Helen ' Court Case Against Helen

In Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, gods and goddesses play an important role in influencing the lives of humans, and Athena is an important part of the war. The goddess Athena is written mostly as a mortal, where she signifies the personification of war. Both sides of the war know that with Athena, they will not lose. This is probably why she is the most significant minor character. Athena is the most significant minor character because she is brave, wise, and she is a warrior. Athena plays a significant role in the unfolding drama, because both the Greeks and the Trojans know that her favor, they cannot be defeated.

In the first section of Odyssey, mortal women are presented to us as controlled by the stereotypes and expectations of the culture of the day, and it is only within that context that we can consider the examples Homer provides of women to be admired or despised. He provides us with clear contrasts, between Penelope and Eurycleia on the one hand, and Helen and Clytemnaestra on the other.

No one is perfect, and no one can please everybody. The Greeks think that if they have status and respect, they will have honor and glory, so they always try to achieve status and respect by many different ways. In the Iliad, Homer describes the best way to gain honor and glory is getting victory in the war, as well as courage. Hector is a great fighter, and he always brings the great affection in a war when he appears. “Glorious” Hector, “who was ever the bravest fighter of the Trojans” (Homer, Iliad 6.460), also show his courage by facing the enemy on the field without fear, so he always has respect from his men. Otherwise, in the Greek culture, they often have athletic competitions for their people, and success in those competitions can give that person honor and glory. In another ways, the Greeks often use material and their wealth to gain honor and glory. A person can get the respect from others by giving their material. In the Greek society, if someone has a lot of wealth, they will have more power, and power brings honor and glory for people who get it. Therewith, a woman has a very important role in the honor of a man. For example, by the abduction of Helen, Paris had caused great damage to the honor of Menelaus, and the war between the Greeks and the Trojans began from this cause. For the Greeks, losing the honor is unacceptable, so Achilles and famous Greek leaders help

In the ancient ballad we see one example of this when the great warrior Achilles felt that Briseis a beautiful Greek woman belonged to him as the spoils of war just as one might consider a calf or grain as the spoils of war, however; King Agamemnon felt his royal privilege gave him the right to claim Briseis. Another example of this in the poem is the dual over Helen Queen of Mycenaean between her husband King Menelaus and the Trojan prince Paris who has abducted her away from her husband. These two examples show us that while the women of ancient Greece may have held more roles in their culture men still considered them as nothing more than a mere

‘The Odyssey’, like other epic poems, is patriarchally centered. The poem is focused on “godlike” Odysseus and his laborious journey home (Homer __). In Ancient Greece, the time of Homer, women were commonly viewed as part of oikos headed by the male kyrios. They were expected to be submissive, domesticated, and viewed as their master’s property. This raises an important question in the context of this epic: are women only secondary characters that blindly follow the decisions of their male counterparts or do they have the ability to make their decisions freely? Homer, a forward thinker for his time, allowed the reader to make this judgement by including two paradoxical characters: Penelope and Calypso. Penelope, the “faithful” wife of Odysseus, spends most of her time crying and longing for her husband. She is compliant and passive, never making a decision without her husband (homer __). Calypso, on the other hand, takes her sexuality into her own hands. She traps Odysseus in Ogygia and attempts to force herself on him, showing that she does not follow the norms of being an obedient woman. Through the inclusion of Penelope and Calypso, Homer is able to address the view of women in typical epic poems by both accepting it and challenging it in order to redefine what is expected of epic tradition.

The repercussions of beauty and the actions provoked through desires are illustrated through the character Helen within the Iliad.

Even as his wife Andromache pleads “Pity me, please! Take your stand on the rampart here before you orphan your son and make your wife a widow” (Iliad VI. 511-512) to persuade him to stay at home, he chooses kleos over his family. Hector is described by Helen far differently than she speaks of her own husband.  “But come in, rest on this seat with me, dear brother, you are the one hit hardest by the fighting, Hector, you more than all – and all for me, slut that I am, and this blind mad Paris” (Iliad VI. 421-423).  Helen embraces Hector for his bravery and honor, and asks even that he rest from battle.  Her polar opinion between the two brothers serves as an important facet for dissecting the importance of kleos even within a family. Homer shows Helen’s shame and contempt for her husband as he does nothing to defend her or his home against her love for Hector as he fights so gloriously for Troy.

     Many people regard Homer’s epics as war stories—stories about men; those people often overlook the important roles that women play in the Odyssey. While there are not many female characters in the Odyssey, the few that there are, play pivotal roles in the story and one can gain a lot of insight by analyzing how those women are portrayed. Homer portrays the females in contradictory ways: the characters of Athena and Eurykleia are given strong, admirable roles while Melantho, the Sirens and Circe are depicted in a much more negative way. Penelope—the central female character—is given both negative and positive attributes.

The women in the city of Troy cannot ignore that lives without their husbands is a possibility. Helen, who some would say is the cause of the great battle, understands that she has a fault in the tragedies the men and woman will suffer: “You are the one hit the hardest by this fighting, Hector/ you more than all – and all for me, slut that I am, /and this blind mad Paris. Oh the two of us!” (VI: 287-289). Hector is valiant, a man of honor, which is the detriment to his fate, an element Andromache cannot help but worry about: “Clung to his hand, urged him, called him: ‘reckless one, / My Hector – your own fiery courage will destroy you!’” Life without a father for their son causes her most worry: “Have you no pity for him, our helpless son? Or me? /and that destiny that weighs me down, your widow, /now so soon. Yes, soon they will kill you off,” (VI: 350-352). Andromache understands that Hector is too proud of a warrior to walk away, but fears his death will cause most harm to their child, and many of her days she worries tremendously. Hector himself is conflicted:

In case #1, Helen Happy could pursue court action, because of the situation she was in during her encounter with Zeb Zuggins. In Business Law in Canada, written by Richard A. Yates, Teresa Bereznicki-Korol, and Trevor Clarke, a tort is committed when, “one person causes injury to another, harming his or her person, property or reputation (p.99). For Helen Happy, who has suffered both physical and psychological injuries, the tort law can help her obtain compensation and punish the defendant, Zeb Zuggins for his wrongful behaviour. As the plaintiff, who suffered a number of losses after the incident, she could argue trespass to person, specifically battery, after Zeb pushed her to the passenger’s seat, punched her, and threw her out of the car. In order to prove battery in a court room, the action must be unwanted, intentional and involve physical contact. Furthermore, in this case, it can be argued that Ike Inkster’s carelessness provided Zeb with the opportunity to escape the van because Ike’s co-worker was left with an unrestrained inmate, while Ike left to check upon the accident in front of them. Since Ike and Melvin were working during business hours, the tort occurred while they were on shift, and Helen Happy could hold the Alberta Correctional Services potentially liable for the incident that happened on January 26th, 2013. According to (Yates et al. 2013), in Business Law in Canada, a business can be vicariously liable for the actions of an employee during employment

In “The Trojan Women,” there are four enduring women who dominate the play and only two men who say anything at all. Moving us with their rants and dramatic reactions, these women engulf the audience in overwhelming grief and irresistible pride. Euripides emphasizes these four women to help us understand one of his main themes. Hecuba with her pride, Cassandra with her virginity and uncanny wisdom, Andromache with her misery and heartache, and Helen with her powerful, seductive reasoning all represent superior illustrations of feminism throughout the play.

Throughout history treason has been committed all over the world even extending back to the greeks during the trojan war. Treason is committed for many reasons such as money, fame, political and religious beliefs, fame, and in the case with Helen it was love. Punishment for being found guilty of treason can range from death to imprisonment for no less than 5 years, during the time of the Trojan war if one was found guilty the punishment would most likely be death. Although Helen is under a spell from Aphrodite, she is guilty of treason because during her “abduction” she showed no signs of resistance.

Let me preface this with that I knew absolutely nothing about Helen of Troy nor of Ancient Greece or its beliefs or values, I just always wanted to visit. What I learned is that I do not categorize her as a femme fatale. A femme for certain but I do not believe that she fits that fatale archetype. Per myth, her father was Zeus or Tyndareus, her mother was Leda or Nemesis. Her father, now King Tyndareus (not Zeus) had to create the Oath of Tyndareus due to the overwhelming number of suitors that wanted to marry Helen.

The role of women in Greek literature has demoralized them and showing them in a maligned light. The women are portrayed as frail, cruel, insensitive, or as seductresses. These characteristics have been integrated into today’s society and [have] built the standards and defined the moral outlook of women. However, in Greek mythology, powerful and strong women are not as well celebrated, such as Athena. Homer’s The Odyssey construes the positive and negative role of women through the epic poem. The women in the poem are depicted through the contrasting actions of Penelope and the maids, in addition with the opposite personalities between the goddess Athena and the nymph Calypso.

Homer’s Iliad is undoubtedly focused on its male characters: Achilles, primarily, but also Hector and Agamemnon. Nevertheless, it seems that the most crucial characters in the epic are female. Homer uses the characters of Thetis, Andromache, and Helen as a basis for comparison to the male characters. Homer wants his audience to see and understand the folly of his male characters in choosing war over peace, aggression over kindness, and honor over family. While the behavior of these characters clearly speaks for itself, the contrasting attitudes and behaviors of the female characters proffer an alternative; in comparison, the reader can hardly fail to concur with Homer’s message that war, aggression,