The Trojan Women

Danielle Hart THEA 317 Research Paper October 26, 2014 Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and Greek Women The Greeks played a major role within theatre. They used it not just as entertainment but as a way to reinforce their society’s values. Women were not allowed on stage yet during this time. They also were treated very differently than men in society in general.

She possesses great vulnerability as victim to Apollo, who gave her powers, Agamemnon, her kidnapper, and Clytemnestra, her murderer. The first group of people she spoke to were the Chorus, who acted as the voice of the common man throughout the trilogy. She described her visions, in detail, of the future. Cassandra tells the chorus how she deceived Apollo by promising to marry him in exchange for prophetic powers but backed out. Upon realizing her deceit, Apollo cursed her so that no one would believe her prophecies. She wails that the House of Atreus is cursed because of the blood-soaked hands of the past fathers. She predicts that Clytemnestra will kill Agamemnon and describes the frantic splashing of Agamemnon in the bath tub while Clytemnestra stabs him. She also predicts her own murder at the hands of two butchers, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Cassandra, uninvolved in the family’s ordeals, fears for her own life but then soon realizes that fate is inexorable and accepts her death with courage. The Chorus doesn’t understand her utterances, but know that they are full of sorrow. She also foretells Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, will avenge his father’s death by murdering his mother. Cassandra isn’t presented as a citizen but rather as an unstable, dirty (matter out of place) slave. Carson situates women as “pollutable, polluted, and polluting in several ways at once” resulting in the male fearing the woman for lack of personal boundary

The movie The Trojan Women (1971) is a successful and compelling contemporary adaption of the tragedy The Trojan Women, written by Euripides. Overall, the film follows the whole plot very well and depicts the main characters of Euripides’ work expressly, especially characters like Cassandra, Andromache, and Helen. Although the director of the film has made a few slight alterations, audience can feel Trojan women’s grief and pain and comprehend the plot with no trouble.

During the Peloponnesian War, Protagoras’s belief that “man is the measure of all things” and Euripides’ Trojan Women both exemplify the Greek Ideal at the time that truth is found inside of men, and all men have their own version of truth. During the Peloponnesian War, Athens and Sparta focused on personal goals as opposed to working together towards common goals. The moral lines during the Peloponnesian War were much more “cloudy” than they were during the Persian War; it was hard to tell who the “good” guys were as opposed to the “bad” guys. Consequently, the Greek Ideal altered itself to believe that truth is found inside of men, not outside of them; truth became relative to each and every person. Individualism rose to become the most

Agamemnon killed her to gain winds in order to reach and conquer Troy. Cassandra, Agamemnon’s concubine has a gift of prophecy but no one believes that they are both destined to die. “She resigns herself to her fate. She only asks that her death be quick and painless.”

In Greek and Roman culture, gender often plays a paramount role in how people act, or how they are perceived to act. In Euripides’ The Trojan Women, the main point of the story is lamentation. This story shows the types of sadness and thought that women go through after a great loss. Through relationships such as: wife to a deceased husband, mother to a dying son, and slave to an enemy master, the Trojan women’s thoughts are portrayed. This aids in developing the role of women throughout Greco-Roman culture.

The Trojan Women was an eye-opening escapade for multiple viewers. This play was written by Ellen McLaughlin, directed by Evan Parry, and produced by the College of Charleston’s Department of Theatre and Dance. The cruel effects of war on the world is evident; however, most forget about the heartache women behind the scenes experience. McLaughlin wrote a moving script that portrays the struggles these women are forced to face such as prostitution and slavery. Parry displayed an emphasis on the art of dreaming and the anguish of detachment. The Trojan Women was not a play for all types of audiences due to the high level of interpretation required for the viewer. Personally, this play is not one I would see twice. However, the acting, the set design, and the direction tied together interestingly to make this production.

Watching the Trojan Women is like time traveling to ancient Greece and watching a play. All the aspects of the play seemed very Greek like, from the beating of the drums, the seating arrangement, and to the way the characters talked and acted. My favorite part of the play was the shadow backdrop where actors would act out events that the main characters talked of. The shadow acting provided more depth to the events and the circumstances by actually being able to see them being acted out. Another cool thing was the way the shadows could show feelings or abstract ideas such as when Panagiota was describing the Greek soldiers at the temple, or when Paris was being tempted by the Goddesses. The props, clothing and stage all felt Greek, but

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once asserted that “history is written by the victors.” Indeed, when Athenian troops first invaded the tiny, neutral island of Melos during the prolonged Peloponnesian War, few native Greeks protested against the violent incursion. However, when Euripides, the third of the Greek tragic poets, developed “The Trojan Women” months after the deadly attack, Greek citizens were presented with a perspective of war unlike any other. Although Euripides’ production is centered on the mythical Trojan War, it was recognized by Greek citizens as a clear condemnation of the invasion that had just taken place the year before. Even today, “The Trojan Women” is widely regarded as an anti-war composition that focuses on the terrors and irrationality of

As Cassandra begins to be introduced in this story, we learn that she was Apollo’s virgin priestess and that he gave her the gift of prophecy. Apollo had wanted Cassandra to bear him a child, but she refused because she took her religious commitment seriously. Apollo could have not accepted her answer, but he respected her. Consequently, as the relationship continued, it is assumed something negative occurred in the relationship and Apollo cursed her so that nobody would believe her enlightenment. As her ordinary life continued in the Kingdom of Argos, she lived a peaceful life with the capability of doing what she wanted, until her kingdom was lost in the Trojan War. Though she was spared, and taken as a “trophy”, Agamemnon began to violate Cassandra in ways Apollo would not. Agamemnon was extravagantly ruthless, and not only did he not care about her religious commitment, he made her his concubine. “Ah! Ah! O misery! The terrible labor of true prophecy whirls me around, and I am shaken to the core with darkening preludes!” (Aeschylus 86) As she arrived in Argos, she was immediately disrespected by Clytemnestra.

    One can hardly deny that in Euripides’ plays women are often portrayed as weak, uncertain, and torn between what they must do and what they can bring themselves to do.  Other women appear to be the root of grave evils, or simply perpetrators of heinous crimes.  In a day when analysis of characters and plot had yet to be invented, it is easy to see why he might have been thought to be very much against women.  However, when looking back with current understanding of what Euripides was doing at the time, armed with knowledge of plot devices and Socratic philosophy, this argument simply does not hold up.  In fact, a very strong argument can be made to the opposite, that Euripides was in fact

Is tragedy history, or are some histories dramas parading as truth? Throughout this past semester I have had the pleasure of reading eight Greek tragedies that had a variety of fascinating and complex female characters. The leading ladies ranged from vengeful mothers turned usurpers, to loving sisters in desperate pursuit to lay their brother’s soul to rest. Although they often followed their roles in society as keepers of the household, these women often found themselves in positions where fulfilling their womanly duties also put their well being at risk, sometimes resulting in death. Observing these women as portrayed in tragedy one cannot but ask the question if these complex female characters are a tragedy trait created for entertainment purposes, or if tragedy was just a dramatic way of presenting the multifaceted way women were viewed in Ancient Greek society. In other words, can tragedy be viewed as a sociological reenactment or ethnographic evidence of the true perception of women in Ancient Greece? With this question in mind this paper will look to “The Histories” to investigate the various ways that Herodotus (a well respected historian) portrays women in order to achieve two of my main objectives. Firstly, Herodotus’ and the tragedies’ portrayal of women will be used in order to gain a better understanding of the true societal perception of

Helen, Cassandra, and Medea were leaders of their time in the yet unknown world of Feminism. These women provides hope and inspiration to women all over the world and this is why these plays are still relevant today. The Trojan Women and Medea show the first signs of Feminism because Cassandra, Helen, and Medea were strong and independent women who were determined to not become inferior to men.

The Trojan Women begins with the gods discussing the punishment for the Greeks. Next, the Greek herald, Talthybus, informs the dethroned Queen Hecuba of her fate and that of her daughter, Kassandra. Hecuba grieves her lot, but her daughter has been gifted with the ability to see the future and knows of the ultimate punishment of the Greek conquerors. Andromache arrives with her young son, Astyanax, only to learn that she is to become a Greek concubine and that her son is to be killed to prevent him from one day avenging his father's death and possibly rebuilding Troy. Next, Helen arrives and learns that she has been awarded by the Greek army to her former husband, Melelaos, who plans to have her killed. Helen attempts to defend herself, but finds no sympathy from either the Greeks or the Trojans. The play ends with the burial of Astyanax, the Trojan women being dragged to the Greek ships, and the final destruction of the city. Because of Kassandra’s prophecies, the audience knows that the Greek victors will, in the end, have no victory.

Throughout Euripides’ Bacchae, there are plot elements, which seem out of place for a tragedy, such as Pentheus frolicking around in women’s clothing. However, these out of place comedic elements serve as a way to highlight the underlying conflicts in the play. One of these seemingly out of place plot elements is the comedic way Agave handles the death of her child. On the surface, her comedic behave or depicts women as foolish and weak, therefore making women seem inferior to men. However understanding Agave’s comedic behavior reveals the underlying conflict between how women should behave in society versus how they behave in the story. Therefore, understanding the way Agave handles the death of her son emphasizes the role of women in the patriarchal Greek society.