Kimberly Co

July 11, 2014

Eng 34.1 YA
A Defense on the Character of Helen of Troy
The most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Troy was described as such.
She was the one who launched a thousand ships because of her beauty. But, she was
also blamed for the thousand deaths of the Trojan War. Was she really the one to
blame?
Before Paris and Helen met, Eris sent chaos among the gods and goddesses of
Olympus on the wedding celebration of Peleus and Thetis. She dropped a golden apple
that was in scripted as, for the fairest of them all. Zeus refused to judge the three
goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. He pointed them to a boy who was said to be
a great judge of beauty and that boy was Paris. They approached the boy and offered
him many great things. In the end, he chose Aphrodite who promised him the most
beautiful woman in the world.
A logical person cannot blame Helen at all. First, she was promised to be with the
Trojan Prince by Aphrodite. She did not even know a thing about it. Second, when she
was with Menelaus, she stated that she was not happy. She felt that she was not
important, even Menelaus boasted about him treating Helen like his sex slave. Lastly,
when she met Paris, she suddenly felt alive, important, and loved. After a few years of
feeling insignificant, for the first time, she felt like living. When a guy like Paris offered
you love after being mistreated, of course Helen would think that Paris was the hero she
was waiting for.

Helen was just a woman looking for love. Because of her beauty, men had piled
up on her doorstep just to ask for her hand for marriage. That was not love, it was lust.
Many people might not know anything about being lusted or being courted for her
beauty, but many recognized the feeling of feeling unimportant and unloved. The fact
that Helen of Troy was a trophy wife, many women of today can also empathize. Since,
just like her, she was not loved as a wife should have been loved.
She might have run away from Menelaus, but for a good reason. She was not
treated well. Why would she stay if she has found someone who can treat her right?
Aside from that, she was fated to be with Paris right from the moment he chose
Aphrodite. Even if she wanted to fight her feelings for him, it would be futile. Helen of
Troy was just a scapegoat for the casualties of the Trojan War. She was just a woman
looking for the love that she knew she deserved.

Kimberly Co

July 11, 2014

Eng 34.1 YA
A Defense on the Character of Helen of Troy
The most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Troy was
described as such. She was the one who launched a thousand ships
because of her beauty. But, she was also blamed for the thousand
deaths of the Trojan War. Was she really the one to blame?
Before Paris and Helen met, Eris sent chaos among the gods
and goddesses of Olympus on the wedding celebration of Peleus and
Thetis. She dropped a golden apple that was in scripted as, for
the

fairest

of

them

all.

Zeus

refused

to

judge

the

three

goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. He pointed them to a boy

who was said to be a great judge of beauty and that boy was
Paris. They approached the boy and offered him many great things.
In

the

end,

he

chose

Aphrodite

who

promised

him

the

most

beautiful woman in the world.

A logical person cannot blame Helen at all. First, she was
promised to be with the Trojan Prince by Aphrodite.

She did not

even know a thing about it. Second, when she was with Menelaus,
she stated that she was not happy. She felt that she was not
important, even Menelaus boasted about him treating Helen like
his sex slave. Lastly, when she met Paris, she suddenly felt

alive,

important,

and

loved.

After

few

years

of

feeling

insignificant, for the first time, she felt like living. When a
guy like Paris offered you love after being mistreated, of course
Helen would think that Paris was the hero she was waiting for.
Helen was just a woman looking for love. Because of her
beauty, men had piled up on her doorstep just to ask for her hand
for marriage. That was not love, it was lust. Many people might
not know anything about being lusted or being courted for her
beauty, but many recognized the feeling of feeling unimportant
and unloved. The fact that Helen of Troy was a trophy wife, many
women of today can also empathize. Since, just like her, she was
not loved as a wife should have been loved.
She

might

have

run

away

from

Menelaus,

but

for

good

reason. She was not treated well. Why would she stay if she has
found someone who can treat her right? Aside from that, she was
fated to be with Paris right from the moment he chose Aphrodite.
Even if she wanted to fight her feelings for him, it would be
futile. Helen of Troy was just a scapegoat for the casualties of
the Trojan War. She was just a woman looking for the love that
she knew she deserved.