Editing Helen of Troy (section)

=== Youthful abduction by Theseus ===
[[File:Theseus pursuit Louvre G423.jpg|left|thumb|[[Theseus]] pursuing a woman, probably Helen. Side A from an Attic red-figure bell-krater, c.&nbsp;440–430&nbsp;BC ([[Louvre]], Paris).]]
Two [[Ancient Athens|Athenians]], [[Theseus]] and [[Pirithous]], thought that since they were sons of gods, they should have divine wives; they thus pledged to help each other abduct two daughters of [[Zeus]]. Theseus chose Helen, and Pirithous vowed to marry [[Persephone]], the wife of [[Hades]]. Theseus took Helen and left her with his mother [[Aethra (mother of Theseus)|Aethra]] or his associate Aphidnus at [[Afidnes|Aphidnae]] or [[Athens]]. Theseus and Pirithous then traveled to the [[Greek underworld|underworld]], the domain of Hades, to kidnap Persephone. Hades pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast, but, as soon as the pair sat down, snakes coiled around their feet and held them there. Helen's abduction caused an invasion of Athens by Castor and Pollux, who captured Aethra in revenge, and returned their sister to Sparta.<ref>The most complete accounts of this narrative are given by Apollodorus, Diodorus 4.63.1–3, and Plutarch, ''Theseus'' 31–34. For a collection of ancient sources narrating Helen's abduction by Theseus, see Hughes, ''Helen'', 357; Mills, ''Theseus'', 7–8</ref>  In [[Goethe]]'s ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'', Centaur [[Chiron]] is said to have aided the Dioscuri brothers in returning Helen home.

In most accounts of this event, Helen was quite young; [[Hellanicus of Lesbos]] said she was seven years old and [[Diodorus]] makes her ten years old.<ref>Hellanicus, 4F134; Diodorus Siculus, 4.63.1–3</ref> On the other hand, [[Stesichorus]] said that [[Iphigenia]] was the daughter of Theseus and Helen, which implies that Helen was of childbearing age.<ref>Stesichorus, fr. 191 PMG.</ref> In most sources, Iphigenia is the daughter of [[Agamemnon]] and [[Clytemnestra]], but [[Duris of Samos]] and other writers, such as [[Antoninus Liberalis]], followed Stesichorus' account.<ref>Gantz, pp. 289, 291.</ref>

[[Ovid]]'s ''[[Heroides]]'' give us an idea of how ancient and, in particular, [[Latin literature#The Golden Age|Roman authors]] imagined Helen in her youth: she is presented as a young princess wrestling naked in the [[palaestra]], alluding to a part of girls' physical education in classical (not Mycenaean) Sparta. [[Sextus Propertius]] imagines Helen as a girl who practices arms and hunts with her brothers:<ref>Ovid, ''Heroides'', 16.[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ovid/ovid.her16.shtml 149–152]; Propertius, [http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/PropertiusBkThree.htm#_Toc201112469 3.14]<br />* Cairns, ''Sextus Propertius'', 421–422; Hughes, ''Helen of Troy'', 60; Pomeroy, ''Spartan Women'', 28: "In the Roman period, because Sparta was a destination for tourists, the characteristics that made Sparta distinctive were emphasized. The athleticism of women was exaggerated."</ref>
{{blockquote|[...] or like Helen, on the sands of Eurotas, between Castor and Pollux, one to be victor in boxing, the other with horses: with naked breasts she carried weapons, they say, and did not blush with her divine brothers there.}}