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:Is this the face that launched a thousand ships
:And burned the topless towers of [[Ilium]]?
::''[[The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus]]''
In [[the Divine Comedy]], [[Dante]] sees Helen along with Paris in the [[second circle of Hell]], where they have been consigned for succumbing to the sin of lust.
==Timeline==
The following is an estimation of her life based on the traditional dates of the Trojan War:
*[[1220s BC|1225 BC]] - Birth of Helen to King [[Tyndareus]] of [[Sparta]] and his wife [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]]. Thanks to her beauty she will later be considered daughter of [[Zeus]].
*[[1210s BC|1213 BC]] - At the age of twelve Helen is abducted by King [[Theseus]] of [[Athens]] who marries her against her father's and brothers' consent. During the absence of Theseus, her brothers [[Castor and Polydeuces]] help a revolt by his cousin [[Menestheus]]. Menestheus gains the throne and returns Helen to her brothers. According to some versions Helen was pregnant and a few months later gives birth to [[Iphigeneia]]. She trusts her daughter to her married sister [[Clytemnestra]] who will raise her as her own. Soon Menestheus of Athens and other kings and princes gather at Sparta as Helen's suitors.
*[[1210s BC|1212 BC]] - [[Tyndareus]] marries Helen to Menelaus of [[Mycenae]]. Menelaus' brother is King [[Agamemnon]] who is married to Helen's sister [[Clytemnestra]]. Helen soon gives birth to [[Hermione]]. The early deaths of her brothers [[Castor and Polydeuces]], soon make Menelaus Tyndareus successor at the throne of [[Sparta]].
*[[1200s BC|1203 BC]] - After nine years of marriage, [[Paris]] of [[Troy]] visits [[Sparta]] and in [[Menelaus]]' absence convinces Helen to flee with him. Menelaus discovers that his wife and guest betrayed him and starts contemplating war. King [[Priam]] of [[Troy]] marries Helen to Paris. Menelaus' preparations for war and gathering of allies and armies took him ten years according to some versions.
*[[1190s BC|1194 BC]] - Beginning of the [[Trojan War]].
*[[1180s BC|1184 BC]] - [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] mortally wounded in battle by [[Philoctetes]]. [[Priam]] marries Helen to [[Deiphobus]], a younger brother of Paris.*[[April 24]], [[1180s BC|1184 BC]] - Fall of [[Troy]]. Deiphobus is slain by [[Menelaus]] who reclaims Helen as his wife. They sail on their return journey but are stranded on the shores of [[Egypt]].*[[1170s BC|1176 BC]] - After spending eight years in [[Egypt]], they manage to set sail again and reach the shores of the [[Peloponnesus]]. According to [[Euripides]] they visit [[Mycenae]], arriving shortly after the murders of King [[Aegisthus]], who was Menelaus' first cousin, and Queen [[Clytemnestra]], who was Helen's sister, by their common nephew [[Orestes (mythology)|Orestes]], the new King of [[Mycenae]]. Orestes attempts to kill his aunt but fails. The royal couple return to [[Sparta]] (or else Helen is taken off by Apollo)
*[[1170s BC|1174 BC]] - According to the [[Odyssey]], [[Telemachus]] of [[Ithaca]] visits [[Sparta]] seeking information about his father [[Odysseus]]. Menelaus and Helen reply that they have not heard of him since they left Troy ten years ago. They mourn their many lost relatives and friends.
*[[1150s BC|1154 BC]] - According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], Menelaus dies of old age and natural causes. [[Megapenthes]], his illegitimate son, seizes the throne and exiles Helen. He soon loses the throne to his first cousin King [[Orestes (mythology)|Orestes]] of [[Mycenae]] who is married to [[Hermione]], the only legitimate daughter of Menelaus and Helen and half-sister of Megapenthes. By this point [[Orestes (mythology)|Orestes]] had also seized the vacant thrones of [[Argos]] and [[Arcadia prefecture|Arcadia]] and becomes the sole ruler of the Peloponnesus. Helen seeks refuge in [[Rhodes]] near [[Polyxo]], widow of [[Tlepolemus]], an old friend of hers. Tlepolemus was famously the first man to be killed during the Trojan War. In revenge for her husband's death, Polyxo ordered her maidens to pretend to be the ghosts of the many dead seeking revenge from Helen. Helen committed [[suicide]] by hanging herself from a tree. After her death she is [[deified]].
==Sources==
