Proteus of Egypt
Encyclopedia
Proteus was an ancient Egyptian
king who is mostly known for his involvement in an alternate version of the story of Helen of Troy.
In book II of The History
by Greek historian Herodotus
, Proteus is said to be from Memphis, succeeded Pheron
to the throne, and was succeeded by Rhampsinitus
(Ramesses III, as he was known by the Egyptians
). When Paris
took Helen from Sparta, wind took him off course to Egypt. While there his slaves deserted him and told the authorities what Paris had done. Word of his crimes reached Proteus, who then took Helen and seized the treasure Paris had stolen from Menelaus
, intending to return her and the treasure to Menelaus when he arrived. The Trojans are unable to prove to the Greeks that they do not have Helen, and it is not until Troy is defeated that they are believed. Menelaus then goes to Egypt; he is treated well by the court of Proteus, and is reunited with Helen. However, upon his departure Menelaus sacrifices some native children and becomes hated by the Egyptians.
Herodotus also makes references to Homer
's Iliad
and Odyssey
, claiming Homer must have been aware of this version of events despite using the more common story.
Another take on this story is presented in the tragedy Helen
by Euripides
. In Euripides' version, Hera
had Helen taken to Egypt by Hermes
, and she created a phantom replacement of Helen which Paris takes to Troy. The play takes place when Menelaus arrives at Egypt after the war. Here Proteus had safeguarded Helen throughout the Trojan War, but is dead before the play begins. It opens with Helen visiting his tomb. According to Euripides, Proteus was married to the Nereid
Psamathe
, had a son Theoclymenos, and a daughter Theonoe who was a gifted seer. Theoclymenos became the new king of Egypt after Proteus and had intentions of marrying Helen.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
king who is mostly known for his involvement in an alternate version of the story of Helen of Troy.
In book II of The History
Histories (Herodotus)
The Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
by Greek historian Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, Proteus is said to be from Memphis, succeeded Pheron
Pheron
Pheron, mentioned in The History by Herodotus, was a king of ancient Egypt. He had been made blind for ten years after attacking a river with a spear. Then he was told the only cure would be to wash his eyes with the urine of a woman who was faithful to her husband. After several women's urine...
to the throne, and was succeeded by Rhampsinitus
Ramesses III
Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. He was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BCE...
(Ramesses III, as he was known by the Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
). When Paris
Paris (mythology)
Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
took Helen from Sparta, wind took him off course to Egypt. While there his slaves deserted him and told the authorities what Paris had done. Word of his crimes reached Proteus, who then took Helen and seized the treasure Paris had stolen from Menelaus
Menelaus
Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
, intending to return her and the treasure to Menelaus when he arrived. The Trojans are unable to prove to the Greeks that they do not have Helen, and it is not until Troy is defeated that they are believed. Menelaus then goes to Egypt; he is treated well by the court of Proteus, and is reunited with Helen. However, upon his departure Menelaus sacrifices some native children and becomes hated by the Egyptians.
Herodotus also makes references to Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, claiming Homer must have been aware of this version of events despite using the more common story.
Another take on this story is presented in the tragedy Helen
Helen (play)
Helen is a drama by Euripides, probably first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia. The play shares much in common with another of Euripides' works, Iphigenia in Tauris.-Background:...
by Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
. In Euripides' version, Hera
Hera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
had Helen taken to Egypt by Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
, and she created a phantom replacement of Helen which Paris takes to Troy. The play takes place when Menelaus arrives at Egypt after the war. Here Proteus had safeguarded Helen throughout the Trojan War, but is dead before the play begins. It opens with Helen visiting his tomb. According to Euripides, Proteus was married to the Nereid
Nereids
In Greek mythology, the Nereids are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris, sisters to Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon and can be friendly and helpful to sailors fighting perilous storms. They are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father...
Psamathe
Psamathe
Psamathe was a Nereid in Greek mythology, i.e., one of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. The goddess of sand beaches, Psamathe was the wife of Proteus and the mother of Phocus by Aeacus....
, had a son Theoclymenos, and a daughter Theonoe who was a gifted seer. Theoclymenos became the new king of Egypt after Proteus and had intentions of marrying Helen.