Helen of Troy

*The Face That Launched One Thousand Ships*

**Origin:** Greece

Helen of Troy is described as the most beautiful woman in the world, but she was never entirely mortal. In the most famous version of her origin, Helen is the daughter of Zeus, who transformed into a swan to rape her mother, Leda, a mortal queen. Leda simultaneously conceived two children by Zeus and two by her mortal husband. Two of the resulting four children were mortal; the other two immortal. Helen was the immortal sister, as opposed to her mortal twin, Clytemnestra.

Helen possessed supernatural beauty and allure, which brought her little if any joy. When she was a little girl, the hero Theseus saw her dancing for Artemis; he abducted and raped the child. Helen’s twin brothers, the Dioscuri, rescued and returned her. Helen’s beauty later made her the prize in the Judgment of Paris. Trojan prince and shepherd Paris was forced to decide which of three goddesses deserved a golden apple labeled “for the fairest.” Not one of the goddesses had supreme confidence in her own merits. Each offered Paris a sizable bribe. Aphrodite promised Paris the world’s most beautiful woman. When Paris picked her, she gave him Helen, her devotee.

In a more obscure version of Helen’s mythic origins, she is fully immortal. Zeus pursued the resisting Nemesis, who transformed into a fish to escape him. He ploughed up Earth’s waters to catch her. In a desperate game of hide-and-seek, Nemesis kept changing shapes, finally transforming into a goose. Zeus, in the guise of a swan, raped her. She laid, then abandoned an egg the color of blue hyacinths. The egg ended up with Leda, who hid it until Helen hatched from it.

Helen is blamed as the cause of the Trojan War, ostensibly fought to return Helen to her husband, Menelaus, King of Sparta. In one version of her myth, Helen was never in Troy. Growing bored with Paris even as they eloped, she jumped ship in Egypt, where a pharaoh kept her safe and hidden.

Helen is the original sex goddess, the lady of irresistible allure. This isn’t meant only metaphorically: she was worshipped as a goddess with various shrines throughout Greece. She had a shrine near Sparta, which may have contained the original egg from which she hatched or a replica. She may have been worshipped in Memphis, Egypt, where she had allegedly entertained the pharaoh.

She was venerated on the island of Rhodes as a tree goddess. Legend has it that after the death of Menelaus, with whom she reconciled after the Trojan War, Helen’s step-son banished her from Sparta. She went to visit an old friend, Polyxo, Queen of Rhodes. Or at least Helen imagined her to be a friend: in truth, Polyxo secretly hated Helen, blaming her for the death of her husband during the Trojan War. Once she had Helen alone, Polyxo dressed servants up as Erinyes. They stripped Helen naked, scourged her, and hung her from a tree, killing her. Some understand this as a lynching; others interpret “hanging from a tree” to mean crucifixion. Perhaps to atone or to appease Helen’s ghost, veneration of Helen was then instituted on Rhodes.

Helen is an erotic goddess petitioned for romantic and domestic happiness. She is also invoked for fertility and to assist conception. Themes of sexual violence permeate her myths. Helen may be invoked to protect and avenge those who have been sold into sexual slavery or otherwise exploited and abused. Helen knows the secret formula for nepenthe, the potion that banishes grief and suffering and provides healing oblivion.

Jewish folklore identifies Helen of Troy as an avatar of Lilith. Simon Magus allegedly discovered Helen of Troy (either her immortal self or her Reincarnation) laboring in a brothel in Tyre, now in modern Lebanon. He rescued her, proclaiming her his Sophia (Shekhina, Ennoia); the two were eventually venerated together. Vestiges of Helen may survive under the mask of Saint Helena who is profoundly associated with romance and love magic in Christian folk traditions.

**Manifestation:** Hers is the face that launched a thousand ships. Helen is allegedly awe-inspiringly beautiful, seductive, and sexy.

**Spirit allies:** Helen was venerated alongside her brothers, the Dioscuri, and Aphrodite.

**Attribute:** Egg

**Element:** Water; Helen is associated with healing springs.

**Offerings:** Painted eggs; china, crystal, or otherwise precious eggs

**See Also:** Achilles; Aphrodite; Artemis; Dioscuri; Erinyes; Eris; Lilith; Shekhina; Sophia; Thetis; Zeus

## Appearance in Modern Media

From Sid StoryFrom Blood BrothersFrom DislyteFrom Rage of BahamutFrom Dawn of GodsFrom Divine Gate
## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes