Abstract
In ancient Greece and Rome, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman among mortals. Her beauty, an almost divine quality, made Helen immortal. Its praise was an integral part of Greek and Roman letters. The cinema has eagerly followed in the footsteps of classical and later authors and artists by retelling her story. Beautiful actresses have variously portrayed her as unhappy wife of Menelaus, romantic lover of Paris, and ruinous cause of the Trojan War. This paper pays homage to Helen’s beauty by presenting, in word and image, her most notable screen incarnations from 1911 to 2013.
Highlights
Resumo: Na Grécia e Roma antigas, Helena de Troia era a mulher mais bela entre as mortais
Helen, and Cleopatra are probably the three women of classical myth and history who are most renowned for their beauty
Praise of Helen’s beauty was an integral part of Greek and Roman letters. This beauty received its ultimate tribute in a composition by the Greek rhetorician Isocrates, a disciple of the Sophist Gorgias
Summary
The scene here summarized occurs after the opening credits of Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt (Le mépris, 1963) It was added as an afterthought when the film’s producers wanted to capitalize on the body of their star, who had already become a screen sensation and international sex symbol. Male viewers might conclude: This Helen is not my type, so I don’t see why anybody should make such a fuss about her, much less get involved in a horrible war over her. There is such a risk, as there is for screen portrayals of any of the sweater girls already mentioned. Nowadays, when real women play Helen, the question may be worth pondering more than at Marlowe’s time, when a boy actor embodied Helen
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