Helen (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη, Helenē) is a drama by Euripides about Helen, first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia in a trilogy that also contained Euripides' lost Andromeda. The play has much in common with Iphigenia in Tauris, one of the playwright's later works.
Helen was written soon after the Sicilian Expedition, in which Athens had suffered a massive defeat. Concurrently, the sophists – a movement of teachers who incorporated philosophy and rhetoric into their occupation – were beginning to question traditional values and religious beliefs. Within the play's framework, Euripides starkly condemns war, deeming it to be the root of all evil.
About thirty years before this play, Herodotus argued in his Histories that Helen had never in fact arrived at Troy, but was in Egypt during the entire Trojan War. The play Helen tells a variant of this story, beginning under the premise that rather than running off to Troy with Paris, Helen was actually whisked away to Egypt by the gods. The Helen who escaped with Paris, betraying her husband and her country and initiating the ten-year conflict, was actually an eidolon, a phantom look-alike. After Paris was promised the most beautiful woman in the world by Aphrodite and he judged her fairer than her fellow goddesses Athena and Hera, Hera ordered Hermes to replace Helen, Paris' assumed prize, with a fake. Thus, the real Helen has been languishing in Egypt for years, while the Greeks and Trojans alike curse her for her supposed infidelity.
Play may refer to:
Play is a 2002 album by Joanna MacGregor. The album was released on the SoundCircus label and was a nominee for the Mercury Music Prize.
"Play" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn from her second studio album My Truth (1999). Robyn wrote the track in collaboration with Ulf Lindström and Johan Ekhé, who also helmed production. BMG Sweden released it as the album's second single on 21 July 1999 with the non-album song "Good Thang" as its B-side. Musically, "Play" contains some world music influences and a "playful" vibe.
"Play" received positive critical response and became Robyn's seventh consecutive top 40 entry on the Sverigetopplistan singles chart, where it peaked at number 31. The singer performed the song live while promoting the parent album, but the single itself received limited promotion. As with the album, "Play" was not serviced outside of Sweden.
"Play" was written by Robyn, Ulf Lindström and Johan Ekhé. Lindström and Ekhé recorded Robyn's vocals and produced the track at Lifeline Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Almnils Erson, Pär-Ola Claesson, Gunilla Markström and Olle Markström played the strings and Niklas Gabrielsson provided handclaps, while Lindström and Ekhé played all other instruments. The duo also managed arrangement and mixing; both these tasks were done at Lifeline Studios. Britta Bergström and Angela Holland sang backing vocals alongside Robyn. Björn Engelmann and Henrik Jonsson were enlisted to master the track at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm.
This is a list of characters in the Inheritance Cycle, a fantasy series by Christopher Paolini. Many of the names Paolini has used originate from Old Norse, German, Old English and Russian sources as well as the invented languages.
Helen is a 2009 American drama film starring Ashley Judd and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck. It follows a professor (Judd) who overcomes severe depression after a massive breakdown, with the help of new friend Matilda (Smith). Filming took place late 2007 in Vancouver.