Everybody Hates Helen

Helen is one of the more controversial of characters in the Iliad because there are many different views based off of her actions before and during the Iliad. Helen's true nature is conflicting and can be viewed as either an inspirational female who transcended the strict boundaries imposed on women back then or she can be seen as a deceitful and shameful women who was the sole cause of the deaths of thousands of Greeks and Trojans. The Iliad seems to be mainly filled with negative views and reactions to Helen from Greeks and Trojans alike. Helen is seen as the cause of the Trojan War and the unnecessary deaths of husbands, fathers, and sons. Helen displays self-consciousness about her behavior in leaving her husband, Menelaus, for Paris and starting the Trojan War. Helen is shameful of her actions, calling herself a "cold-blooded bitch" (6. 362) and explaining to Hector that she wishes "waves of a restless sea swept me away before all this could happen" (6. 365-366). Helen regrets her decision to leave Menelaus for Paris and shames herself for being the cause of so many unnecessary deaths.
Helen expresses remorse and self-hatred during her time in Troy. The real reasons behind Helen leaving Sparta with Paris are ambiguous, but it is clear that Helen regrets choosing Paris. She asks Hector, "Why couldn't I be the wife of a better man?" (6. 368) as she witnesses Paris' cowardliness on the battlefield, but not necessarily missing her life back in Sparta. Most of the characters blame Helen for the war, even Helen herself, because she knows that it was not worth escaping with Paris. She realizes how much death and suffering have been the result of her actions and she repeatedly wishes her death before she caused the Trojan War. She admits to Priam that "death should have been a sweeter evil to me than following your son here ... that lovely time in my life" (3. 182-184). She loathes herself now for the misery she has caused the Greeks and Trojans alike.
Helen regrets her decision in running away with Paris because she sees him for the coward he truly is on the battlefield and as a person. Most Trojans blame her for the war and treat her with distaste, except for Hector. Helen has a closer relationship with Hector than any Trojan, including Paris. Hector is nice to Helen and Helen admits that Hector "bears such a burden for my wanton ways" (6. 373-374). Helen mourns Hector and may have even been more smitten for Hector than Paris. At Hector's funeral, Helen movingly says, "I weep for you and for myself, my heart is heavy, because there is no one left in all wide Troy who will pity me or be my friend. Everyone shudders at me" (24. 827-830). Helen knows that she did not make the right decision in leaving Menelaus and she did not want people, like Hector, to lose their lives for her. Helen is shown as a shameful and self-hating character, leaving it up to the reader to decide if Helen is the cause or just another victim of the Trojan War.