HELEN OF TROY: Classical historian Bettany Hughes travels across the eastern Mediterranean to find out the truth about the woman whose face “launched a thousand ships” more than 3,000 years ago. On the PBS special “Helen of Troy,” Hughes separates reality from centuries of romantic myths told about Helen. Hughes travels from the city where Helen is said to have been born — Sparta in the mountains of Greece — to the archaeological site in modern Turkey that forever will be linked with the war fought in her name: Troy. “The drama starts with a messy love affair and it ends up in a bloody and disastrous conflict,” says Hughes. The two-hour special airs 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 (check local listings).