Helen
Helen (Helene; Helena) Author: Euripides
First Performance: c.412 BC, Athens?
First English Translation: 1782
Genre: Greek drama in verse
Setting: Before the palace of the King of Egypt, after the Trojan War
Cast: 7m, 3f, extras, chorus (f)
Helen reveals that her adulterous reputation is undeserved. She is living chastely in Egypt, where she was transported while a ‘phantom Helen’ was abducted by Paris to Troy. She longs to see her husband Menelaus again, but learns that he has been shipwrecked on his way home from Troy. The Chorus persuades Helen to test the truth of the rumour of Menelaus' death by consulting the oracle. No sooner has Helen been assured that her husband is still alive, than he arrives at the palace. However, as he is in rags, the Portress refuses him entrance, since no Greek may...
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