The tragic image of Helen of Sparta in the play of the same name by E. Verhaeren

The reception of antique material is one of the leading trends in contemporary literary criticism. Researchers study the transformation of known mythological subjects, the mastering of classical images in the literary heritage, offering their methods of analysis and interpretation of the myth. Thus, the scientists single out the symbolic concept of E. Cassirer, the structuralist concept of K. Levi-Strauss, the aesthetic concept of A.F. Losev. The method of psychoanalysis and the gender approach are widely used in the modern study of antiquity, which allows us to identify new types of literary reception. A special place in world literature is occupied by the ancient cycle of myths about the Trojan War, which attracted writers of different eras and trends. One of the most interesting and controversial Trojan images for artists is the image of Helen of Sparta. The Spartan queen is incredibly beautiful, but her beauty is destructive rather than constructive. The heroine admires and causes hatred. Thus, even in Antiquity, the image of Elena becomes ambivalent. Because of this, there are different assessments of the behavior of the famous beauty and her role in unleashing the bloody Trojan War, accordingly, different lines are formed in the interpretation of the image, which also find their development in the literature of the 20th century. The purpose of this article is to analyze the reception of the image of Helen of Sparta in the tragedy Helena de Sparte (1909) by the Belgian writer and poet Emile Verhaeren. The basic methods of research are the receptive method, the comparative-historical method and the method of motivational analysis. For the first time E. Verhaeren paints the tragic image of Helen of Sparta. The Spartan queen becomes a victim of her own beauty, the power of which makes her feel fear. The Verhaeren heroine is able to evolve spiritually, change her preferences and views. The image of Helen becomes a symbol of perfect beauty inside and outside. Closely linking the mythological plot with modernity, the writer removes charges from Helen for unleashing war, presenting the heroine a victim of political intrigue.