The Song of Achilles

by

Madeline Miller

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Song of Achilles makes teaching easy.

Helen Character Analysis

Helen is a Spartan princess and known to be the most beautiful woman in Greece. Her abduction at the hands of Paris kicks off the Trojan War, as her husband, Menelaus, comes to rescue her from Troy. When the novel begins, Helen is still unmarried; at Odysseus’s urging, her suitors (including a young Patroclus) vow to protect her chosen husband. In exchange, Helen will pick that husband herself, and she chooses Menelaus. Achilles and Patroclus later wonder whether Helen went with Paris willingly because she was in love with him. If this is true, it means she chose both her husband and her lover—something unheard of for women in the world of the novel. Achilles even thinks she might have known her actions would cause a war and wanted the fame it would bring her. Ultimately, however, they decide that it doesn’t matter—Menelaus’s brother, Agamemnon, would have attacked Troy regardless, and Helen only provided a convenient excuse.

Helen Quotes in The Song of Achilles

The The Song of Achilles quotes below are all either spoken by Helen or refer to Helen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Honor, Pride, and Legacy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

I was so small; I was rumored to be simple. If he backed down now, it would be a dishonor. […] Without meaning to, I stepped back.

He smirked then. "Coward."

"I am no coward." My voice rose, and my skin went hot.

“Your father thinks you are." His words were deliberate, as if he were savoring them. "I heard him tell my father so."

"He did not." But I knew he had.

The boy stepped closer. He lifted a fist. "Are you calling me a liar?" I knew that he would hit me now. He was just waiting for an excuse. I could imagine the way my father would have said it. Coward. I planted my hands on his chest and shoved, as hard as I could. Our land was one of grass and wheat. Tumbles should not hurt.

I am making excuses. It was also a land of rocks.

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Clysonymus (speaker), Helen, King Menoitius
Related Symbols: The Dice
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“She must have been willing, though. Menelaus' palace is like a fortress. If she had struggled or cried out, someone would have heard. She knew he must come after her, for his honor if nothing else. And that Agamemnon would seize this opportunity and invoke the oath.”

“So you think she did it on purpose? To cause the war?” This shocked me.

“Maybe. She used to be known as the most beautiful woman in our kingdoms. Now they say she's the most beautiful woman in the world." He put on his best singer's falsetto. "A thousand ships have sailed for her.”

[…]

“Maybe she really fell in love with Paris.”

“Maybe she was bored. After ten years shut up in Sparta, I'd want to leave too.”

“Maybe Aphrodite made her.”

“Maybe they'll bring her back with them.”

We considered this.

“I think Agamemnon would attack anyway.”

“I think so too. They never even mention her anymore.”

“Except in speeches to the men.”

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Achilles (speaker), Agamemnon, Menelaus, Helen, Paris, Priam
Page Number: 234-235
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 30 Quotes

The thought of Troy's fall pierces me with vicious pleasure. They deserve to lose their city. It is their fault, all of it. We have lost ten years, and so many men, and Achilles will die, because of them. No more.

[…]

I will crack their uncrackable city, and capture Helen, the precious gold yolk within. I imagine dragging her out under my arm, dumping her before Menelaus. Done. No more men will have to die for her vanity.

[… ]

I am delirious, fevered with my dream of Helen captive in my arms. The stones are like dark waters that flow ceaselessly over something I have dropped, that I want back. I forget about the god, why I have fallen, why my feet stick in the same crevices I have already climbed. Perhaps this is all I do, I think, demented—climb walls and fall from them.

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, Apollo, Helen, Paris
Page Number: 332-333
Explanation and Analysis:
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Helen Quotes in The Song of Achilles

The The Song of Achilles quotes below are all either spoken by Helen or refer to Helen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Honor, Pride, and Legacy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

I was so small; I was rumored to be simple. If he backed down now, it would be a dishonor. […] Without meaning to, I stepped back.

He smirked then. "Coward."

"I am no coward." My voice rose, and my skin went hot.

“Your father thinks you are." His words were deliberate, as if he were savoring them. "I heard him tell my father so."

"He did not." But I knew he had.

The boy stepped closer. He lifted a fist. "Are you calling me a liar?" I knew that he would hit me now. He was just waiting for an excuse. I could imagine the way my father would have said it. Coward. I planted my hands on his chest and shoved, as hard as I could. Our land was one of grass and wheat. Tumbles should not hurt.

I am making excuses. It was also a land of rocks.

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Clysonymus (speaker), Helen, King Menoitius
Related Symbols: The Dice
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“She must have been willing, though. Menelaus' palace is like a fortress. If she had struggled or cried out, someone would have heard. She knew he must come after her, for his honor if nothing else. And that Agamemnon would seize this opportunity and invoke the oath.”

“So you think she did it on purpose? To cause the war?” This shocked me.

“Maybe. She used to be known as the most beautiful woman in our kingdoms. Now they say she's the most beautiful woman in the world." He put on his best singer's falsetto. "A thousand ships have sailed for her.”

[…]

“Maybe she really fell in love with Paris.”

“Maybe she was bored. After ten years shut up in Sparta, I'd want to leave too.”

“Maybe Aphrodite made her.”

“Maybe they'll bring her back with them.”

We considered this.

“I think Agamemnon would attack anyway.”

“I think so too. They never even mention her anymore.”

“Except in speeches to the men.”

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Achilles (speaker), Agamemnon, Menelaus, Helen, Paris, Priam
Page Number: 234-235
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 30 Quotes

The thought of Troy's fall pierces me with vicious pleasure. They deserve to lose their city. It is their fault, all of it. We have lost ten years, and so many men, and Achilles will die, because of them. No more.

[…]

I will crack their uncrackable city, and capture Helen, the precious gold yolk within. I imagine dragging her out under my arm, dumping her before Menelaus. Done. No more men will have to die for her vanity.

[… ]

I am delirious, fevered with my dream of Helen captive in my arms. The stones are like dark waters that flow ceaselessly over something I have dropped, that I want back. I forget about the god, why I have fallen, why my feet stick in the same crevices I have already climbed. Perhaps this is all I do, I think, demented—climb walls and fall from them.

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, Apollo, Helen, Paris
Page Number: 332-333
Explanation and Analysis: