Perils of extreme beauty

All sensible people love beauty and they like to possess or be surrounded by beautiful people or things. Although it is impossible to possess all beautiful things, we love to appreciate beauty. However, when someone, usually a woman, is exceedingly beautiful Fate strikes a cruel blow not allowing to lead a full span of her life. Human history is replete with women of exceeding beauty. Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, and Marilyn Monroe were some of the women endowed with stunning beauty. However, none of them lived long enough to enjoy life.

According to Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in Greece. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leda who was the queen of King Tyn darens of Sparta. Even in her childhood Helen was a beautiful girl. As a result, she was abducted by Theseus who wanted to marry her later. She was, however, rescued by her brothers.

When Helen was unhappily married to Menelaus, she was seduced and carried off by Paris. As it often happens in such hasty marriages, Paris began to neglect her. Meanwhile, Menelaus and other Greek chieftains declared war on Troy to take away Helen. Greek mythology tells us that the war lasted for nearly 10 years. When Paris was killed in the battle, Menelaus took her back to Greece.

What is strange is that even after her death Helen was not allowed to rest in peace. Marlowe resurrected her from the dead and wrote:

"Was this the face that launched a thousand ships

And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?

Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.

Marilyn Monroe: A symbol of beauty and effervescence

Her lips suck forth my soul; see where it flies!"

Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus" was mesmerised by Helen' s beauty. He tells us that Helen was the cause of the Trojan war. After kissing Helen, Dr Faustus was frightened by the intensity of his own feelings. All this shows that outstanding beauty of a woman can upset the emotional life of a normal man.

Cleopatra was the other woman whose beauty changed human history.

She was the daughter of Ptolemy, King of Egypt. When her father died, Cleopatra, a beautiful princess of 17 years and her brother who was just 12 years succeeded jointly to the throne of Egypt. According to the customs of the age, they were to get married. However, before their marriage took place, Cleopatra's younger brother drove her away.

Cleopatra was in exile when the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt. Enamoured of her stunning beauty Julius Caesar made use of his power to install Cleopatra as the Queen of Egypt. When Caesar left for Rome, Cleopatra followed him and lived with him as his mistress.

Human life is so unpredictable that the great Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. Cleopatra remained neutral during the civil war that ravaged Rome after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Outraged by her conduct, Mark Antony called for her explanation. Meanwhile, he too fell for her ravishing beauty. Both of them went to Egypt leaving the Roman empire in a chaotic situation.

Fate had other plans for Cleopatra. Mark Antony left her and returned to Rome where he married Octavia.

Cleopatra's love affair with Mark Antony did not end abruptly. When Antony went to the East as a commander of an expedition, he married Cleopatra and continued to live in Egypt. Outraged by the event, Rome declared war on Egypt. Cleopatra volunteered to go to the war front.

When Antony received a false report that she had died, he committed suicide. Cleopatra too killed herself by the poisonous bite of an asp.

Antony and Cleopatra's tragic love affair was the plot of William Shakespeare's memorable play "Antony and Cleopatra". Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw named his play "Caesar and Cleopatra". John Dryden's play was called "All for love". All the three playwrights re-enacted Cleopatra's tragic love and hinted at the perils of extreme beauty.

Marilyn Monroe was another woman of great beauty. Her real name was Norma Jeanne Mortenson. Norma did not receive her parents' affection and warmth as she spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages.At the age of 16 she had no option except to marry Jimmy Dougherty after a brief courtship. When her marriage failed, she tried her hand at modelling. She also followed drama classes with the dream of becoming a film star. When Norma signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox in 1946 she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn stormed Hollywood with her extraordinary beauty and skill as an actor. She soon became a sex goddess who outshone all the other women of the 20th century. After becoming a film star she married baseball superstar Joe Dimaggio but their marriage did not last long. In 1956 Marilyn launched her own motion picture company and got married to the well-known playwright Arthur Miller. Sadly, this marriage too went on the rocks. On August 5, 1962 Marilyn died mysteriously in her sleep. She was only 36. Today her name is synonymous with ravishing beauty and sensuality.

Why such extremely beautiful women die in the prime of their youth remains a mystery.