Helen Of Troy Insanity

‘Obsessive love has the capacity to drive a person to insanity, leading to irrational behaviour, alienation and despair’

Annotated Bibliography Hughes, Bettany. Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore. New York: Knopf, 2005. The following books is an analysis of Helen of Troy within the original primary text and within numerous other outside sources.

Helen of Troy- A beautiful woman who was the princes of Troy. Men would fight for her constantly. However, one day a man by the name of Perseus captured her and married her.

For instance, Benedict Carey says that love causes people to tune out everyone except their lover: “New love can look for all the world like mental illness, a blend of mania, dementia and obsession that cuts people off from friends and family and prompts out-of-character behavior- compulsive phone calling, serenades, yelling from rooftops- that could almost be mistaken for psychosis.” (Doc B). The severe effects of love had caused Romeo and Juliet to obsess over each other, to an extent at which they cared for no one else except each other. Since Romeo and Juliet did not have phones, they had the compulsive urge to meet each other in person. At the same time, both of them seemed as if they forgot about their parents and their closest friends (Romeo and Benvolio). If their brains didn’t tune out their families and friends, they could have been given advice which may have resulted in their survival. Moreover, Helen Fisher claims that love is an addiction whether it is going well or going miserably: “I’ve also come to believe that romantic love is an addiction: a perfectly wonderful addiction when it is going well, and perfectly horrible addiction when it’s going poorly.” (Doc C). As stated by Fisher, love is addicting and keeps people clung on to it, no matter what the circumstances may be. In this case, Romeo and Juliet were not able to let go of each other

Helen of Sparta’s portrayals in many different accounts of mythology and history are extremely dissimilar. Helen was said to be the daughter of Zeus and Leda (Queen of Sparta), and was the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Helen was abducted by Paris of Troy and when Menelaus came to retrieve Helen, the Trojan war began. In “The Odyssey”, Helen is shown as living happily with Menelaus after he brought her back from Sparta. She is portrayed as an intelligent person who sees things for what they truly are, but is mostly reserved to wifely duties. In “Trojan Women” by Euripides, Helen is shown as a person who was used by the gods as a reward for Paris with nothing else in mind. However, she fights vehemently for her own innocence in the

Helen's situation is also distinguished by the fact that she is the only woman targeted by the Trojan women themselves for hatred and condemnation. They accuse her of being the cause of the war that has brought death to all the Trojan warrior heroes and has culminated in the downfall of Troy itself. She is also considered to be the nuisance of her own kinsmen, the Greeks. In the eyes of the Trojan women, including Hecuba, Helen lacks “womanly virtues” and is completely bereaved of refined sentiments. Her renowned beauty is a trap that she deliberately and opportunistically utilizes to manipulate men like Paris in her greedy quest for bodily pleasures and luxurious

The Trojan war began when a Trojan prince, Paris, was given a choice from three goddesses sent to him by Zeus. These goddesses were Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. Paris judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest," should receive a great golden apple which was marked for the fairest. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most fair and beautiful woman of all, fall in love with Paris, and travel to Troy with him. For this insult, Agamemnon besieged Troy, in pursuit of Paris...

Today, Helen is considered the most inspired character of literature, whether it’s ancient or modern. She was born around 450-440 B.C. Her parents were the King and Queen of Sparta named Leda and Tyndareus. But the almighty Zeus guised himself as a swan and raped the Spartan queen causing her to produce two eggs. From one came Helen and her brother Pollux. From the other one came Clytemnestra and Castor.

However, Helen possessed a character of being destructive to the people of Troy. She was an emotional person, along with the other women in the Iliad; nevertheless, Helen’s character had more of an influence because she was the cause of the Trojan War. She was one of the demi-gods described in the epic and her representation of the female stereotype was that they possessed a destructive beauty that could only bring harm to the human race. Helen was shamed for her seductive beauty and she was recognized more as a possession. As a result of that shame, Homer emphasized the passiveness of women through Helen’s character, especially during the conversation between Paris and Menelaus when they were deciding her fate. Instead of taking advantage of the her situation and acting more as a hero Helen expressed her interest in the war by weaving instead of speaking up for fate. She also leaves the audiences with the impression that women were helpless during the time of Homer. They were not able to speak up for themselves for lack of education, status, or power. Therefore women were represented as obstacles for men to

Love is said to be one of the most desired things in life. People long for it, search for it, and crave it. It can come in the form of partners, friends, or just simply family. To some, love is something of a necessity in life, where some would rather turn a cold shoulder to it. Love can be the mixture of passion, need, lust, loyalty, and blood. Love can be extraordinary and breathtaking. Love being held so high can also be dangerous. Love can drive people to numerous mad things with it dangerously so full of craze and passion.

Did you know there’s a Greek Goddess for Birth and Marriage? Her name is Hera. Hera is known for her vengeful and jealous towards the many lover’s offspring of her husband Zeus. Hera rules over Mount Olympus. Hera is very important because she is known for Births and Marriages. Hera is the Queen of the Olympian Gods. Hera is the daughter of Titan Cronus and his wife Rhea Cronus. Hera had five siblings Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus and two sisters Hestia and Demeter. Husband Zeus. Hera was jealous and vengeful towards Zeus and his many lovers. Hera’s children were Eilithyia, Ares, Hephaestus Metallurgy. Hera rules over Mount Olympus where all Gods and Goddesses live. James, Primary Facts, Facts about Hera, 2/11/13,10/27/17, Primary Facts.com)

Hera is the queen of all Gods in Greek Mythology. She is prominent for being the Goddess of marriage, childbirth, and protecting women from men, who did not treat a women properly. Although she sounds graceful because of her desirable traits, she had a dark side that her husband (and brother), Zeus, created. She is infamously known for her actions caused by jealousy. These acts of jealousy were a factor of her marriage.

Another significantly powerful woman in Homer’s Odyssey is Helen, the wife of Menelaus and the instigator of the Trojan War.

To start off we have Helen of Troy, a mortal woman, thought to be one of the most beautiful in her time. She left her husband Menelaus of Sparta for Paris of Troy and because of that and her beauty a 10 year war surged between Sparta

Heroes, gods and goddesses, bloody battles, and large wooden horses are just a few components of Homer’s famous epic tales. These tales show the story of the Trojan War from his perspective, and describe what he believed happened. As he was alive during these times, Homer’s epics provide insight into the history of ancient Greece and the Trojan War.