The Trojan War was a nearly ten-year-long battle told by Homer’s Greek epic. It has been immortalized and retold through movies like Troy and the use of the iconic Trojan Horse. Famous names in Greek mythology are synonymous with the war names Odysseus and Achilles. But what was the point of the seemingly endless war, which would have ended thousands upon thousands of lives? Who could have brought about such a horrific tragedy?
The answer is one woman, Helen. She’s known as Helen of Sparta and is pointed to as the number one cause of the Trojan War. But how much of it was her fault? Looking at various sources of mythology, we pieced together the past of the most beautiful woman to walk the Earth home of Troy. Sadly, Helen retained her eternal beauty from her godly lineage. Most sources say she was a demigod. Her father was the king of the gods, Zeus.
Helen of Troy is an important figure in Greek mythology. By reading books about her, you can explore the connections between her story and other myths and legends from around the world.
5 Books About Helen of Troy
Helen is one of the famous characters in Greek mythology. As an attractive woman, she faces many sacrifices and problems in life. Everything was excellent and usual until Helen fell in love with a boy. Her love creates a much warlike Trojan and damages Troy City.
For Helen’s exciting, pathetic, and loving history of Helen, there are many books and movies available by it. All these books and movies are based on Homer’s retellings. I will talk 5 books about Helen Of Troy. Let’s start!
1. A Thousand Ships
A Thousand Ships is the story of Greek heroes and the story of the women Helen. It’s the survivors, the victims, the slaves, the effect of war on the women.
The story is about Cassandra, the daughter of a king frame of Troy, who was the voice coerced by the God Apollo to be able to tell the future but not be believed. So she could see all these things that could happen and try to warn people. But they would never believe her until it was too late. She knows what will happen to the women she’s sitting on the beach with, the women who are the victims of the survivors of the war.
In the story of The Odyssey, you hear all about trials and tribulations as he is. He takes 10 years to get from home to the Battle of Troy, where all his adventures with sirens, goddesses, and things get. You don’t hear a lot of Penelope. But here, Penelope is telling her story, and it’s in a series of letters to this.
Author: Natalie Haynes
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Literature & Fiction, Ancient History Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
2. Helen of Troy
The book Helen of Troy is mythological, with 700 pages. It is a retelling of the Trojan War from The Iliad by Homer. It’s from the Trojan women’s perspectives and the Greek women’s perspectives. The author does a lot of a better job at making you understand why Helen would leave her own country, that she was the queen by birthright, and go with a younger guy to a foreign land and cause a massive war. According to the story, it was a 10-year war.
It will have the gods and goddesses as actual characters in the book. If that’s the thing that bothers you, you might not enjoy this book because it is a fantasy element. But that was believed in the religion. The characters are written as real in this book. So it’s no coincidence. They think it’s the gods and goddesses like they’re in the book. It’s such a tragic story.
Author: Margaret George
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Biographical Fiction, War & Military Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
3. Starcrossed
The Starcrossed trilogy is a series that Josephine has created, an exciting and tempting world full of demigods and forbidden love. This series is about demigods. It is about 16 years old Helen Hamilton, and she lives on the small island of Nantucket. Helen has always been different, and she’s always been the oddball on this island.
Then the DELAS family moves into town, and her dreams get weirder and stranger. She has hallucinations of three ladies and doesn’t know what’s happening. Soon enough, she discovers that she’s a demigod. This book is about her journey to finding out whose house she belongs in, what kind of power she has, and how to use them.
Helen is sucked into the world of amazing superpowers and demigods, and she falls in love with Lucas, which is forbidden. The relationship between Helen and Lucas is tested during the second book. Helen becomes more engrossed in the demigod world. She realizes how important she is to the prophecy and survival of other demigods and humans.
The last book in this trilogy is Goddess, and it’s a fantastic conclusion to this fantastic trilogy. It is filled with action and key Greek mythology characters like Zeus, Hades, Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and the Furies in Fate. Helen finally realizes how mighty she is and has to do something about it. The books in this series are filled to the rim with Greek mythology and supernatural powers.
Author: Josephine Angelini
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Fiction on Family for Teens, Teen & Young Adult Greek & Roman Myths
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
4. The Silence of the Girls
The Silence of the Girls is a retelling of The Iliad and Briseis. Briseis is the slave girl in an Achilles’ camp and the book’s main character. She was in a neighboring kingdom of Troy. It predates the Troy invasion by Achilles Abruzzi. It stands from the rooftop, and she sees Achilles storm her town, and he kills her family.
This book starts a lot with Briseis and her point of view. It has three sections. The first section concerns her getting kidnapped by Achilles and taken to his camp. Then it has to do with her being his concubine. In this book, women are not allowed to say too much. They are regarded as property. So they have to keep quiet.
Author: Pat Barker
Average Rating: 4.3/5
Category: Ancient History Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
5. Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy and falls into some of Shakespeare’s Greek plays. He wrote quite a few plays in ancient Greece and Rome. This one will be familiar to many of you because it retells some Trojan wars.
So if you are familiar with The Iliad or The Odyssey, you will recognize many characters who appear as the title suggests. The two central characters are Troilus, a prince of Troy, and a younger brother to Paris, who is desperately in love with Cressida. Cressida is a beautiful Trojan woman who is constantly being compared to Helen.
Troilus and Cressida are trying to work up the nerve to confess their love to each other. Troilus, on his own, doesn’t stand up as a character. The matter is that their story does not take up the bulk of the play. Most of the play is dedicated to watching all Greek warriors and politicians, such as Manlius, Agamemnon, and Ulysses Harris.
There are beautiful moments between Troilus and Cressida in Act Three when they finally come together. They have lovely conversations, and watching them act out is incredibly beautiful. Then they disappear. They’re introduced in act one, and then they disappear. The book ends not in a tragedy involving Troilus and Cressida but in a tragedy involving the heroes of the Trojan Wars. If you are intrigued by the classics and Roman and Greek history, I recommend checking it out.
Author: William Shakespeare
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Shakespeare Plays, Entertainment & Performing Arts
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Mass Market Paperback
What book is based on Helen of Troy?
Many books are based on Helen of Troy, one of the most famous figures of Greek mythology. One of the most popular books based on her story is “The Iliad” by Homer. It’s an epic poem about the Trojan War, which was fought over Helen. Other notable books based on Helen of Troy include “The Song of Achilles,” “Helen of Troy,” and “The Memoirs of Helen of Troy.”
Who was Helen of Troy True love?
In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy’s true love was Paris, the Trojan prince who abducted her from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. According to legend, Paris was chosen by the Goddess Aphrodite to judge a beauty contest between the three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each Goddess offered Paris a bribe for his vote, and he chose Aphrodite, who promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world.
When Paris visited Sparta as a guest of Menelaus, he fell in love with Helen at first sight and decided to take her with him to Troy. Helen and Paris were said to have had a passionate love affair, even though their relationship caused so much destruction and tragedy during the Trojan War.
These books about Helen of Troy cover historical fiction, romance, and fantasy. They offer compelling retellings of this classic myth, with memorable characters, exciting plot twists, and powerful themes. Don’t miss them!
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