Who was the husband of Helen of Troy?

Menelaus was the husband of Helen of Troy, who was also known as Helen of Sparta.

Menelaus was a king of Sparta and the younger brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. He won Helen’s hand after many powerful suitors competed for her marriage. To prevent the rejected suitors from fighting, Odysseus proposed the Oath of Tyndareus: all the suitors would defend whichever man Helen chose. Menelaus’s marriage therefore helped create the political alliance that later supported the Greek expedition against Troy.

According to the familiar story, Helen left Sparta with Paris, the Trojan prince, or was taken by him depending on the tradition. Her departure prompted Menelaus to seek her return and led to the Trojan War. Menelaus fought beneath Agamemnon’s command and famously battled Paris in single combat, though Aphrodite rescued Paris before Menelaus could kill him.

Paris is often mistaken for Helen’s husband because he was her Trojan lover and later partner. In the standard pre-war and Homeric tradition, however, Menelaus was her husband.