A black face and a thousand ships, by Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

We read Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ when we were in school, about King Odysseus of Ithaca who joined other Kings in the Trojan war. It took King Odysseus ten long years to make it back home to Ithaca. We remember the captivating, epic story of love, honour, betrayal, loyalty and redemption. The adventures of King Odysseus began with the narrative of ‘the face that launched a thousand ships’. Helen of Troy was known in Greek mythology as the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the daughter of the God Zeus and Leda. Many Greek Kings wanted her, and she ended up with King Menelaus of Sparta. The myth was not clear if Helen fell in love with the visiting Trojan Prince Paris and eloped with h...