Helen of Troy Paris dies and Troy falls. Helen was portrayed by Diane Kruger in the 2004 film "Troy". In this adaptation, as in the 2003 television version, she is unhappily married to Menelaus and willingly leaves with Paris, whom she loves. However, in this version she does not return to Sparta with Menelaus (who is killed by Hector), but escapes Troy with Paris and other survivors when the city falls. Jacob M. Appel's 2008 play, "Helen of Sparta", retells Homer's "Iliad" from Helen's point of view. Inspired by the line, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...?" from Marlowe's "Faustus",
History of Sparta the decarchs that had been established by Lysander in former states of the Athenian Empire and ordered the former governments restored. The two major powers in the eastern Mediterranean in the 5th century BC had been Athens and Sparta. The defeat of Athens by Sparta resulted in Spartan hegemony in the early 4th century BC. Sparta's close relationship with Cyrus the Younger continued when she gave covert support to his attempt to seize the Persian throne. After Cyrus was killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, Sparta briefly attempted to be conciliatory towards Artaxerxes, the Persian king. In late 401 BC,