That Herodotus mentions two datable features to his identification of the Pharoh who received Helen of Troy and kept her in Egypt for over a decade.
One was that he built the temple of Astarte in Memphis, which there’s unsourced claims online was Amenhotep III and in legit sources very likely occurred in the 18th dynasty as that’s when her worship becomes popular in Egypt, and the other was that the Pharoh was born in Memphis, which during the 18th dynasty was only Amenhotep II.
Herodotus wasn’t that great with referring to the 1st, 2nd, etc mentions of a Pharoh’s name, so maybe he was mixing up his Amenhoteps?
A few quick details about Helen:
her name seems to be related to the name of the Greek sun deity (the literal sun) Helios
her early cultic worship has features of a solar cult
allegedly kidnapped as a child by Theseus she was raised by his mother and sister as her family who accompany her leaving Greece
she was apparently a badass who was capable in combat
in a Greek play about Helen in Egypt the plot has the son of the Pharoh wanting to marry her
So did a Pharoh named Amenhotep have anyone show up in their court with similar features to any of the above?
Well, Amenhotep III does.
In fact, his son married a mysterious figure who was literally named “beautiful woman who arrived.”
Her only recorded family was a woman recorded as her wet nurse and a sister.
While married to her, that son suddenly began worshipping the literal sun, the solar disk god, who was previously worshipped by “beautiful woman who arrived” (who continued to directly commune with the god without the Pharoh - very taboo in Egypt at the time). In fact, when he builds an entirely new city in honor of the sun god in the dedication he both acknowledged that his wife got everything she asked for but assured the reader that it was the sun god that told him to build the city there and not his wife (which means people thought his wife told him to build the city there that he needed to deny it).
They eventually outlaw worship of any gods other than the sun disk.
“Beautiful woman who arrived” was the only woman in the history of Egypt to be depicted in the smiting pose about to kill one of Egypt’s captured enemies.
She had six daughters in a row, which is only a 1% chance of happening naturally.
And Egyptologists have been confused by the fact that after her husband’s reign ended there’s a brief period of a Pharoh who seems to have no connection to the royal family other than being married to her first born daughter.
And while Helen in Herodotus leaves Egypt after many years, “beautiful woman who arrived” just sort of disappears and it seems may not have been buried in Egypt as a number of Tut’s burial goods appear to have initially been intended for her burial but were then repurposed for his.
So you have this Egyptian account of a sort of Greek mythological figure claiming she was in Egypt the whole time, Herodotus gives indicators that could place it to an Amenhotep in the 18th dynasty, and then the son of an Amenhotep of the 18th dynasty married “beautiful woman who arrived” who is at the center of one of the most bizarre periods of Egyptian history as a total badass who just so happens to have a number of additional features and family relations paralleling the mythical figure.
And while we have no idea what Helen’s “face that launched 1,000 ships” might have really looked like, the face of “beautiful woman who arrived” has been on the covers of our magazines for years now.
That Herodotus mentions two datable features to his identification of the Pharoh who received Helen of Troy and kept her in Egypt for over a decade.
One was that he built the temple of Astarte in Memphis, which there’s unsourced claims online was Amenhotep III and in legit sources very likely occurred in the 18th dynasty as that’s when her worship becomes popular in Egypt, and the other was that the Pharoh was born in Memphis, which during the 18th dynasty was only Amenhotep II.
Herodotus wasn’t that great with referring to the 1st, 2nd, etc mentions of a Pharoh’s name, so maybe he was mixing up his Amenhoteps?
A few quick details about Helen:
So did a Pharoh named Amenhotep have anyone show up in their court with similar features to any of the above?
Well, Amenhotep III does.
In fact, his son married a mysterious figure who was literally named “beautiful woman who arrived.”
Her only recorded family was a woman recorded as her wet nurse and a sister.
While married to her, that son suddenly began worshipping the literal sun, the solar disk god, who was previously worshipped by “beautiful woman who arrived” (who continued to directly commune with the god without the Pharoh - very taboo in Egypt at the time). In fact, when he builds an entirely new city in honor of the sun god in the dedication he both acknowledged that his wife got everything she asked for but assured the reader that it was the sun god that told him to build the city there and not his wife (which means people thought his wife told him to build the city there that he needed to deny it).
They eventually outlaw worship of any gods other than the sun disk.
“Beautiful woman who arrived” was the only woman in the history of Egypt to be depicted in the smiting pose about to kill one of Egypt’s captured enemies.
She had six daughters in a row, which is only a 1% chance of happening naturally.
And Egyptologists have been confused by the fact that after her husband’s reign ended there’s a brief period of a Pharoh who seems to have no connection to the royal family other than being married to her first born daughter.
And while Helen in Herodotus leaves Egypt after many years, “beautiful woman who arrived” just sort of disappears and it seems may not have been buried in Egypt as a number of Tut’s burial goods appear to have initially been intended for her burial but were then repurposed for his.
So you have this Egyptian account of a sort of Greek mythological figure claiming she was in Egypt the whole time, Herodotus gives indicators that could place it to an Amenhotep in the 18th dynasty, and then the son of an Amenhotep of the 18th dynasty married “beautiful woman who arrived” who is at the center of one of the most bizarre periods of Egyptian history as a total badass who just so happens to have a number of additional features and family relations paralleling the mythical figure.
And while we have no idea what Helen’s “face that launched 1,000 ships” might have really looked like, the face of “beautiful woman who arrived” has been on the covers of our magazines for years now.
Fascinating, for sure. Thanks for sharing, I thoroughly enjoyed this comment.
Great read! Loved the flourish at the end.