Is Helen of Troy real?

Helen, the magnificent woman described in Homer's Iliad immortal school, is based on a real woman.

According to the new hypothesis proposed by scholar Bettany Hughes, the Helen legend was inspired by a wealthy queen living in southern Greece during the Bronze Age.

Hughes, a former University of Oxford scholar, conducted studies on the Balkans, Greeks, and Asia Minor. In her book: Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore, she writes: " I believe that all three people - princess, goddess and whore - are in Helen's body, and her model taken from one of the wealthy Sparta queens who lived and died in the Greek land around the 13th century BC, a woman who only went to bed at night and woke up when the sun was just half, one a mundane man, a noble lady who presides over mysterious religious rituals, a revered, honored and powerful woman who is equal to the gods. .

Based on the works of Homer, Sappho and historian Herodotus, Hughes thinks that Helen's palace is located on the Therapne hill near the Eurotas river. Three skeletons of a 30-year-old woman and two children were excavated in the area, along with traces of buildings destroyed by the fire. It is still unclear what happens in the area, but Hughes thinks Helen's life is short-lived, because the average life of Mycenaea women is only 28 years.

" Women at that time were mothers when they were 12 years old, became grandmother when 24 years old and died before the age of 30 ," Hughes said.

Homer writer has described Helen with white skin, a faint shimmer. Hughes said that shimmering light originated in a cloth soaked in olive oil - a fashion of wealthy women of this period.

While Greeks often have dark hair, the paintings from Helen's time around 3,500 have previously revealed at least one woman with red hair and blue eyes. Hughes thinks that Helen has such hair and that represents a special religious power in her.

According to ancient documents, Helen is married but has a love scandal with the prince of Troy named Paris. Although the writers described Helen as being forced, Hughes claimed that the affair came from both sides.

Excavations carried out in the 19th century and only a few years ago also showed that Troy was located in what is now Hissarlik in Turkey. The copper arrowheads and the bones of the wounded people further confirmed that a war of evil took place at Troy during Helen's life.

In the Iliad, Homer portrays the Trojan War from the wrath of Helen's husband Meneleus when he witnesses his wife's affair with the prince Paris. But it is Troy's wealth that makes it an attractive target.

However, the face of Queen Sparta was not enough to start up thousands of ships, Hughes said. Such a fleet can shatter the whole area. She thought that only about 7 ships to join the war were the same.

Tim Whitmarsh, a scholar of Greek literature at the University of Exeter, England, argued that there cannot be a true Greek character behind the legend of Helen. " The typical Greek woman, described in Semonides' famous poem, like a hardworking bee: she works diligently at home, creates cloth for families, Helen, meanwhile, is a sinful character, a mausoleum woman A woman, a woman who does not stand still, who originates war, and does not bring anything to men in addition to troubles ".

MT ( according to Discovery )