Conclusion

This concluding chapter traces further lines of reception of Helen even as it examines further hypostases of Helen. Previous chapters have shown how the narrative or narratives of Helen were enough to generate new narratives, some of them even with doctrinal significance, and also have her remain a figure of reference separate from all of them. For the coming into being of these new Helens, this chapter argues nothing in her history requires that she have been “originally a goddess” or that she have an essential self. After exploring her various hypostases, the chapter considers the more recent lines of reception of Helen, and considers which of these iterations might last well into modern times.