Helen of Troy

According to the myth, Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. Dozens of rulers and famous warriors came from all over Greece to seek her hand. This proved a great problem because by accepting one Helen would make enemies of all the others. Wily Odysseus, however, thought of a solution. All the suitors swore that they would be friends and come to the aid of Helen’s chosen husband in the event of danger.
Helen picked Menelaus of Mycenae and his elder brother Agamemnon married Helen’s sister Clytemnestra. When Helen was abducted by Paris, Agamemnon and all the Greek heroes set off on a campaign against Troy.
Antonio Canova created a pair of busts of Helen and Paris. These works bring together the main ideas of Neo-Classicism: strictness of line and proportions, expressiveness achieved through a minimum of artistic devices, and orientation on the ideals of Classical Antiquity and the Renaissance.