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Helen
Helen in Greek mythology, the most beautiful of women; daughter of Leda and Zeus , and sister of Castor and Pollux and Clytemnestra . While still a young girl Helen was abducted to Attica by Theseus and Polydeuces, but Castor and Pollux rescued her. Later, when she was courted by the greatest heroes and chieftains of Greece, her foster father, Tyndareus, fearful of their jealousies, demanded that each suitor swear to defend the rights of the man Helen chose. She then married Menelaus , who, when Paris carried her off to Troy, reminded her former suitors of their oath. They then recruited an army and defeated the Trojans in the Trojan War .
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"Helen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Helen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Helen.html "Helen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Helen.html |
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Helen
Helen ♀ English vernacular form of the name (Greek Hēlēnē) borne in classical legend by a famous beauty, wife of Menelaus, whose seizure by the Trojan prince Paris sparked off the Trojan War. Her name is of uncertain origin; it may be connected with a word meaning ‘ray’ or ‘sunbeam’ compare Greek hēlios ‘sun’. It has sometimes been taken as connected with the Greek word meaning ‘Greek’, Hellēn, but this is doubtful. In the early Christian period the name was borne by the mother of the Emperor Constantine, who is now usually known by the Latin version of her name, Helena. She is credited with having found the True Cross in Jerusalem. She was born in about 248, probably in Bithynia. However, in medieval England it was believed that she had been born in Britain, which greatly increased the popularity of the name there.
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Helen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Helen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Helen.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Helen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Helen.html |
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Helen
Helen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, born from an egg. In the Homeric poems she was the outstandingly beautiful wife of Menelaus, and her abduction by Paris (to whom she had been promised, as a bribe, by Aphrodite) led to the Trojan War. Helen has a non-Greek name and is probably in origin an ancient pre-Hellenic goddess connected with vegetation and fertility.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Helen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Helen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Helen.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Helen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Helen.html |
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Helen
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"Helen." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Helen." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Helen.html "Helen." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Helen.html |
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Helen
Helen
•Alun, Malin, Tallinn
•Jacklin • franklin
•chaplain, Chaplin
•ratline
•Carlin, marlin, marline, Stalin
•Helen, Llewelyn
•Mechlin
•Emlyn, gremlin, Kremlin
•Galen • capelin • kylin • Evelyn
•Enniskillen, penicillin, villein
•Hamelin • Marilyn • discipline
•Colin, Dolin
•goblin, hobgoblin
•Loughlin
•Joplin, poplin
•compline • tarpaulin
•Magdalen, maudlin
•bowline, pangolin
•Ventolin • moulin • Lublin • Brooklyn
•masculine • insulin • globulin
•mullein • Dublin • dunlin • muslin
•kaolin • chamberlain • Michelin
•madeleine • Mary Magdalene
•Gwendolen • francolin • mescaline
•formalin • lanolin
•adrenalin, noradrenalin
•crinoline • zeppelin • cipolin
•Carolyn • Jocelyn • porcelain • Ritalin
•Ottoline
•javelin, ravelin
•Rosalyn
•merlin, purlin
•Dunfermline • purslane
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Cite this article
"Helen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Helen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Helen.html "Helen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Helen.html |
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