Helen Within The Iliad Research Paper

As Helen said “Have you a favorite mortal man there too?”, she regarded Aphrodite as the embodiment of sexual desire, implying that Aphrodite was trying to use her immortal power of lust to enslave Helen as the sex partner of Paris. Holding the one cardinal idea that she is not supposed to be a sex slave, Helen used her words to punch Aphrodite right in the face, as she replied “Is that why you beckon here beside me now with all the immortal cunning in your heart?” But with the infuriated reply “Don’t provoke me — wretched, headstrong girl! Or in my immortal rage I may just toss you over, hate you as I adore you now…”, Aphrodite had implied that she could either love or hate Helen. More importantly, Aphrodite also noted that if Helen chose to be hated, then Aphrodite as an immortal could use her power to make other people hate Helen, as she said “withering hate from both sides at once… then your fate can tread you down to dust!” This had really left Helen with a great shock, as she could not afford the consequence of being hated by both the immortals and mortals. So as a result, she had no choice but to obey Aphrodite and return to Paris, failing to establish her agency. Bear in mind that Helen was the daughter of Zeus and she got such treatment, it could be even worse for other

When Aeneas sees Helen, he is driven into a state of fervent anger because he believes she caused the downfall of his homeland. When Aeneas first finds Helen, she is seeking refuge at the altar of Vesta (2.567), goddess of home and family. By seeking refuge at the altar of a goddess, Helen appears more vulnerable which serves to highlight the vengeful action Aeneas contemplates. Helen’s actions parallel those of Cassandra who sought refuge at the altar of Minerva during the fall of Troy. Like Helen, Cassandra was seeking refuge from the horrors of the war only to be assaulted by Ajax. While Aeneas never follows through on his desire to attack Helen in her place of refuge, the parallel serves to emphasizes how brutal Aeneas’ murder of Helen would be if he committed it at an altar. Killing someone seeking refuge at an altar would be a dishonorable act that would offend the gods, which is something that would be out of character for Aeneas if he was

In both the poems “ To Helen” and “Helen” the views of Helen—“the face that launched a thousand ships”, differs as her beauty praised as a heroine juxtaposes the belief that she remains a traitor.

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

The Iliad and The Odyssey are tales written by Homer centered on the drama of the Trojan War. First poem deals with the time during the end of the war, while the latter, which occurs roughly ten years later, explains the disastrous journey of Odysseus fighting his way back home. The character of women in the Odyssey is to exhibit the many and diverse roles that women play in the lives of men. These functions vary from characters such as the goddess ' that help them to the nymphs who trick them. Women in the Iliad exhibit their significance in the lives of the ancient Greeks because they are so prominent in a world so dominated with military relations.

There are various accounts for why Helen left Sparta and to why Paris abducted Helen. Some attribute the abduction as a means to power and politics. According to Strauss, Anatolia was a place that offered women more political freedom (Strauss, 16). Freedom and power alone could have enticed Helen to leaving her husband and running off with Paris. Homer heavily

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.

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

At which time, Helen, daughter of Zeus and wife of Menelaus, enters the room and gazes upon her husband 's visitors, her proclamation, directed to Telemachus, confirms Nestor 's beliefs:

Having no other option Menelaos goes to the house of Theoklymenos to beg for food.  He is turned away and Helen enters the scene having just returned from the oracle.  They meet each other and it is not 'love at first sight' as Helen was promised.  Nevertheless Menelaos soon believes that his new-found wife is the real Helen..  She has remained loyal to him unlike his deceitful apparition.  He wants to take her away and she disobediently refuses.  Helen comes up with a plan of her own to reunite the two, a unique twist in the typical hero-rescues-damsel story.  The roles have been changed and Helen is in charge.  She, like Thenoe, is not an obedient female-she is loyal.  Helen then turns to Theoklymenos and play-acts as if her husband has died.  She feigns obedience to her (soon-to-be) husband to lure him into allowing the plan to work.

Honor and shame is a theme started long before the Iliad’s opening. Homer did this intentionally, beginning a thread that will connect the storyline beneath the surface. One such reason is to connect the story to a larger narrative; this is not merely a story of war, but of humanity itself. While the characters and the storylines are fictitious, honor and shame are not. This link creates a sense of camaraderie between the characters and the audience, making the plot more real and impactful. On the other hand, the decade old feud is what fuels the Trojan War and thus the Iliad itself. Such a long standing conflict between Paris and Menelaus serves to point out the futility of honor and shame. Paris first shames Menelaus’s by stealing Helen, Menelaus’s wife, and he then, in turn, refuses to admit his wrongdoing and give back Helen, all in fear of being shamed in front of the

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.

Hecuba, queen of Troy, is never mentioned nor shown in Troy, and neither is the daughter of the royal family, Cassandra. These two women also do not play vital roles in the book, however their presence is fairly significant. To make up for their absence, the movie Troy focuses more on the three female royalties actually portrayed: Briseis, as already mentioned, Andromache, wife of Hector, and Helen, the cause of the Trojan War. Andromache's character in the movie parallels her character in the book. She is dedicated to her husband and fears for his safety when he goes out into battle. And when she realizes that he has died, "the world [goes] black as night before her eyes, she faint[s], falling backward, gasping away her life breath." (Homer, XXII. 547-549) Similarly, in the movie, Andromache is devastated when Hector dies. Diane Kruger's rendition of Helen in Troy is a bit unlike Homer's Helen. In the movie, Helen is consistently loving and accepting, and when Paris cowers from his duel with Menelaus, she remains supportive of him, claiming that he cowers for the sake of love. In the book, Helen is not so one-dimensional and lashes out at him when

A major difference between the two relationships is whether or not an outside force is pushing the relationship. In book three lines 486 to 489, Aphrodite forces Helen to go back to the bedroom with Paris. Initially, Helen does not want to go stating that it would be “disgraceful to share that coward’s bed once more” (, 476). Helen very clearly does not want to go back and be with Paris, but cannot go against Aphrodite’s wishes which is shown as “she [goes] along, in silence” (, 488). Hector, on the other hand, makes the choice to go back and see his wife in book six. Unlike Helen going along is silence, Andromache “came running up to meet him” (V, 466). Andromache’s eagerness, as shown by her running, supports the idea that her relationship with Hector is not forced. This is a huge difference from Helen’s reluctance of being with Paris due to it being forced by Aphrodite.

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,