Helene - Helene (English spelling)

In Greek mythology, she is the most beautiful woman who caused the Trojan War. One version says that she was born from an egg that was produced when Nemesis (the goddess of punishment) in the form of a goose and Zeus in the form of a swan mated, or that Zeus became a swan and had sex with Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta, and gave birth to her. According to the second version, Leda gave birth to Helen and Polydeuces, who were of divine descent, and Clytemnestra and Castor, who were of human descent. When Helen was 12 years old, she was kidnapped by the hero Theseus, but was rescued by his brothers (Castor and Polydeuces). Eventually, suitors flocked to her from all over Greece, but she ended up becoming the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. After giving birth to a daughter, Hermione, she was seduced by the Trojan prince Paris and fled to Troy. The Trojan expedition was planned by heroes from all over Greece to get her back. After ten years of fierce fighting, Troy finally fell, and Menelaus tried to punish Helen for being the cause of the war by stabbing her in the chest, but he was so struck by her beauty that he dropped the sword. Helen returned to Sparta with her husband and lived happily ever after. It is also said that after her death, she married Achilles on the "White Island" (a kind of paradise). It is believed that she was originally a tree goddess or a fertility goddess, but later transformed into a beautiful woman who was kidnapped in heroic legends.

[Tetsuro Nakatsuka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ギリシア神話でトロヤ戦争の原因となった絶世の美女。鵞鳥(がちょう)に化けたネメシス（天罰の女神）と白鳥に化けたゼウスが交わって生じた卵から生まれたとも、あるいはゼウスが白鳥の姿となってスパルタ王ティンダレオスの妻レダに通じて生ませたとも伝えられる。第二の説によれば、レダは神の血を引くヘレネとポリデウケス、人間の血を引くクリタイムネストラとカストルを生んだ。ヘレネは12歳のとき英雄テセウスにさらわれるが、このときは兄弟（カストルとポリデウケス）に救い出される。やがて彼女をめぐってギリシア中から求婚者が押し寄せるが、彼女は結局スパルタ王メネラオスの妻となる。そして娘ヘルミオネを生みながら、今度はトロヤの王子パリスに誘惑されてトロヤへ出奔する。トロヤ遠征は、こうして彼女を取り返すため、全ギリシアの英雄たちによって企てられた。激闘10年ののち、ついにトロヤが陥落すると、メネラオスは戦争の元凶であるヘレネを罰しようと彼女の胸に剣を突きつけるが、その美しさに打たれて剣を取り落とす。そしてヘレネは夫とともにスパルタに帰還し、幸せな余生を送った。また死後は、「白い島」（一種の極楽）でアキレウスと結婚したとも伝えられる。本来、彼女は樹木神、あるいは豊穣(ほうじょう)女神であったのが、のちに英雄伝説中のさらわれる美女に変貌(へんぼう)したものと考えられている。

［中務哲郎］

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