HELEN Daughter of Zeus and Nemesis, Helen was without a doubt the most famous and most beautiful woman in the ancient world, and it was for her sake that thousands died on the streets of Troy. As a young girl, Helen was so beautiful and graceful that she captured the hearts of many young men, all who vied for her as suitors. Indeed, it was the Greek hero Theseus who became so enamoured of her that he carried the girl off, but she was later rescued by Castor and Pollux, her brothers, who brought her back to Tyndareus, her foster-father. But Tyndareus grew alarmed at the amount of men sueing for Helen's hand, and wary of upsetting them---some of whom were very powerful, or had powerful fathers---he allowed the girl to choose for herself. Then he called upon all the suitors to swear an oath that they would stand by Helen's choice, and further, do all in their power to aid her husband, should he require assistance at any time in the future. All agreed, and Helen chose Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon. Tyndareus, however, had omitted to make a sacrifice to Aphrodite, and the goddess cursed Helen with an insatiable need for love, and a total lack of fidelity. This was to have dire consequences later on in her life, when she met the young shepherd, Paris.