace rises; its doors are locked.
PROLOGUE
SCENE ONEIn front of the tomb, on a bed of leaves and branches, Helen. Morning. The queen rises from her bed.
Elena
PHENOMENA SECOND
Here the virgin waves of the Nile sparkle;
In return for the dew of heaven he gives water,
As soon as the snow melts, in the lowlands in Egypt
Lying fields. While living here
Proteus reigned, and if Pharos was home,
Then all of Egypt was his kingdom;
And the king’s marriage with one of the maidens of the abyss,
Psamathos, combined, for him
Eakovo left the bed.
And she bore the king two children
His wife: Theoclymenes son
And noble Ido; children
She was her mother's joy,
And having reached marriageable years, Theonoe
Named, then, from the gods
And everything that is, and everything that will be, is hers
Open; she accepts this honor
From ancient Nereus, grandfather...
To me
The Fatherland is not without glory
Got it too - Sparta; and Tindar
He was my father... Let's assume he exists
Tradition that the father of the gods himself
Once upon a time he embraced my mother with his wings,
What, pretending to be a swan, in the bosom
He disappeared from her, pretending
What is saved from the eagle... so they say.
I am named Elena, and my
Here's a tale of woe:
Three goddesses
Having argued about beauty, they came
To the Ida Gorge to Alexander.
Hera, daughter, was there with Cyprida
The purest Kronida is with them, - must
The bootes were to resolve their dispute.
And behold, my beauty (if and misfortune
It can be wonderful) promising
For Alexandru's bed, wins
Cypris, and Paris - Ideas, having left
Shepherd's fold, strives for Sparta,
To take possession of the bride.
But his
Hera could not bear the insult - the bed
Paris's joy turned
She's nothing and not my wife
He got, no: a ghost from the ether
The purest, in my likeness,
Was harmonious for the Hero for Priamid,
Prince of Troy. Me
He hugged, but in his thoughts only, empty
It was seduction. Zeus
Another will to greater things was accomplished
My misfortune: between the Greeks and the unfortunate
He started a war among the Phrygians so that his mother
Liberate the Earth from population
Excessive and to the best Greek
He was marked with glory. Battle reward
He assigned to the Trojans and Achaeans
Me... Me? Oh no! Only an empty sound
He rushed over the troops, and me,
Among the ethereal wrinkles hidden
And wearing a cloud, Hermes stole
Zeus did not forget me - and to the house of Proteus
I was carried away, counting everyone
Be restrained so that I remain clean
For the bed of Menelaus.
Since then
I live here, and my husband is ill-fated,
Gathering troops, he led them to Ilion
And there he is looking for his wife, prey
Return the fire with a spear. And many souls
Because of me, people died on the shores
Ebullient Scamander. Having endured
All this evil I stay covered
Curses, and the Hellenes repeat,
That I am a traitor, and in this terrible
The war is to blame.
Why else?
Am I alive? I keep my word from God
Hermes: “You will return to Sparta with your husband;
He will find out that you were not in Troy,
I didn’t make anyone’s bed.”
And here, while Proteus was looking at the light,
I was not worried about my honor...
Only since he was dressed in darkness
Underground village, son of Proteus
He's inclining me towards marriage. But to my spouse
I am still faithful - and now to the grave
Proteeva fell down with a prayer: let
The late king made me pure for my husband,
As before, it will remain; and if the name
In Hellas, disgraced with disgrace
Mine - at least the body will not be touched by filth!
Teucer comes from the sea. He is dressed like a traveler: a hat on his head, a bow in his hand. All his attention is drawn to the palace, and at first he does not see Elena.
Teucer
What a wondrous stronghold!.. Whose is it?
It would be suitable for Plutos... High walls
The crown of sovereignty is formidable teeth...
(He turns his eyes to the tomb and retreats in horror when he sees Elena.)
Ba...ba...
Oh gods! What a terrible sight! Image
Damn the one who got me
And she destroyed Greece...
(Addressing Elena.)
Let them be immortal
You will be so hated
How similar are you and Elena... Be
I'm not on a foreign land, you'd be feathered
The arrow's bite redeemed the sweetness,
That you are like a daughter of Zeus.
Elena
What are these thunders for? Who himself
Unhappy, you, and by what right
Has the guilt of another curse brought upon me?
Teucer
It's my fault... I gave in to anger...
All of Hellas hates Helen;
Pardon me for my speech, wife.
Elena
But who are you? From where to this region?
Teucer
I am an Achaean, one of these bitter ones.
Elena
I don’t marvel at Elena’s curses;
But who are you? Where is the homeland? Who is the father?
Teucer
My name is Teucer; reputed to be my father
King Telamon, and Salamis the fatherland.
Elena
And what about the Nile? Why do you need its fields?
Teucer
From where I am expelled.
Elena
You are unhappy... But who drove you out?
Teucer
The first intercessor is Telamon the father.
Elena
For what? Such a fate is worthy of tears!
Teucer
Brother Ajax's death ruined me.
Elena
But how? Did you really kill him?
Teucer
He voluntarily fell on his own sword.
Elena
Having gone crazy?.. A healthy person will not dare.
Teucer
Peleus's son was Achilles, have you heard?
Elena
He wooed Elena, they say.
Teucer
Killed, he left his comrades
Because of their armor there is a serious dispute.
Elena
But what is the connection between Ajax’s troubles and this?
Teucer
Someone else took them, but Ajax couldn’t bear it.
Elena
And did this misfortune befall you?
Teucer
Because I didn’t die with him.
Elena
(after a pause)
So you were near the glorious Ilion?
Teucer
And he ruined himself with his wall.
Elena
So Troy is gone?.. Burned? Incinerated?
Teucer
You can't even discern where the walls are.
Elena
Elena, woe! You destroyed Troy!
Teucer
And with her and us. What rivers of blood!..
Elena
How long ago did ancient Ilion fall?
Teucer
Seven times since then the fruits have been removed from the trees.
Elena
How long were you at Troy?
Teucer
Yes, many moons have changed in ten years...
Elena
Did you take... a Spartan wife?
Teucer
Yes, Menelaus - for a golden braid...
Elena Sovereign Proteus, our ruler,
I haven’t seen you yet: catching him
He lured me with reliable packs.
Only the Hellenes will fall into his hands
Execute immediately. Because of what,
Don't ask please: keep silent
I'm tied up and there's no use in words.
Teucer
You said well, wife; gods
Let them reward you for your good with good!
At least you look like Elena,
Your soul is completely different
Other. Let it disappear, bright waters
Without seeing Eurot; and you
In everything, wife, I wish you success.
OPENING SONG OF THE CHORUS(He goes back.)
After Teucer leaves, Helen looks towards the sea in sad thought; during her next song, fifteen Hellenic girls, her friends, gather around her.
Elena
Deeply settled tears of painful grief... What
A list of groans has opened to the pitiful heart! Which
The song will contain you - you, tears, you, screams, you, torment?
Stanza I
Winged maidens!
Children of the earth, here!
Here, oh sirens, to the groan
Funeral songs, maidens,
With Livia's flute
Or with a pipe you
I'm waiting for the gift of tears
In return for my sorrow:
Torment for torment for me,
A song for a song for me
In sweet harmony!
Let Persephone accept from us
In his dark chamber
A victim of sobs for the dear ones,
Dear departed ones.
Antistrophe I
The waters are azure
The eyes caressed me,
I, lying on the tender grass,
I dried bright vestments,
In the glitter of golden rays
The sun hung them
By the young reeds.
A plaintive cry of pain
Negu interrupted me:
Moans are not the sound of a lyre:
Nymph-naiad like this
Moans in the mountains when Pan's violence
She is forced to marry...
The cliffs groan behind her,
The gorges groan.
Elena
(extending hands to women)
Stanza II
Io!.. Io!..
Prey of wild wanderers,
Virgins, maidens of Hellas...
An Achaean sailor visited us
His gift is new tears:
Ilion fell and the rubble
The hot flame devoured...
I have ruined the darkness of my husbands...
They were carried away by Elena
A name full of agony.
Leda tasted in the loop
Death for my disgrace;
I rushed along the waves for a long time
My husband is taken by the abyss;
Castor and brother dear
Castor, pride and glory
Our homeland has disappeared.
They are not at the horse riding
There are no slim boys
In competitions, on the shore
Among the tall reeds
Lush green Eurota.
Antistrophe II
Alas! Alas!
Oh, the lot of the long groan!
The bitter demon, apparently,
You, wife, are your inheritance
On the day when with a fierce thought
Zeus from the ethereal canopy
Into the arms of tender Leda
Snow-white swan
And he went down to the lovers!..
What a torment you are,
Tell me, is the torment over?
Why didn't the lot torture you?
Mother is not in the world:
There are no brothers under the sun anymore,
The joy of the motherland does not shine
Elena's heart and caresses
Varvara evil rumors
They gave the queen's breasts.
Your husband died. Athens w
More copper house
You won't see it in Sparta.
Elena
Oh, alas! Alas! Alas!
Under the Phrygian ax
Or the Hellenic fell
Spruce, in which there are so many tears,
Were there so many Trojan tears?
From it a boat and oars
Priamid arranged for himself
To go to the hearth of the Spartans
For my ill-fated
Beauty - for marriage affection.
O Cypris, O queen
And deceit and murder!
It was you who wanted death
For the Danaans and Trojans
This is the beginning of my destiny!
Zeus is a strict friend
Inspired the son of Maya
In a word of immutable will.
And from the meadow, where, plucking
Living roses from the stems,
I filled it carelessly
Peplos with them, so that the goddess
Dedicate them to Mednozdannaya,
Innocent Elena
Along the path of Hermes ethereal
Takes me to this sad land
For discord, for discord
Between Hellas and Priam,
So that vain reproaches
On the coast of Simoenta
Elena's name was cut!
Helen is a Spartan queen in Greek mythology, the most beautiful of women. According to the most popular version of the myth, Helen was the daughter of the mortal woman Leda and the god Zeus, who appeared to Leda in the form of a beautiful swan. From this union Leda gave birth to an egg from which Helena emerged. According to another version of the myth, Leda only kept an egg laid by the goddess of retribution Nemesis from her marriage to Zeus and found by a shepherd. When a girl emerged from the egg, Leda raised her as her daughter. In her youth, Helen was kidnapped by Theseus and Pirithous, but when they went to the kingdom of Hades for Persephone, Helen was freed and brought back by her brothers Dioscuri.
The rumor about Helen's beauty spreads throughout Greece and several dozen famous heroes come to woo her, including Odysseus, Menelaus, Diomedes, both Ajaxes, and Patroclus. Helen's earthly father Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, in order to avoid offense among the suitors, on the advice of Odysseus, binds all of Helen's suitors with an oath to further protect the honor of her future husband. After this, Tyndareus chooses Menelaus as Elena's husband. This choice was clearly influenced by the fact that Clytaemestra (another daughter of Tyndareus) was married to Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.
Soon Tyndareus ceded royal power in Sparta to Menelaus and his daughter Helen. In her marriage to Menelaus, Helen gave birth to a daughter, Hermione. The serene life of Menelaus and Helen lasted about 10 years, until the Trojan prince Paris arrived in Sparta, to whom Aphrodite promised the most beautiful of women (Helen) as a reward for the fact that Paris recognized Aphrodite as the most beautiful of the goddesses. Paris, taking advantage of the absence of Menelaus, takes Helen to Troy. According to the most popular version of the myth, Aphrodite instilled in Helen a love for Paris that Helen could not resist. There was another version of the myth, expressed by the ancient Greek poet Stesichor. When he wrote a song about the abduction of Helen by Paris, he went blind that same night. The poet prayed to the gods asking for healing. Then Elena appeared to him in a dream and said that this was a punishment for writing such unkind poems about her. Stesichorus then composed a new chant - that Paris did not take Helen to Troy at all, but only her ghost, but the gods transferred the real Helen to Egypt, and she remained there, faithful to Menelaus, until the very end of the war. After this, Stesichorus regained his sight. The Greek playwright Euripides relied on this version of the myth in the tragedy “Helen”, and among modern writers, for example, Henry Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang in the novel “The Dream of the World”.
Arriving in Troy, Helen won the hearts of the Trojans with her beauty. Soon Menelaus and Odysseus arrive in Troy to return Helen peacefully, but the Trojans refuse to hand over Helen and a war begins that lasts 10 years.
Pierre Delrome. Hector, Helen and Paris. Hector calls on Paris to join the fight
In Homer's Iliad, Helen is burdened by her position, because... the spell of Aphrodite, which caused love for Paris, has already dissipated. In the 4th song of the Odyssey, Helen tells how during the war she helped Odysseus, who secretly entered the city:
Throwing the drug into the wine and ordering the wine to be spread,
This is how Helen, born of Zeus, began to speak:
235 "King Menelaus Atreid, pet of Zeus, and all of you,
Children of brave men! At will, Zeus sends
People have both evil and good, for everything is possible for Kronid.
Sitting here in the high hall, feast in joy, conversation
Amuse yourself, but I would like to tell you something suitable.
240 Labors of all Odysseus, in the suffering of a strong spirit,
I can neither tell you nor list them in detail.
But I’ll tell you what action he fearlessly dared to take.
In the distant Trojan region, where you, the Achaeans, suffered so much.
Having beaten his own body in a terribly shameful way,
245 Having covered your shoulders with pathetic rubble, like a slave,
He made his way into the wide-street city of hostile men.
Having hidden himself in such a way, he was like a completely different husband -
The beggar had never been seen near the courts before.
Having accepted the image, he went to Ilion, suspicious
250 Without arousing anyone. Only I recognized him immediately
She began to ask, but he cunningly avoided answering.
Only when I washed it and rubbed it with oil,
She dressed him in a dress and swore a great oath to him,
That only then will I hand over Odysseus to the Trojans when he
255 He will return to his camp, to the fast-flying Achaean ships, -
Only then did he reveal to me the whole plan of the cunning Achaeans.
In the city, many Trojans were beaten with long-bladed copper,
He returned to the Achaeans, bringing them knowledge of many things.
The other Trojan women wept loudly. But full of joy
260 There was my heart: for a long time I was eager to leave
Home again and mourned the blindness that
Aphrodite sent me, taking me away from my homeland,
Forcing her to leave her daughter, the marriage bedroom, and her husband,
Who could compete with everyone in spirit and appearance."
Also during the siege of Troy, Helen helps Odysseus and Diomedes steal a wooden statue of the goddess Athena from a local temple.
After the capture of Troy, Menelaus is looking for Helen with a sword in his hand to execute her for treason, but when he sees Helen, shining with her former beauty, he lets go of the sword and forgives her.
In the Egyptian version of the myth, Menelaus arrives with the ghost of Helen in Egypt to find the real Helen. The ghost of Helen ascends to heaven, and the true Helen returns to Menelaus.
After her death, Helen was transferred to the island of Levka at the mouth of the Danube, where she was united in an eternal union with Achilles (according to one of the myths, Helen and Achilles met on the Trojan Plain shortly before the death of Achilles). However, another myth looks more plausible, according to which Achilles united in eternal union with Medea on the islands of the blessed. Passionate and strong Medea is much more similar to Penthesilea, once beloved by Achilles, than Helen, submissive to fate. Henry Rider Haggard, based on information about the meeting of Odysseus and Helen in Troy, in the novel “The Dream of the World,” forever connects the fate of Helen with another hero of the Trojan War - Odysseus.
Did it cause the Trojan War? In any case, she ruined the life of more than one man and more than one woman
About beauty Helen of Troy, which was also called the Beautiful, has many legends and myths. Poets of that time claimed that “the beauty of Helen can fill a thousand sails.” They fought for her, wars broke out because of her, brave heroes took risky actions to win the heart of the beauty.
Who is she
The most beautiful woman in the Ecumene (that is, in the inhabited world), according to ancient Greek myths, - Elena, daughter Tyndarea, reigned in Sparta. And immediately disagreements and contradictions begin. Many myth writers claim that Helen was born Ice, wife of Tyndareus, not from her legal husband, but from Zeus- the supreme god, ruler of Olympus.
Already as a child, Elena was so beautiful that people came to her from afar to woo her. The fame of Helen's beauty spread everywhere.
Her appearance
Strange, but nowhere, not in any legend, not even in the famous “Iliad” Homer, No detailed description Elena's appearance. Everyone repeats with one voice - “the most beautiful”, but they don’t specify what this beauty was about! The only detail is the resemblance to the goddesses.
To some extent, one can judge Elena’s appearance from a sculptural image, the author of which is Antonio Canova, as well as other images. And here comes the time to be surprised. Large straight nose with virtually no bridge. Lips that are too curved. Upturned chin. And the breasts are far from generally accepted standards - at least their size. A tightly built figure, rather powerful legs...
And this is the ideal? The object of admiration for men and the envy of women?
However, there is nothing surprising: this is exactly what the canons were at that time female beauty. Dense, with strong legs? This means she is resilient, will be able to give birth to healthy children and work hard for her family. Isn't your nose like that? Which one? They simply did not know others in Greece.
How and where was she born?
On this issue, myth-makers also do not show unanimity. There are at least three versions.
Euripides talked about how Elena was conceived and born by Leda from Zeus - they say, this is why the girl was born inhumanly beautiful, similar to a goddess.
According to version Ptolemy, the father of Elena the Beautiful was another god - Helios.
Finally, the most mysterious story tells that it was not Leda who was actually seduced by Zeus - earthly woman, queen of Sparta, and goddess Nemesis. At the same time, he took the form of a beautiful swan. As a result mutual love Zeus and Nemesis gave birth to an egg - Leda placed it on his lap Hermes. Leda accepted the gift and began to raise Elena as her own daughter.
Who kidnapped her
The incredible beauty of Helen forced Tyndareus to assign guards to his daughter. And yet there was a fan who was not deterred. When Elena was 12 years old (according to some sources - only 10), she was kidnapped Theseus. He settled Elena with his mother, and he himself went on another journey to accomplish another feat.
And again there are contradictions. Some sources say that Elena was subsequently returned home by her brothers, while she remained an untouched virgin. According to other sources, she gave birth to a daughter from Theseus, named her Iphigenia and left the girl in Mycenae, with her sister.
Second husband - Menelaus
After Elena was returned home, her father decided to marry her to Menelaus. New spouse took Elena the Beautiful to his home. Soon she gave birth to his daughter Hermione. And everything would be fine if the handsome guy hadn’t come to visit them Paris from Troy - Helen lost her head when she saw him.
And it’s all because of a dispute between the goddesses about which of them is the most beautiful. We argued about it Hera, Athena And Aphrodite. And Paris was called upon to judge the dispute. He gave the famous apple of discord to Aphrodite, one of the goddesses who promised to cause chaos and make the most beautiful woman on earth, that is, Helen, fall in love with Paris.
Elena's third lover - Paris
But Paris was married. And his wife is a soothsayer Oenone- dissuaded him from going to Sparta, predicting all sorts of troubles from meeting Elena. And she turned out to be right.
Menelaus went to Crete for a sacrifice. The lovers - Helen and Paris - took advantage of his absence to escape to Troy. Of course, Menelaus did not want to put up with such an insult - he rushed in pursuit along with his comrades. This is how the famous Trojan War was unleashed, in which numerous city-states of Greece took part. Troy was besieged for 10 years. Paris almost did not participate in battles - he avoided dangers. The indignant Elena called him a coward and later, when Paris died, she did not even wear mourning.
But the flighty beauty did not return to her legal husband. She married Deiphobe- Brother Paris. However, Menelaus quickly killed him and took his unfaithful wife home, forgiving her of all her sins.
