Helen in Egypt

The fabulous beauty of Helen of Troy is legendary. But there were two Helens. Homer set her at the heart of Troy under siege. Another poet, Stesichorus of Sicily, tells how Helen never went to Troy at all but was conveyed at the behest of Zeus to Egypt. Greeks and Trojans fought their long war for an illusion.

Yet Helen in Egypt follows the Egyptian legend and recreates the many myths surrounding Helen, Paris, Achilles, Theseus, and others, fusing them with the mysteries of Egyptian hermeticism. H.D.'s theme is war and death, but also rebirth -- a lyric narrative, each scene and change of voice introduced by a short prose interlude.