Shades . Maryam Naeem. . In This Paper, I’M Going To Talk

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

The Encomium of Helen, written by the Gorgias, is a very significant piece regarding Greek classic literature in which he argues Helen of Troy’s innocence from the blame placed on her by society when she allegedly committed adultery. Throughout the piece, Gorgias uses his “philosophical” perspective to pinpoint how every motive she could have had liberated her from any blame. This piece came in a period in which many philosophers catalogued Gorgias as a sophist, or someone who has no true wisdom and argues for the sake of winning and not to share knowledge. Throughout this analyzation, I will proceed to explain the flaws in Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen, as well as the purpose in choosing this piece instead of the other literature pieces.

Paris is offered Helen by Aphrodite, and so he takes Helen as his wife from Menelaus. Paris may not have known that taking Helen would have resulted in the Trojan War; however, he still accepted Helen as a bribe, making him an extremely greedy person. After seeing all the bloodshed and lives at the hands of Paris, he should’ve realized that he needed to return Helen. Anyone with the lowest sense of morality would realize that the right thing to do is to return Helen. Paris was lucky enough to be saved by Aphrodite after he was nearly killed by Menelaus. In the last few lines of Book 3 it is clear how the people feel about Paris and what Paris needs to do:

Helen displays her flirtatious attitude to Hector, however it could also be inferred that she is unsatisfied with Paris and Menelaus. During her argument with Aphrodite, she claims she does not want to be looked at poorly by the Trojans for serving Paris is bed. This shows a sudden desire to be socially accepted and looked beyond just her beauty or as a nuisance by the Trojans.

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

Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen is a beautiful, short, though enigmatic, speech that demonstrates sophist, Gorgias’ mastery of the art of rhetoric. In this speech, Gorgias attempts to accomplish two important tasks. One, by presenting a reasoned argument to his audiences, Gorgias tries to lift the blame off of Helen for causing the Trojan War. Two, by demonstrating his mastery of the art of rhetoric, Gorgias attempts to attract future consumers of his teaching of the art of rhetoric. This might also be very likely given that Gorgias is a sophist that traveled from one city to another looking for students that will purchase his ability to teach them rhetoric. Sophists were needed in Greek cities as they provided education in public speaking, a

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

Embodied in Paris, the antagonist of the Trojan war, is the reflection of Troy's lack of piety. When Paris captured Helen, he stole her while Menelaus’ guest in Mycenaea and under the ancient code of hospitality. However, the abduction of Helen went further than breaking an

Paris then took her back to Troy. Menelaus heard and the ex-suitors of Helen made a deal with Agamemnon saying that If the princess of Grease won that Menelaus would get Helen back and Agamemnon would get Troy. Rumors have it that Odysseus the king of Ithaca, was sent on a journey to find you and persuade you to join the war between the princes of Greece and the Trojans. Odysseus was a great persuader , and with you thirst for adventure and glory, he talked you in the joining the fight and you sailed for Troy. You took 50 ships, each carrying 50 men of your best men from your private army, the Myrmidons. Is it true that Agamemnon and you had a falling out and you withdrew from the conflict? and that the quarrel started after you had taken two women in one of your raids? and that you gave one of the women to Agamemnon. But, the girl’s father offered a ransom for the girl’s safe return. and that Agamemnon refused because the girl was a priestess of Apollo, and that the god was unhappy with this decision and sent a plague to wreak amongst the Greek camp. and that Agamemnon eventually gave back the girl, and to mourn the loss, he took your woman from you? and without you, the Greeks were fearful of loss and the Trojans gained confidence of winning from your absence, even reaching close to the walls of the Greek camp in their attacks and managing to set a few Greek ships on fire. what was your thoughts when your great friend Patroclus begged you to re-enter the war or at least allow him to lead out the Myrmidons in battle? and when you agreed was it hard to give him your armour made of gold, silver, and enamel, and the graves were of shining tin and army? and why did you make him promise only to engage in defensive action and not pursue the Trojans back to Troy? To my understanding you killed Troilus and were very smitten with Priam's daughter Polyxena. Priam decided

Embodied in Paris, the antagonist of the Trojan war, is the reflection of Troy's lack of piety. When Paris captured Helen, he stole her while Menelaus’ guest in Mycenaea and under the ancient code of hospitality. However, the abduction of Helen went further than breaking

In western society, women are encouraged to dress and act in a conservative manner. If a woman is attacked and was wearing something even slightly provocative comments will ensue that blame the woman. “She should not have been wearing that,” “She was asking for it,” and so many more will be thrown at this woman. The perpetrator slinks farther away from the blame, while the survivor gets the blame shoved at her. This is not a fair system, but it is what happens today because it has always happened.

While this circumstance may be easy enough to understand, such setting or background in the plot actually entails more history: Even before Paris was born, a prophecy was carried out that the handsome prince would cause the destruction of Troy; thus, King Priam and his queen banished the baby to be raised in the wilderness. Later on, as a shepherd, he encountered the three goddesses, Hera, Pallas Athene, and Aphrodite, and set the motion of what would be the war that extinguished the Trojan line—Paris was to decide who is the most beautiful of the goddesses. Each goddess tried to bribe him with promises of power, riches, fame, and glory, but it was Aphrodite who succeeded in the end as she promised Paris that he can have the most beautiful mortal, Helen. This simple arrangement would then serve as the catalyst of a war that would kill thousands of Trojans and Greeks as soon it is revealed that Paris has stolen Helen and the gods and goddesses of Olympus have each taken sides on the war which would further complicate the lives of the people of Troy and Greece. (Buck Jr. , 11-12)

Its main characters are women each with differently complex personnalities. Hecabe was the queen of Troja, her situation makes her a tragic character and atracts pity. On the other hand, her daughter the princess Cassandra is dedicated to the gods; she bears the curse of having the ability if foresight yet never being trusted, thrown onto her by the god Apollo. Finaly Hecabe's daughter-in-law Andromache, proud and noble. The protagonists being so different, they each will have a different approach to the play's events. Furthermore Menelaus, one of the play's two male characters, is considered weak in contrast with the strong female personnalities present. The trojan women also question the god's power and men dependence on them. The gods in the play are depicted as flawed, therefore assimilated with simple

The suspected start of the war- over the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta- was caused entirely by a godly conflict over who was the most beautiful- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was selected to judge. He chose Aphrodite, who in turn gave him Helen, who was her equivalent in beauty amongst humans. In both versions, Paris is portrayed as a wife stealing, thief in the night. His brother Hector and he were on a peace mission in Sparta on behalf of Troy visiting the king, Menelaus, when Paris ran off with Menelaus' wife, Helen. This action divides the Gods who constantly meddle with the mortal's lives. Naturally, Aphrodite is on the Trojans' side, as was her lover and God of War, Ares, and Apollo. Although Zeus, King of Gods, tried to be neutral, he was pro-Trojan. Hera, Queen of Gods, and Athena help the Greeks because they were mad that Paris chose Aphrodite. Poseidon, God of the Sea and Zeus' brother, also sided with the Greeks whenever Zeus was not looking. An example of this constant intrusiveness of the Gods in the Iliad was when King "Menelaus hurls his spear, lightly wounding Paris. Paris' helmet strap becomes caught at his chin and Menelaus has nearly dragged him away before Aphrodite intervenes, breaking the strap. She then wraps Paris in a mist, sets him in his own perfumed bedchamber, and hurries to catch Helen" (Bloom 13). Of

Based off of my understanding of the word encomium, and the knowledge I have on Helen of Troy, I immediately understood the objective of Gorgias’, Encomium of Helen, as a testimony to Helen’s innocence. With that, I could not avoid my first assumption that at some level, a sophist is a persuader. Knowing that the answer to the debate over Helen’s character is universally unknown, I found it interesting for someone to assert such a strong stand right away. For Gorgias to take such a position on such a disputed matter, it was clear he was in for an argument.