Helen

Menelaos’s wife and instigator of the entire Trojan war. Although we don’t hear this tale in the Odyssey, the following would have been common knowledge among Homer’s audience. Here’s the deal: Helen was the most beautiful woman ever. Seriously. She was married to a Greek king named Menelaos, which as far as we know was going swimmingly until Paris, the most handsome Trojan guy ever, decided he wanted her. (Actually, he settled a contest between three catty Goddesses and "won" her, but that’s another story). So he stole Helen. And the Greeks launched a war against Troy, with many ships, swords, spears, arrows, and deaths. Then Menelaos got his wife back. In the Odyssey, we meet Helen when Telemachos visits Sparta for news of his father. She’s very gracious, telling him stories of Odysseus and doing a good job of not starting any wars throughout the entire dinner conversation. (This might be helped by the fact that she drugs everyone’s drinks.)