Scholars have linked Helen to Selene the moon goddess or a word meaning torch. Georg Curtius connected her name to Selene while Émile Boisacq suggested it derived from a word for torch. Otto Skutsch proposed two separate mythological figures share the name including Svlenā and Selena.
Most sources state Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Leda. Euripides reported that Zeus appeared as a swan who mated with Leda to produce an egg containing Helen. The Cypria claims she was the daughter of Zeus and Nemesis who transformed into a goose before producing an egg.
Three Ancient Greek authors denied that Helen ever went to Troy suggesting instead she stayed in Egypt during the war. Herodotus stated Paris got her to fly with him rather than carrying her off while Greeks refused to believe she was in Egypt. King Proteus disallowed Paris from taking Helen to Troy since he had seduced his host's wife.
Homer attributes white skin to Helen while Sappho describes her as xanthe or golden used towards individuals with light hair. Euripides says she had gold curls and her eyes were described as kuaneos often translated as dark or dark-blue. A later Latin account falsely attributed to Dares Phrygius describes her legs as the best and mouth as cutest.
The major centers of Helen's cult were in Laconia including Sparta near the Platanistas and Therapne on the opposite bank of Eurotas. At Therapne Helen shared a shrine with Menelaus and the Dioscuri known as the Menelaion where she was buried alongside Menelaus. Isocrates writes that at Therapne Helen and Menelaus were worshiped as gods not as heroes.