Helen | Greek tragedy, goddess, myth | Britannica (original) (raw)

Helen, play by Euripides, performed in 412 bce. In this frankly light work, Euripides deflates one of the best-known legends of Greek mythology, that Helen ran off adulterously with Paris to Troy. In Euripides’ version, only a phantom Helen goes with Paris, and the real woman pines faithfully in Egypt. When Menelaus is shipwrecked in Egypt on his way home from Troy, he is baffled by the duplicate Helen until the phantom evaporates and permits his reunion with his real wife. The pair then escape from the Egyptian king Theoclymenus, who wants to marry Helen, by fooling him into believing that Menelaus is a shipwrecked mariner who escaped death when Menelaus died. Theoclymenus allows Helen to bury her husband at sea, equipping her and her disguised husband with a fast ship and all manner of funeral items. After they escape, the king learns of their subterfuge and eventually accepts the loss philosophically.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.