The goddess Iris, in the guise of Helen's sister-in-law Laodike (Laodice) went to Helen in her chamber and told her of the impending fight. The disguised Iris suggested that Helen go to the city wall and watch as her Trojan husband and her Greek husband fought to the death. Helen went to a tower and watched the two armies as they laid down their arms and took their places to watch the fight between Alexandros and Menelaos.
The Immortals were not actually fighting on the battlefield but they were engaged in constant meddling. When Menelaos was obviously going to win the fight with Alexandros, Aphrodite swooped down and carried Alexandros away ... she carried him to Helen's bedchamber. Aphrodite found Helen on a high tower of Troy where she was watching the fight with the other Trojan women. Assuming a disguise, Aphrodite told Helen to leave the tower and go to Alexandros. Helen recognized Aphrodite's divinity and asked why she was trying to beguile her. Aphrodite was not accustomed to being questioned or disobeyed by a mortal ... she threatened Helen with her divine hatred if her commands were not obeyed at once. Helen went to Alexandros and confessed that she wished that she had been killed at birth because so much misery and suffering had been endured for her sake.
The last bitter days of the Trojan War saw the deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the greatest warrior of all time, Achilles. With the best warrior in each army dead, the war was destined to go on indefinitely. The Greeks however had a brilliant idea. They built a giant Wooden Horse and concealed their best fighters inside. They then took their fleet to a nearby island where they could not be seen by the Trojans. The trick worked ... the Trojans thought the Greeks had finally given up and returned to their homes and that the Wooden Horse was a peace offering in the form of a tribute to the lord of the Sea, Poseidon. Over the objections of the seer Laokoon (Laocoon), the Wooden Horse was brought inside the city.
Helen was suspicious of the horse and the intentions of the Greeks. Once the Wooden Horse was inside the city walls, she walked around it and imitating the voices of different men's wives, called out to see if any of the men she suspected to be hiding in the horse would answer. All the men hiding inside the horse remained silent. The Trojans began their victory celebration and when all their energies had been spent, relaxed into a wine-induced slumber.
The Greeks emerged from the Wooden Horse and the slaughter began. Troy was a large city and its toppling was not as organized as we might think. In the confusion, a man named Deiphobos (Deiphobus) found Helen and hastily married her. When Menelaos found out about the marriage, he killed Deiphobos and was reunited with the semi-divine Helen.
When the walls of Troy were finally toppled and King Priam and his family were either dead or enslaved, the invaders collected their treasures and slaves and sailed for home.
Helen After Troy
Compared to the fate of some of the Greek survivors of the Trojan War, the homecoming of Helen and Menelaos was relatively uneventful. Their ships were blown off course by contrary winds and they made landfall in Egypt before reaching Sparta. They were entertained as the guests of King Polybos (Polybus) and Queen Alkandre (Alcandre) of Thebes for an indefinite time.
When it came time to leave Egypt, Queen Alkandre presented Helen with a golden distaff and a gold-trimmed silver basket on wheels. King Polybos gave Menelaos two silver bathtubs, a pair of tripods and ten talents of gold (570 pounds or 258.5 kilograms).
After leaving Egypt, we can assume that Helen and Menelaos returned to Sparta and tried to resume their lives. The news that Menelaos's brother Agamemnon had been murdered by his wife Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) was disturbing ... the fact that Klytemnestra was Helen's sister added an ominous twist to an already unsettling turn of events.
Helen/HeH Len/Ελεν/The Beautiful Daughter of Zeus
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