Mortal · Character in Homer’s Odyssey

Helen

Menelaus' queen, home from Troy

Serene, clear-sighted, unashamed; reads a face, reads an omen, regrets nothing.

Composed and back in Sparta, she is the first to recognize Odysseus' son by his face. She remembers meeting Odysseus inside Troy in a beggar's rags — the same trick he will play at home.

Bonds

• Helen wife of Menelaus — beside him again, giving gifts
• Helen queen of Sparta — mistress of the hall once more
• Helen visits Egypt — her calming drug comes from there

Appears in

• Book IV Conference of Telemachus and Menelaus
• Book XV Return of Telemachus

Scenes

1. A Double Wedding — Book IV. Menelaus’s daughter weds Achilles’s son
2. Helen Recognizes Telemachus — Book IV. Helen enters, spots Odysseus’ likeness
3. Peisistratus Confirms His Friend — Book IV. Peisistratus confirms him, talk draws tears
4. Helen’s Drug and Tales of Troy — Book IV. Helen’s drug, Menelaus recalls Troy
5. A Night’s Rest — Book IV. Telemachus retires, Menelaus rises at dawn
6. Odysseus on Calypso’s Isle — Book IV. Odysseus weeps, Menelaus promised Elysium
7. Warning About Wives — Book XI. Agamemnon warns of wives, praises Penelope
8. Seated by the Hearth — Book XIV. Eumaeus believes his master died at Troy
9. Leave Requested — Book XV. Telemachus asks leave of Menelaus
10. Gifts and Farewell Feast — Book XV. Menelaus and Helen give goblet, robe
11. Eagle and Prophecy — Book XV. Helen reads the eagle omen as return
12. Nestor and Menelaus — Book XVII. Telemachus reports Odysseus on Calypso’s isle
13. Athena Tests Odysseus — Book XXII. Athena rebukes Odysseus, deflects spear
14. Penelope Embraces Him — Book XXIII. Convinced, Penelope embraces Odysseus

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