What Happened to Helen of Troy After the Trojan War Ended

Helen of Troy is one of mythology’s most intriguing figures, and her narrative continues well beyond the fall of Troy. While many adaptations focus on the decade-long siege sparked by her beauty, fewer explore her fate after the war concluded and the survivors dispersed.

Homer’s sequel to ‘The Iliad’ picks up her story years later, revealing details that are stranger, sadder, and more complex than most retellings suggest.

According to various mythological accounts, after Paris was slain near the war’s conclusion, Helen was married to his brother Deiphobus, whom she later betrayed to reunite with Menelaus. This act of betrayal is often interpreted as her attempt to regain her husband’s favor, though the mythology allows for multiple interpretations.

The journey back home was fraught with challenges. Menelaus’s fleet encountered a storm en route from Troy, leading them to Egypt, where they spent eight years before finally returning to Sparta. This detour was quite significant for a couple supposedly heading straight home to resume their royal lives.

Upon their return to Sparta, the atmosphere shifts dramatically in Homer’s narrative. In ‘The Odyssey’, the prince Telemachus visits Sparta in search of news about his missing father, Odysseus, and discovers Menelaus and Helen living as a comfortable, affectionate middle-aged couple. This domestic scene contrasts sharply with the chaos often associated with Helen, who is blamed for igniting a war.

What makes this reunion particularly intriguing to classicists is the lack of explanation from Homer. The poem does not clarify how Helen and Menelaus reconciled; the entire reunion occurs offstage before Telemachus arrives. Readers are left to accept that the monumental betrayal somehow resolved itself quietly.

However, the marriage is not depicted as entirely untroubled. Beneath their seemingly cozy exterior, both Menelaus and Helen bear visible scars from their tumultuous past. Homer subtly includes these wounds without dwelling on them, adding depth to their characters.

Other sources corroborate this version of events. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus and Helen returned to Sparta, resuming their roles as king and queen. This narrative remains the most recognized version of the myth, even if many cannot recall its source.

Yet, this seemingly happy reunion does not tell the entire story. Homer intentionally leaves ambiguous whether Helen went to Troy willingly or was taken against her will, a nuance that has influenced how later writers, filmmakers, and audiences perceive her character.

Not all versions of the myth allow for a peaceful ending for Helen. Some accounts suggest that Menelaus threatened to kill her upon learning the full extent of her experiences during her absence, with her beauty being the only reason he spared her. Other traditions take her story in a darker direction.

In one grim variant, after Menelaus’s death, Helen was driven out of Sparta by her stepsons and sought refuge in Rhodes with her friend Polyxo. However, this friendship turned out to be a trap. Polyxo, who had lost her husband in the Trojan War, sought revenge and ordered her slaves to hang Helen, who was subsequently worshipped on Rhodes as Helen of the Tree. This starkly contrasts with the cozy Spartan life depicted elsewhere.

There is also a persistent alternative tradition that questions whether the “real” Helen ever went to Troy. This version posits that the Helen taken to Troy was a phantom, while the true Helen remained in Egypt and reunited with Menelaus after the war, a twist famously explored by the playwright Euripides.

Beyond Sparta, Rhodes, and Egypt, Greek mythology offers even stranger conclusions for Helen. One tradition suggests that she and Achilles were reunited after death on the Isle of Leuce, living on as eternal lovers—a theme later popularized by Goethe in ‘Faust’. This romantic notion diverges entirely from her connection with Menelaus.

Modern adaptations of ‘Troy’ have further muddied the waters regarding her fate. The 2004 film leaves her destiny ambiguous after Paris’s death, concluding with her aiding the Trojans’ escape through the city’s tunnels. This open-ended finale led many viewers to assume she remained with the Trojans.

Even reference sources acknowledge the multitude of competing endings. One variant suggests Helen was ultimately driven from Sparta by her stepsons after Menelaus’s death and fled to Rhodes, aligning with the darker Polyxo narrative. With so many contradictory endings in ancient texts, it’s no wonder pop culture has never settled on a definitive fate for her.

Given the wide divergence of these myths—from a tender reunion in Sparta to a grim hanging in Rhodes—which version of Helen’s ending do you believe aligns best with the woman Homer depicted in ‘The Odyssey’?