The trojan war pitted two powerful kingdoms once morest each other for nearly ten years. Everything originated from the (supposed) love affair between the prince Paris of Troy and Queen Helen of Sparta. However, the modern story of romance is different from the mythological tradition and literature of ancient Greece. Did Paris and Helena really love each other? It seems not.
Popular culture holds that Paris y Helena they bet on their romance despite all the odds once morest them. However, depending on who you ask, there are different interpretations of the relationship.
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Some sources indicate that Helena was kidnapped. Other reports suggest that she was bewitched by the goddess aphrodite, who took control of his mind and bent his will. There are even rumors that the queen fled from Sparta to troy for simple carnal desire.
The mythological version regarding Paris and Helena
Within the Greek Olympus, three goddesses are considered the most powerful among all the others. Hera, goddess of marriage; Athena, goddess of wisdom; and Aphrodite, goddess of love. One day, moved by ambition, they all wanted a golden apple for themselves. None of his companions, including Zeus, agreed to act as judge of the conflict.
The problem was solved when it was agreed that a young peasant from Troy, named Alejandro, would have the final word. The three goddesses appeared before him and tried to seduce him with various rewards.
Hera promised him power, Athena He assured him fame as a sage and, for her part, Aphrodite offered him as a gift the most beautiful woman in the world. Alexander, then, bowed to the goddess of love.
Soon following, Alejandro discovered that his real name was Paris, prince of the city. His parents had abandoned him as a baby, moved by the wishes of the fortune tellers, who, when the child was born, predicted a grave danger to the kingdom.
Once in power, Paris He goes with his brother Hector to the kingdom of Sparta to sign peace. In said place, he meets the wife of his host, Menelaus, Queen Helena. Helenain the eyes of the prince, is the reward promised by the goddess Aphrodite.
Homer’s version of Paris and Helena
According to the ancient writer, Homer, Paris he kidnaps and forces Helena. The queen of Sparta, in the book “The Iliad” continually reproaches her kidnapping, assuring that her husband, Menelausis not going to allow such actions to remain unscathed.
Menelausking of Sparta, in association with his brother, Agamemnon, war leader, plan to attack troy. After 10 years of conflict, they succeed in destroying the city from within.
The Argives fake their surrender, offer as tribute to troy a wooden horse, which contains in its entrails, the hidden Achaean warriors. Once inside the walls, the Danaans murder, seize, and plunder the trojans.
In the book “The odyssey”Homer recounts the events that occurred ten years following the trojan warthat is, four decades following the abduction of Helena. In these pages, the queen claims to be happy with her return to Spartafollowing the death of Paris. In his words, his heart was beating with joy when the Greeks took control of troy.
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The queen also claims that her conduct was motivated by the spells of Aphroditealso called Cypressthat is why he did not try to escape before the company of Paris.
Euripides’ version of Paris and Helen
In the tragedy called “The Cyclops” of Euripides, the main character assures that the trojan war It was the result of the weak character of the queen, who gave in to physical and emotional desires inappropriate for someone of her condition.
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So, Did Paris and Helena really love each other? According to Homer and Euripides, no. According to Greek mythology, neither. However, the couple has positioned itself in the popular culture as a reference to the power of love. You would have to wonder Is love always impulsive, tends towards chaos and entails the destruction of everything that surrounds us?