I'm reading the Iliad in my country's translation (Brazilian Portuguese) and reading Canto 3, I realized that...Helen didn't like Paris or staying in Troy.
Like, I see a lot of people saying that she liked Paris and liked her new home, and didn't want to go back to Sparta with Menelaus. But that's totally wrong when you read the Iliad.
Helen cries when she learns that Menelaus and Paris will fight and tells King Priam that she would rather have died than gone to Troy with Paris. She cries, missing her firstborn, her home and Menelaus.
When Paris is rescued by Aphrodite and the Goddess tells Helen to go take care of her husband, she FIGHTS WITH APHRODITE SAYING THAT MENELAUS WON THE DUEL AND THAT HE WILL TAKE HER HOME, AND APHRODITE GETS PISSED BECAUSE OF WHAT SHE SAYS AND THREATENS TO KILL HELENA, AND THIS TERRIFIES THE POOR GIRL.
And what's the first thing Helena says when she finds Paris after the confrontation? That she would rather he had DIED.
Honestly? For me, Helena clearly demonstrates that she was impulsive when she agreed to go to Troy with Paris, in addition to Aphrodite's influence over her.But she never forgot the love she feels for her country, her first husband and her firstborn daughter, it's remarkable.
How can love cause so much pain? I think this concept written and addressed in the Iliad is very good, seriously.
