In his ‘Histories’ Herodotus says he talked with the priests of Egypt who said they had knowledge of the Trojan War. They said that Paris and Helen were blown off course when trying to go back to Troy and that Helen remained in Egypt under the protection of the Egyptian king Proteus. The Trojans told the Greeks that Helen was not in Troy but the Greeks did not believe them and continued the Trojan War. After Troy was sacked Menelaus went to Egypt to recover Helen. Herodotus believed the story because of a couple of references in Greek literature. ‘The Iliad’ refers to Paris and Helen visiting Egypt and ‘The Odyssey’ talks about a time when Menelaus and Helen were in Egypt.

(The Great Courses – Herodotus: The Father of History)