اوریپید حداقل در سه نمایشنامه به هلن می‌پردازد که به نظرم ترتیب زمانی‌شان چنین می‌شود:
در «زنان تروا» هلنی را می‌بینیم که از دست تروایی‌ها بیرون کشیده می‌شود و همه خواهان مرگ اویند. بعد به همین نمایشنامه، یعنی «هلن» می‌رسیم که می‌فهمیم اصل داستان چیست؛ زمان اتفاقات نیز هفت سال بعد از جنگ تروا و درست قبل از بازگشتن سپاهیان به یونان است. سپس به نمایشنامه‌ی «اورستس» می‌رسیم، زمانی که هلن و منالئوس وارد آرگوس می‌شوند و در انتهای نمایش، داستان هلن با ستاره شدن به اتمام می‌رسد.

Helen, long believed-written to have been abducted and taken to Troy, was argued by Herodotus in his ‘Histories’ to have actually been in Egypt during the Trojan War. The lyric poet Stesichorus made the same assertion in his ‘Palinode’. Euripides' play takes this Helen-not-to-Troy tack, in that she was whisked away to Egypt by the gods. The Helen who escaped with Paris was an eidolon, a phantom look-alike, created under orders of Hera. So in Egypt, Helen’s protector King Proteus has died. His son Theoclymenus intends to marry Helen, who is still loyal, sexually, to her husband Menelaus. With the Trojan War over, Menelaus is returning with Helen-the-eidolon (who he believes is the real Helen) when he is waylaid in a storm on the coast of Egypt. Surprises ensue!
The play opens - after a lengthy explanation of things past - with Helen consulting Theonoë, the prophetess, to learn of Menelaus’ fate, for if he is dead, as she fears, then she is “available” for marriage to Theoclymenus, Proteus' son.
Wow, the Chorus has the run of this play! So many lines!
Enter the Dioscuri! The deus in the machina! The oft-used ‘deus ex machina’ (a Latin calque - direct loan translation) in which the machine, translated from the Greek mekhane, refers to a crane (machine) used to raise/lower actors to/from the stage.
A play that distances itself from the “official” Helen story, and has similarities to Euripides own ‘Iphigenia Among the Taurians’, in its action, while differing in the questions it asks about identity, truth, and fidelity-virtue. Not a popular play, then or now, overshadowed by Homer’s Helen obviously, and survived merely by being another of the “alphabet plays”. I wonder if the choice to accept ‘Homer’s Helen’ - then and now - has more to do with believing that women lack virtue and are the sexual bane of men.

Euripides is playing with us, or that’s what it seems like when he takes an alternative story where Helen is in Egypt whilst it was her doppelganger who ran off with Paris and caused the Trojan war.

In this play, Euripides shows us a Helen who is plagued with much regret over the war, but things look up when, Menelaus, her husband, is shipwrecked on the island she’s kept. Then the plot turns, this is surprising, as Helen and Menelaus make their escape.

But I wouldn’t call this a leisurely read but it definitely had its moments.

Yo no sé por qué no había leído esta obra en teatro pero me gustó mucho, más que otras de eurípides que sí había leído. Me gusta que esta obra sea considerada como LA que rompe con las de Sófocles y Esquilo.

Read this in Emily Wilson's translation for the Modern Library Greek plays collection.

This alongside Trojan Women is one of my favorite Euripides plays, and I am interested in the revisionist myth of the Trojan War that shows the whole war as being fought for nothing. Trojan Women follows the more traditional outlines of the Trojan War mythos, with Helen being a real flesh-and-blood presence in the Trojan War, and The Iliad gives a brief but powerful portrait of this most beautiful of women (and she appears in a generally sympathetic if self-absorbed light in the Homeric poems).

Also interesting is how Menelaus resembles Odysseus in his being kept from returning home and being separated from his (faithful) wife. If The Odyssey is the story of a hero who is separated from his faithful wife, then Euripides' Helen is also the story of Menelaus finding his faithful wife and seeking to return to Sparta while also having to contend with a potentially violent suitor named Theoclymenus.

Euripides also opens up questions of divine will, fate, chance, necessity, through his rewriting/revisiting of the Trojan War myths, and from what I have learned this play was put on only a few months after the bad news about the destruction of Athens' armada near Sicily. In The Iliad war was a terrible man-destroying thing that still allowed for man to display his noble qualities, and this heroic vision allowed for real moments of pathos, energy, and more. In Euripides' plays, the Trojan War is seen more sharply as a sign of meaningless and searing desolation; Trojan Women and Helen thus work as a kind of Euripidean Iliad-Odyssey package deal for an alternative version of the "matter of Troy"

Which brings me to think of Emily Wilson's Homeric translation work. She put out a highly-acclaimed verse translation of The Odyssey. She's now working on a verse translation of The Iliad. It makes sense that she, having a strong background in Euripides, would go to Homer.

All in all, I highly recommend that readers read this play at least once.

A beautiful light paly by the great Ancient Greek playwright Euripides, which tells a different version about the story of Helen of Sparta, based on the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ suggestion. The play has a happy ending – although it contains some element of a tragedy - were the beloved spouses are re-united and go back together to their own homeland. The play includes a number of themes and points, such as the power of reason, women’s ability to find solution (even through tricks), appearances/illusion vs. reality, marital fidelity, forgiveness, misunderstanding, honor, personal glory, virtue, identity, lineage, the intervention of gods in man’s life. It is shocking to know that the war, which led to tremendous destruction and loss, was based on a mere illusion, through the manipulation of gods, but at the same time that reveals the craziness of war and the devastating consequences it can bring on people and cities. I loved the trick by Helen, which helped her win back her husband, while reflecting her wittiness and creative thinking; and I also loved the story of Zeus and Leda. The translation is beautiful and readable, and I enjoyed read it.

One of the masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature. It is not one of my personal favorites, though.

Elena, la donna più odiata dell’antica Grecia. Causa di una guerra, della distruzione di Troia e di numerose morti.
Euripide tenta di riscattarne l’immagine con una finzione: a Troia Paride condusse non un simulacro vivente e non la vera Elena, rimasta in Egitto al sicuro in attesa del ritorno del marito.
Una donna fedele, umile e inquieta, dilaniata da una cattiva fama che la perseguita ingiustamente. E’ questa la nuova Elena. Fulcro della tragedia rimpiange la morte piuttosto che un destino crudele che la vede vilipesa ingiustamente. Solo l’arrivo di Menelao la riscuote da questo torpore.
Un testo interessante, ma che non mi ha suscitato particolare empatia. Aspetto di vederlo sulla scena.

One of my favourite classical, ancient writings. The story is very interesting, a twist of the classical tale. The ending is particularly thrilling, as you are anticipating the recognition scene.

اصلا ما را از برای رنج کشیدن بدین جهان آورده اند پس به ناچار باید شیوه رنج کشیدن را بیاموزیم
از قول فرس// در نمایشنامه آلسست

Since I had loved Medea by Euripides, I instantly decided on reading Helen when I saw it in the list of options for my assignment. But this wasn't as alluring or powerful as Medea had been. But Euripides being the first Greek dramatist I read, I admit I'm still biased to him.

The story follows the Greek Queen Helen who faces a personal tragedy as she becomes the reason behind the Spartan War because of Paris' lust for her. While throughout history, Medea was blamed for the war and Paris' lust, Euripides is known to be sympathetic to his female characters and thus gives a version of the story that shows Helen as a poor character played out by destiny and Gods' whims and shows Gods to be biased and moody and using humans as characters in their play. Zeus and Aphrodite bear the brunt, yay!

But the whole plot was dealt with very lukewarm dialogues and action and with what I've read of Euripides, I expected better, though this was not bad. Still recommend this if you are into Greek drama.

GO ON HELEN I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT