Who was Helen of Troy¿ ¦ Early Life of Spartan Queen that became Trojan Princess

We know her as the most beautiful woman of the known world. The queen of Sparta that went on to become the Trojan princess, instigating the most famed conflict of the heroic age. But who was really Helen and what's the story behind this heroine? In this episode we talk about Helen of Troy. Helen was the daughter of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta and his wife Queen Leda. Helen had an Helen and her brothers and sister were brought up as Spartan royalty. Young Helen was so beautiful that it was believed that it was a gift from gods. Theseus, a young man from Athens of divine origin, determined that he wanted to have the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. Hearing of Helen's beauty, he abducted her from Sparta and brought her to Athens. While Theseus went on an expedition into the underworld with his friend Pirithous, the Peloponnesian expedition was launched against Athens by Helen's brothers Castor and Pollux, who invaded the city and took their sister back to Sparta. The brothers also took Theseus's mother, Ethera, and brought her to Sparta where she was forced to become one of Helen's house servants. Princess Helen came of age reviving the interest of kings and heroes alike from across all of Greece including the kingdom of Mycenae. Mycenae was the most influential and powerful city of the time. It was the traditional capital of a loose confederation that comprised most of the Achaean palace centers including Sparta. All was not well in Mycenae as the civil war was ongoing between two royal factions, one led by Thestes and his son Agistus and the other led by Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus who emerged victorious. Agamemnon married Cliton Mestra forming an even stronger bond between Mycenae and Sparta. King Tyndareus started receiving numerous offers for the hand of his daughter Helen. According to ancient accounts she had over 40 suitors from different cities and kingdoms. Among those suitors was none other than Agamemnon's brother Menelaus. King Tyndareus wanted Menelaus to marry his daughter because the decision helped strengthen the relationship between the two regimes. With this Helen became the wife of Menelaus the brother of the king of Mycenae. When Tyndareus stepped down as king of Sparta in favor of Menelaus, Helen became the new queen of Sparta. Menelaus and Helen had at least one daughter whom they named Hermione. The purpose of the mission to Sparta by Paris the prince of Troy was to strengthen its relations with Mycenae. However the mission would have disastrous consequences for Helen and the known world around the Aegean. When Helen and Paris met they fell in love. According to a myth Aphrodite the goddess of love had offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen was to Paris the fulfillment of that pledge. The young Trojan was said to have been so blinded by Helen's beauty that he decided to do the unthinkable and bring the Spartan queen with him to Troy. Although it is claimed that Helen fell in love with Paris it is still debated whether she was abducted forcefully or willingly escaped Sparta The outrage in Sparta was immediate with Menelaus calling on his brother Agamemnon to bring his wife back and punish the Trojans. Agamemnon obsessed with power and conquest soon obliged and declared war on Troy calling to his aid all of the Achaean kings and princes including those bound by the pledge of loyalty to Menelaus. The stage was set for one of the most devastating and certainly the most famed war of all caused by the ill-fated actions of Paris and the irresistible beauty of Helen of Troy. The series on the heroes of the Trojan war will continue so make sure to subscribe to the channel and click the bell button in order to get notified on the upcoming content. Special thanks to History with Sai, Nico, Chris Ernst, Panagiotis Yiannopoulos, Fred Leckie, Tim Lane, Derek Wildstar, ABC Shake, Padre91, Argyris Margaritis, Yule Sally Briggs, Vineyard Illumination and Estate Care on their continuous support. If you wish to discuss and decide on the future videos feel free to join us on Patreon. This was a special episode of BannocksTV and we'll see you again soon.