Whose face is said to have launched a thousand ships?

The phrase "the face that launched a thousand ships" refers to Helen of Troy, a key figure in Greek mythology. Helen was considered the most beautiful woman in the world, and her abduction by Paris, prince of Troy, led to the outbreak of the Trojan War. The phrase captures the idea that her beauty was so extraordinary that it incited a massive conflict, with Greek forces assembling an army to retrieve her from Troy. This imagery has become iconic in literature and art, symbolizing the power of beauty and its consequences.

Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis are all significant figures in mythology but do not have this particular association of launching ships or causing the Trojan War. Persephone is known for her role in the seasons and the underworld, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, who played a part in Helen's story but is not described with this specific phrase, and Artemis is known as the goddess of the hunt and wilderness. Thus, it is Helen of Troy who is specifically linked to this phrase in cultural and literary references.