Helen

Helen
ISBN-10
0195077105
ISBN-13
9780195077100
Series
Helen
Category
Electronic books
Pages
126
Language
English
Published
1992
Publisher
Oxford University Press on Demand
Author
Euripides

Description

Helen receives word from the exiled Greek Teucer that Menelaus never returned to Greece from Troy, and is presumed dead, putting her in the perilous position of being available for Theoclymenus to marry, and she consults the prophetess Theonoe, sister to Theoclymenus, to find out Menelaus' fate. Her fears are allayed when a stranger arrives in Egypt and turns out to be Menelaus himself, and the long-separated couple recognize each other. At first, Menelaus does not believe that she is the real Helen, since he has hidden the Helen he won in Troy in a cave. However, the woman he was shipwrecked with was in reality, only a mere phantom of the real Helen. Before the Trojan war even began, a judgement took place, one that Paris was involved in. He gave the Goddess Aphrodite the award of the fairest since she bribed him with Helen as a bride. To take their revenge on Paris, the remaining goddesses, Athena and Hera, replaced the real Helen with a phantom. However, Menelaus did not know better. But luckily one of his sailors steps in to inform him that the false Helen has disappeared into thin air. The couple still must figure out how to escape from Egypt, but the rumor that Menelaus has died is still in circulation. Thus, Helen tells Theoclymenus that the stranger who came ashore was a messenger there to tell her that her husband was truly dead. She informs the king that she may marry him as soon as she has performed a ritual burial at sea, thus freeing her symbolically from her first wedding vows. The king agrees to this, and Helen and Menelaus use this opportunity to escape on the boat given to them for the ceremony. Theoclymenus is furious when he learns of the trick and nearly murders his sister Theonoe for not telling him that Menelaus is still alive. However, he is prevented by the miraculous intervention of the demi-gods Castor and Polydeuces, brothers of Helen and the sons of Zeus and Leda.

Other editions

Similar books

  • Police Street Powers and Criminal Justice: Regulation and Discretion in a Time of Change
    By Geoffrey Pearson, Michael Rowe

    When we started the fieldwork, Radio Control Room staff were dedicated to working with one geographical area. They knew the patch and they also knew the ...

  • Wolf Mountains: A History of Wolves Along the Great Divide
    By Karen R. Jones

    See letter from J. Smart to R. Gibson, 11 February 1948, RG109, vol. 409, file WLU.266-1, PAC. 168 Letter from Gibson to Callison, 25 March 1949, RG109, vol. 409, file VVLU.266-1, PAC.

  • Nursing Ethics
    By Janie B. Butts, Karen L. Rich

    The last ethical issue, the fifth group, is inheritable genetic modification (IGM), which is a procedure used to modify genes along the germ lines that are transmitted to offspring (Frankel, 2003). Stem-cell research could help prevent ...

  • The Facts on File Companion to the French Novel
    By Karen L. Taylor

    He is principally remembered today for his plays. FURTHER READING Becker, Lucille Frackman. Henry de Montherlant: A Critical Biography. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970. Gerrard, Charlotte Frankel.

  • National Security and Preparedness: Issues, Developments, and Analyses
    By Thomas A. Donahue

    This book examines the national security and preparedness issues, developments and analyses facing the U.S. today.

  • A Physiological Limits Database for Arctic and Subarctic Aquatic Species

    The primary objective in this study is to collate knowledge of species responses to single and multiple stressors into an Aquatic Species Physiological Limits (ASPL) database, which will be updated over time.

  • Islam: Questions and Answers: Islamic History and Biography
    By Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman

    ... the month of Ramadaan was enjoined in Sha'baan 2 AH, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted nine Ramadaans, because he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died in Rabee' al-Awwal 11 AH.

  • Kilmeny of the Orchard
    By Lucy Maud Montgomery

    A schoolteacher on Prince Edward Island falls in love with a beautiful reclusive girl who plays the violin exquisitely, but is mysteriously unable to speak.

  • Clive Barker's Hellraiser: The Road Below
    By Clive Barker

    This collected edition of the hit mini-series reveals Kirsty's first days in Hell, and how the road there is always paved with good intentions.

  • 市场营销学
    By 杨慧, 吴志军

    本书包括现代营销新观念,市场分析,市场营销环境,市场调查,市场预测,消费者行为研究,市场细分化战略,名牌战略等内容。