Editing Helen of Troy (section)

== In popular culture ==
=== Pre-modern ===
[[File:Christopher Marlowe.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Christopher Marlowe]]'s (this [[Marlowe portrait|1585 portrait]] is disputed) play ''[[The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus]]'' (1604) is the source of the famous quote "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?",<ref name="Maguire2009" /> although the line is ultimately derived from a quotation in [[Lucian]]'s ''Dialogues of the Dead''.<ref name="Maguire2009" /><ref name="Casson" />]]

Helen frequently appeared in [[ancient Greek comedy|Athenian comedies]] of the fifth century BC as a [[caricature]] of [[Pericles]]'s mistress [[Aspasia]].<ref name="Blondell2013">{{cite book|last1=Blondell|first1=Ruby|title=Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-973160-2|pages=247–249|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S_l6oYzGt1AC&q=Helen+dialogues+of+the+Dead&pg=PR15}}</ref> In [[Hellenistic Period|Hellenistic times]], she was associated with the [[moon]]<ref name="Blondell2013" /> due to the similarity of her name to the Greek word Σελήνη (''[[Selene|Selēnē]]''), meaning "Moon, goddess of the moon".<ref name="Blondell2013" /> One [[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] source claimed that Helen had originally come from a [[Colonies in antiquity|colony]] on the moon,<ref name="Blondell2013" /> where people were larger, stronger, and "fifteen times" more beautiful than ordinary mortals.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> She is one of the eponymous women the tragedy ''[[The Trojan Women]]'' produced in 415 BC by the Greek playwright [[Euripides]].

[[Dio Chrysostom]] absolved Helen of guilt for the Trojan War by making Paris her first, original husband and claiming that the Greeks started the war out of jealousy.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> [[Virgil]], in his ''[[Aeneid]]'', makes [[Aeneas]] the one to spare Helen's life, rather than Menelaus,<ref name="Blondell2013" /> and instead portrays the act as a lofty example of self-control.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> Meanwhile, Virgil also makes Helen more vicious by having her betray her own husband Deiphobos and give him over to Menelaus as a peace offering.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> The [[satire|satirist]] [[Lucian of Samosata]] features Helen in his famous ''Dialogues of the Dead'', in which he portrays her deceased spirit as aged and withered.<ref name="Blondell2013" />

In the [[early Middle Ages]], after the rise of [[Christianity]], Helen was seen as a pagan equivalent to [[Eve]] from the [[Book of Genesis]].<ref name="Blondell2013" /> Helen was so beloved by early medieval Christians that she even took on some of the roles of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].<ref name="Blondell2013" />

=== Modern ===

During the [[Renaissance]], the French poet [[Pierre de Ronsard]] wrote 142&nbsp;sonnets addressed to a woman named Hélène de Surgères,<ref name="Blondell2013" /> in which he declared her to be the "true", French Helen, rather than the "lie" of the Greeks.<ref name="Blondell2013" />

[[Dante Alighieri|Dante's]] ''[[Dante's Inferno|Inferno]]'' has Helen tormented in the [[Second circle of hell|circle of lust]] alongside Paris.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/The_Divine_Comedy/Inferno The Divine Comedy], Dante Alighieri.</ref>

==== Helen of Troy in Christopher Marlowe's ''Doctor Faustus'' ====
Helen appears in various versions of the [[Faust]] myth, including [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s 1604 play ''[[The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus]]'', in which Faustus famously marvels, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" upon seeing a demon impersonating Helen.<ref name="Maguire2009">{{cite book|last1=Maguire|first1=Laurie|title=Helen of Troy: From Homer to Hollywood|date=2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.|location=Chichester, England|isbn=978-1-4051-2634-2|pages=160–163|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ccjIPayRmvMC&q=Was+this+the+face+that+launched+a+thousand+ships+and+burnt+the+topless+towers+of+Ilium&pg=PA160}}</ref> The line, which is frequently quoted out of context,<ref name="Maguire2009" /><ref name="Blondell2013" /> is a paraphrase of a statement from Lucian's ''Dialogues of the Dead''.<ref name="Casson">{{cite book|last=Casson|first=Lionel|title=Selected Satires of Lucian, Edited and Translated by Lionel Casson|date=1962|publisher=W. W. Norton and Company|location=New York City, New York}}</ref><ref name="Maguire2009" /> It is debated whether the phrase conveys astonishment at Helen's beauty,<ref name="Maguire2009" /> or disappointment that she is not more beautiful.<ref name="Maguire2009" /> Helen appears in Marlowe's play as a voiceless image conjured by [[Mephistopheles]]. Helen first appears displayed to scholars as a vision to admire. Her second appearance is when Faustus calls for her in despair.<ref name=":2" /> Not speaking herself, Faustus shows she is an object of desire and destruction. She walks about to parade her beauty silently, tempting Faustus.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Marlowe |first=Christopher |title=Doctor Faustus: a two-text edition (A-text, 1604; B-text, 1616) contexts and sources criticism |last2=Kastan |first2=David Scott |date=2005 |publisher=Norton |isbn=978-0-393-97754-7 |edition=4. Aufl |location=New York}}</ref> In connection to the myth of Helen of Troy, Helen is often blamed with causing the Trojan War; Marlowe's portrayal of Helen may function as a test of Faustus’ damnation. It is undetermined if the Helen in ''Doctor Faustus'' is the real Helen or merely a disguised entity that mimicks her beauty, blurring the lines of blame for Faustus' temptation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Craik |first=T. W. |date=1969 |title=Faustus' Damnation Reconsidered |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41917045 |journal=Renaissance Drama |volume=2 |pages=189–196 |issn=0486-3739}}</ref> Marlowe's portrayal of Helen blurs the line between a beautiful, angel-like figure and an evil, dangerously tempting figure, allowing her to be ambiguous in regard to her role in Faustus' damned fate.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=Mary Beth |title=“A Waste of Shame: The Heroics of Marriage in English Renaissance Tragedy.” The Expense of Spirit: Love and Sexuality in English Renaissance Drama |journal=Cornell University Press |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt207g7fw.7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grimmett |first1=Roxanne |title=‘By Heaven andHell’: Re-evaluating Representations of Women and the Angel/Whore Dichotomy in Renaissance Revenge Tragedy |journal=Journal of International Women's Studies |volume=6 |issue=3 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48829105.pdf}}</ref>

The German poet and polymath [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] re-envisioned the meeting of [[Faust]] and Helen.  In ''[[Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy]]'', the union of Helen and Faust becomes a complex allegory of the meeting of the classical-ideal and modern worlds.

In 1803, when French zoologist [[François Marie Daudin]] was to name a new species of beautifully colored snake, the [[trinket snake]] (''Coelognathus helena''), he chose the [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''helena'' in reference to Helen of Troy.<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("Helena", p. 120).</ref>

[[File:Helen of Troy.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Helen of Troy (painting)|Helen of Troy]]'' by [[Evelyn De Morgan]] (1898, London); Helen admiringly displays a lock of her hair, as she gazes into a mirror decorated with the nude Aphrodite.]]

In 1864, Paris saw the premiere of the [[operetta]] ''[[La belle Hélène]]'' by [[Jacques Offenbach]].

Helen of Troy is a minor character in the [[opera]] ''[[Mefistofele]]'' by [[Arrigo Boito]], which received its premiere in Milan in 1868.

In 1881, [[Oscar Wilde]] published a poem entitled "The New Helen",<ref name="Blondell2013" /> in which he declared his friend [[Lillie Langtry]] to be the [[reincarnation]] of Helen of Troy.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> Wilde portrays this new Helen as the antithesis of the Virgin Mary,<ref name="Blondell2013" /> but endows her with the characteristics of [[Jesus Christ]] himself.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> The Irish poet [[William Butler Yeats]] compared Helen to his muse, [[Maude Gonne]], in his 1916 poem "No Second Troy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/147/36.html |title=36. No Second Troy. Yeats, W. B. 1916. Responsibilities and Other Poems |publisher=Bartleby.com |access-date=2014-03-13}}</ref> The anthology ''[[The Dark Tower (Lewis novel)|The Dark Tower]]'' by [[C. S. Lewis]] includes a fragment entitled "After Ten Years". In Egypt after the Trojan War, Menelaus is allowed to choose between the real, disappointing Helen and an ideal Helen conjured by Egyptian magicians.

The English [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood|Pre-Raphaelite]] painter [[Evelyn De Morgan]] portrayed a sexually assertive Helen in her 1898 painting ''Helen of Troy''.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> [[Salvador Dalí]] was obsessed with Helen of Troy from childhood<ref name="Blondell2013" /> and saw his wife [[Gala Dalí]] and the surrealist character [[Gradiva]] as the embodiments of Helen.<ref name="Blondell2013" /> He dedicates his autobiography ''Diary of a Genius'' to "my genius Gala Gradiva, Helen of Troy, Saint Helen, Gala Galatea Placida."<ref name="Blondell2013" />

Minor planet [[101 Helena]] discovered by [[James Craig Watson]] in 1868, is named after Helen of Troy.

====20th century====

[[John Erskine (educator)|John Erskine]]'s 1925 bestselling novel ''The Private Life of Helen of Troy'' portrayed Helen as a "sensible, [[bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] heroine",<ref name="Blondell2013" /> but the 1927 [[silent film]] [[The Private Life of Helen of Troy|of the same name]], directed by [[Alexander Korda]], transformed Helen into "a shopaholic fashion maven".<ref name="Blondell2013" />

In 1928, [[Richard Strauss]] wrote the German opera ''[[Die ägyptische Helena]]'' (''The Egyptian Helena''), which is the story of Helen and Menelaus's troubles when they are marooned on a mythical island.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baxter |first=Richard |title=Die ägyptische Helena. Richard Strauss (recording review) |journal=The Opera Quarterly |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=643–647 |year=2002 |doi=10.1093/oq/18.4.643}}</ref>

The 1938 short story, "[[Helen O'Loy]]", written by [[Lester del Rey]], details the creation of a synthetic woman by two mechanics. The title is wordplay that combines "Helen of Troy" with "alloy".

The 1951 Swedish film ''[[Sköna Helena]]'' is an adapted version of [[La belle Hélène|Offenbach's operetta]], starring [[Max Hansen (tenor)|Max Hansen]] and [[Eva Dahlbeck]]. In 1956, a Franco-British epic titled ''[[Helen of Troy (film)|Helen of Troy]]'' was released, directed by Oscar-winning director [[Robert Wise]] and starring Italian actress [[Rossana Podestà]] in the title role. It was filmed in Italy, and featured well-known British character actors such as [[Harry Andrews]], [[Cedric Hardwicke]], and [[Torin Thatcher]] in supporting roles.

The 1971 film ''[[The Trojan Women (film)|The Trojan Women]]'' was an adaptation of the play by Euripides in which [[Irene Papas]] portrayed (a non-blonde) Helen of Troy.

In the 1998 TV series ''[[Hercules (1998 TV series)|Hercules]]'', Helen appears as a supporting character at Prometheus Academy as a student. Helen is caring and enthusiastic. She was the most popular girl in the academy and Adonis' girlfriend. Helen tries her best to keep Adonis from behaving stupidly, but mostly fails. She likes Hercules, but as a friend. She is a princess as in the myth but is not a half-sister of Hercules in the series. She was voiced by [[Jodi Benson]].

====21st century====
A 2003 television version of Helen's life up to the fall of Troy, ''[[Helen of Troy (TV miniseries)|Helen of Troy]]'', in which she was played by [[Sienna Guillory]]. In this version, Helen is depicted as unhappy in her marriage and willingly runs away with Paris, with whom she has fallen in love, but still returns to Menelaus after Paris dies and Troy falls.

Helen was portrayed by [[Diane Kruger]] in the 2004 film ''[[Troy (film)|Troy]]''. In this adaptation, as in the 2003 television version, she is unhappily married to Menelaus and willingly leaves with Paris, whom she loves. However, in this version she does not return to Sparta with Menelaus (who is killed by Hector), but escapes Troy with Paris and other survivors when the city falls.

Inspired by the line, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...?" from [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]]'s ''[[The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus|Faustus]]'', [[Isaac Asimov]] jocularly coined the unit "[[millihelen]]" to mean the amount of beauty that can launch one ship.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120614180101/http://asimovhumanists.org/AboutIsaacAssimov2.htm The Humanism of Isaac Asimov]}}</ref> Canadian novelist and poet [[Margaret Atwood]] re-envisioned the myth of Helen in modern, feminist guise in her poem "Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/helen-of-troy-does-countertop-dancing |title=Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing by Margaret Atwood |date=20 January 2003 |publisher=Poemhunter.com |access-date=2014-03-13}}</ref>

In the ''[[Legends of Tomorrow]]'' episode "Helen Hunt", Helen is portrayed by Israeli-American model and actress [[Bar Paly]]. In the episode, Helen is an anachronism appearing in 1930s Hollywood. She lands a job as an actress and unintentionally starts a war between two film studios. The Legends travel to the 1930s and try to get Helen back to the Bronze Age. She regretfully goes along, telling the team she wishes to stay away due to men constantly fighting and dying over her. After analyzing historical records of Helen's impact on history, [[Zari Tomaz]] finds the best time to take her away from the fighting of her time and takes her to [[Themyscira (DC Comics)|Themyscira]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://dclegendstv.com/2017/10/26/legends-of-tomorrow-spoilers-helen-hunt/|title=Legends of Tomorrow Spoilers: "Helen Hunt"|date=October 26, 2017|publisher=DCLegendsTV|language=en-US|access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref> Helen reappears in the season three finale, "The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly", as an Amazon warrior who assists the Legends in defeating the demon Mallus's army.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Burlingame|first1=Russ|title='Legends of Tomorrow' Season Finale Will Feature Helen of Troy As An Amazon|url=https://comicbook.com/dc/2018/04/03/legends-of-tomorrow-season-finale-will-feature-helen-of-troy-as-/|website=comicbook.com|date=3 April 2018 |access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref>