- What is the etymological significance of Helen's name? In Agamemnon, the chorus says, "Helen! Who on earth had given her this name? Helen, Death; Death, Helen. Such an apt name. It covers all death. Some invisible being, it must have been, expertly twirled his tongue about; prophetically, correctly and named her Helen. Helen, the bride of spear, the womb of strife." Is there some Ancient Greek meaning I'm missing here? When I looked it up, all I got was that Helen means, sun, moon, and shining.
- Hard to say which came first, since Helen's reputation has been terrible pretty much as far back as we can trace and they might have been naming terms for destruction after her rather than the other way around, but several Greek adjectives involving destruction (city-destroying, ship-destroying) also begin with "hel-". They often show up as her epithets, but they do occur in other contexts, too. It's possible this comes from "heleein", the past-tense form of the verb for "to take", which can also be translated "to overcome".
- In the Libation Bearers, Clytemnestra exposes her breast onstage. How would she do that if she were played by a male actor?
- Men have them too. They just don't develop like women's do.
- This could easily have been done with a prosthetic/costume piece.
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