Helen
of Troy
ca. 1200 BC
In Greek
legend, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world who
caused the Trojan
War when she eloped with Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam. Her
husband then gathered all his friends and went chasing after her.
Note on the Illustration:
The Greek people are notoriously swarthy, so you're probably wondering, Why does the most
beautiful woman in Greece
look so Teutonic? What kind of Aryan master race bullshit am I trying
to
pull here? Believe it or not, it's true to the sources. Hesiod
describes her as "fair-haired Helen", and Homer describes her
as "white-armed
Helen." According to the poet Sappho of Lesbos,
Helen had "xanthe" hair
in
thick lush curls, which can be translated as something like blond,
tawny or red. She was also called "kyanôpis" which is a compound
adjective meaning "blue eyed".
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