Flute, in his role as Thisbe, compares her faithfulness to that of the mythological Greek princess Helen. 

Helen, considered the most beautiful woman on earth, was married at a young age to King Menelaus of the Greek city of Sparta. 

 

Then one day, Paris, a foreign prince from Troy, abducted Helen and carried her back to his home city

 

Her abduction prompted all the Greek kings to rise up in arms and sail across the Aegean Sea to get her back.

 

The resulting Trojan War and its aftermath are the backdrop for many ancient mythological tales.

Including the famous episode of the Trojan horse in which a contingent of Greek soldiers used guile to get inside the fortified city of Troy.

 

According to some versions of the myth, Helen wasn’t abducted by the young handsome Paris, but willingly ran off with him.

 

Shakespeare’s audience, being better versed in Greek mythology than we are, would have seen the humor in Quince’s use of Helen of Troy as a shining example of a woman’s fidelity.