Helen of Troy with Natalie Haynes
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2023
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships - but is there more to her than a beautiful face? Commemorated throughout history in ancient epics and modern adaptations, Helen of Troy is known as one of the most beautiful women to ever have lived. But was Helen of Troy actually real, and from her story what can we learn about women's positions and roles in ancient societies?
In this episode Tristan is joined by author and broadcaster Natalie Haynes to discuss Helen's place in mythology, history and modern society. Often viewed through the male gaze, Natalie helps set the record straight about who Helen really was and unravels the tragic story that encapsulated her life. With discussions of her conception, abductions, and grief after the Trojan War - we learn about why she was so noteworthy in mythology, and how her story has persevered through to the 21st Century.
This episode contains references to rape and self harm.
This episode was originally broadcast in March 2022.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Ancients from History Hit. |
| 0:02.7 | To listen to all of our episodes Add Free, |
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| 0:07.6 | download the History Hit app. |
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| 0:14.0 | And if you're an Apple listener, |
| 0:15.6 | you can subscribe for new Add Free episodes within the app. |
| 0:30.1 | It's the Ancients on History Hit. |
| 0:35.6 | I'm Tristan Hughes, your host. |
| 0:37.3 | And today we're going to be talking all about one of the most famous women from antiquity, |
| 0:41.1 | and perhaps the most famous women from ancient Greek myths. |
| 0:44.1 | It's about time we talked about myths, about the Trojan War, |
| 0:47.0 | about the figure of Helen. |
| 0:48.7 | Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships. |
| 0:52.4 | In this podcast we're going to be giving a detailed rundown of Helen, |
| 0:56.1 | the many versions of Helen, shall we say, |
| 0:58.3 | that exist from various authors from antiquity, |
| 1:01.6 | from ancient Greek times, whether it's Sophocles's Helen in one of his lost plays, |
| 1:05.6 | or one of Euripides's Helen's in two of his plays where Helen features, |
| 1:10.0 | or of course the Helen that features in Homer's Iliad and Homer's Odyssey, |
| 1:15.0 | most famously. |
| 1:16.4 | Now to talk through all of this, |
... |
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