In English
Helen was the daughter of the hero Tindareus (Τινδάρεως)
and Leda (Λήδα). Tindareus was exiled when the king of Sparta was Ippokoontas
(Ιπποκόοντας). When Hercules killed Ippokoontas,
Tindareus and his wife returned to Sparta and he became the king. Tindareus and Leda
had four children. A myth says, that the two of them, Helen (Ελένη) and
Pollux (Πολυδεύκης), were the children of Leda and Zeus. The other
two, Klytemnistra (Κλύταιμνήστρα) and Castor (Κάστορας), were
the children of Leda and Tindareus.
Helen became a very beautiful woman. So beautiful, that it was
said that no mortal woman was more beautiful than her. Many kings and heroes
were asking for her hand in marriage, but Tindareus decided not to give his daughter to any of
them. He was afraid that he would create animosity between them and hatred
towards Sparta, that would lead to war. Odysseus gave wise advise to Tindareus.
"Why don't you tell them that you will let her choose who she wants, but they must first
swear that they'll never fight the lucky young man that she chooses and
they'll always support him", he said. They all agreed.
Helen chose Menelaus (Μενέλαος) son of Atreas (Ατρέας).
They got married and when Tindareus died, Menelaus became the king of Sparta.
Menelaus never thought of the pain that
this marriage would bring to him and the rest of the Greeks...
In Greek
Η Ελένη ήταν κόρη του ήρωα Τινδάρεου και της Λήδας. Ο Τινδάρεως ήταν
εξορισμένος όταν βασιλιάς της Σπάρτης ήταν ο Ιπποκόοντας. Όταν ο Ηρακλής σκότωσε
τον Ιπποκόοντα, Ο Τινδάρεως με την γυναίκα του γύρισαν στην Σπάρτη όπου έγινε βασιλιάς.
Ο Τινδάρεως και η Λήδα είχαν τέσσερα παιδιά. Ένας μύθος λέει, ότι τα δύο, η Ελένη και
ο Πολυδεύκης, ήταν παιδιά της Λήδας και του Δία. Τα άλλα δύο, η Κλυταιμνήστρα και ο
Κάστορας, ήταν παιδιά της Λήδας και του Τινδάρεου.
Η Ελένη έγινε μια πολύ όμορφη γυναίκα.
Τόσο όμορφη, που έλεγαν πως καμιά
θνητή γυναίκα δεν ήταν ομορφότερη απ' αυτή. Πολλοί
βασιλιάδες και ήρωες την ζητούσαν σε γάμο αλλά ο
Τινδάρεως αποφάσισε να μην δώσει την κόρη του σε κανένα. Φοβόταν ότι θα
δημιουργήσει έχθρα μεταξύ τους και μίσος
προς την Σπάρτη, που θα οδηγήσει σε πόλεμο. Ο Οδυσσέας έδωσε μια
σοφή συμβουλή
στον Τινδάρεω.
"Γιατί δεν τους λες πως θα αφήσεις αυτή να διαλέξει όποιον θέλει, αλλά πρέπει πρώτα
να ορκιστούν πως ποτέ δεν θα πολεμήσουν τον τυχερό νέο που διάλεξε
και πάντα θα τον υποστηρίζουν", είπε. Όλοι
συμφώνησαν.
Η Ελένη διάλεξε τον Μενέλαο τον γιο του Ατρέα. Παντρεύτηκαν και όταν ο
Τινδάρεως πέθανε, ο Μενέλαος έγινε βασιλιάς της Σπάρτης. Ο Μενέλαος ποτέ δεν
σκέφτηκε τον πόνο που ο γάμος αυτός θα έφερνε σ'αυτόν και
στους υπόλοιπους Έλληνες...
Words you Need to Learn
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Pay attention to the following
before you start reading.
In phonetics where you see:
Capital letters is where the word is accented.
ee or i is pronounced as the ee in word beet.
e as the e in the word bet.
a as the a in the word father.
o as the o in the word only.
ou as the ou in the word Lou.
x as the x in the word fox.
th or th like the th in think.
th or th like the th in this.
(underline)
Where you see a (red) " g " in the phonetics for that
word, that " g " is
pronounced like the y in yes, or
like the w in wad
- εγώ εξορίζω (ekso-RI-zo) = I exile
- εξορισμένος, -η, -ο (eksori-SME-nos) = the exiled
- θνητός, -ή, -ό (thni-TOS) = mortal
- εγώ δημιουργώ (thimiour-GO) = I create
- η έχθρα (EH-thra) = animosity
- εγώ οδηγώ (othi-GO)=
I lead
- εγώ ορκίζομαι (or-KI-zome) = I swear
- εγώ φέρνω (FER-no)= I bring
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