Helen - a face that launched a thousand ships, the lady behind the most famous war in history, the woman who caused the battle between two strong cities – Troy and Achaea. She is just the reason why a great duel happened between the two warring cities.

Paris, having been given the prettiest woman by goddess Aphrodite, took Helen to Troy, his father’s land. On the other side of the story, Menelaus came searching for his wife and planned to get her back. Together with his army, they marched down to Troy. Paris then challenged anyone of them to a duel, and whoever wins will get Helen.

For me, winning the fight will not tell who the mightier or the nobler man but being who he is and living on what he believes makes him a real man. Everything that triggered what happened was planned by neither of the two parties. It was neither their fault if the gods have to choose Helen to be the “prize” for Paris, nor their fault if they fought for one beautiful lady.

Both Paris and Menelaus showed their nobleness in the story (Books 1-5 of Iliad). They have the courage to stand, the strength to talk, and the will to fight. They never lose the guts in maintaining the dignity in their names. Both of them showed their skills not only in fighting for Helen but also in defending their established popularity in strength.

For me, both showed equal honor and nobility. Paris, being a man of great prowess, never let anyone belittle him. His brother, Hector, insults him as to being a coward, and because of that, he showed his strength. He offered a fight to Menelaus. On the other hand, Menelaus had also been very dignified. He never gave up on getting back his Helen. He also accepted the fight offered to him by Paris, and he fought with his great strength. If the fight was just not played by other gods, it would have been better. They would have both showed everything that they have, excluding the help that the gods offered them during the fight.

With the characteristics of the two characters, I saw the image of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. Despite the problems in our country and the unlawful acts done by the Spaniards, he still continues to aim for the good. He still chose to go and dream for a better future. He accepted every trial and hardships given to him. And he never stopped believing on the power of his own Filipinos. He never stopped dreaming.

If we could just all be like them, noble and great, we can still uplift our well-loved land. If we could just be like them, our dreams will come into a reality. It is not late to start now to make a big change.