The divine punishment of the poet Stesichorus

The poet Stesichorus was struck with blindness for having told the story of Helen in the same way as Homer. According to the Tenth Discourse of Dio of Prusa, this divine punishment sanctioned a lie uttered against the mythical Spartan heroine. His sight was only restored after he had written a poem of retraction, preserved by Plato in the Phaedrus, denying the presence of Helen in Troy.