Helen of Troy to the underworld, the domain of Hades, to kidnap Persephone. Hades pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast, but, as soon as the pair sat down, snakes coiled around their feet and held them there. Helen's abduction caused an invasion of Athens by Castor and Pollux, who captured Aethra in revenge, and returned their sister to Sparta. In most accounts of this event, Helen was quite young; Hellanicus of Lesbos said she was seven years old and Diodorus makes her ten years old. On the other hand, Stesichorus said that Iphigenia was the daughter of Theseus and Helen,
Helen of Troy illustrations, this event was frequently portrayed as a seduction, whereas in Renaissance painting it was usually depicted as a rape by Paris. The etymology of Helen's name continues to be a problem for scholars. Georg Curtius related "Helen" () to the moon (Selene; ). Émile Boisacq considered Ἑλένη to derive from the noun meaning "torch". It has also been suggested that the λ of arose from an original ν, and thus the etymology of the name is connected with the root of "Venus". Linda Lee Clader, however, says that none of the above suggestions offers much satisfaction. Inversely, others have