Treason: the crime of betraying one’s country. 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. Conclusion: In conclusion, Helen is
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 three people that shall be blamed for causing the Trojan War would be Helen; for being disloyal, Agamemnon for his selfishness and Paris for his ignorance. Helen is to blame for this tragedy because she betrayed her husband by choice. As mentioned in the text, as Helen was chosen to be with Paris, she then chose to flee with him back to Troy. However, after making that offensive decision, she further increased her sins by committing adultery. To further expand, she had many opportunities to run away and go back to Menelaus to end the war but she was determined not to. Her oblivious decisions caused this whole war. A huge role in this long lasting battle was played by Agamemnon’s selfishness. He was only looking for an excuse to go to
Treason. The aspects of this particular time period that make it an intriguing background for the
Menelaus obviously won the fight, so he deserves Helen. Paris would’ve been dead if it weren’t for Aphrodite, yet he still doesn’t give Helen back to Menelaus. Rather, the war continues and thousands of people continue to die at the greediness of Paris.
Odysseus, dressed as a beggar went to Troy to gather information. While there, Helen saw and recognized Odysseus. To learn if it was truly Odysseus, she bathed him to remove his beggar’s clothes. To have called a guard would be an easy way to arrest Odysseus, but she didn’t. Instead, she learned what would happen while also giving Odysseus information about the Trojan side of the war. If Helen did not like Menelaus and wished the Trojans to win, many situations could have happened to allow Helen to betray Menelaus. Helen sincerely liked Menelaus and her abduction by Paris was not with her consent. In addition, when Helen puts a drug in everyone’s wine to prevent sadness the only reason for this action could be to prevent the pain of past events from resurfacing. The book specifically says, “she cast a medicine of Heartsease, free of gall, to make one forget all sorrows.” This action was done out of care for her husband. Helen seems a loyal wife, but the Helen in Trojan Women, not so
There are four causes: Fate/Gods, rape, persuasive speech, and love which might have caused Helen to pursue her journey to Troy.
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
Each of the goddesses promised to give Paris something in return for giving her the apple. Hera offered Paris power and the richest kingdom on earth. Athena promised to make him a great hero and to give him wealth. Finally, Aphrodite promised a marriage to the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta (Joe "Trojan War"). Paris immediately chose Aphrodite to be the fairest, causing much discord for the others. He quickly set off to Sparta to fetch Helen; however, she was the wife of the Spartan king, Menelaus. When Paris reached Sparta, he saw that Menelaus was not there and he proceeded to abduct Helen. Menelaus was infuriated by this deviousness. He called upon all of Helen’s old suitors who had promised to keep her honor. These suitors did not truly want to go to war, in fact, Odysseus feigned insanity and
The next and less benevolent role is that of the seductress. Two stories about such women referred to in The Odyssey are those of the half-sisters Helen and Klytaimnestra. The entire Trojan War was caused by Helen's unfaithfulness to Menelaos; her affair caused many deaths and Odysseus would not have had to leave home if she had not run away with Paris. The other sister also caused pain and suffering by having an affair and then killing her husband, Agamemnon, with her lover on his homecoming day. The seductress is always looked upon as dangerous and harmful to mankind. The Seirenes symbolize this role; their song seduces and compels anyone listening to linger until death. Kirke tries to seduce Odysseus before she helps him, and the beautiful Kalypso entices him with sex and immortality and will not release him to go home. It is the hero's job to resist the temptation of the seductress or it will lead to his downfall.
At its most basic, traitors are accused with betraying those that they had an allegiance to. Whether it be to a government, a King, or to a spouse. Treason is the only law that is included in The U.S. Constitution. Treason seems pretty cut and dry in the context of U.S. law, but an individual’s acts can be subjective.
Saying that Helen was innocent, she would've taken the offer to go home and back to her husband. Evidently she denied the offer to return to her country, resulting in absolute guilt. When participating in the act of treason, you have to betray one's country. Helen had the chance to go home and save lives, she didn't come home, taking thousands of innocent
Clytemnestra endorses her plans and thoughts of revenge for the death of her daughter, Iphigeneia, to the chorus. Iphigeneia, however, is sacrificed to allow the convoy of the Greek forces to cruise to Troy to avenge the rape of Helen by Paris. The strict rule of divine power is exemplified by Agamemnon, who followed the hassles of the god Artemis. He either chose to give up the voyage to avenge or to sacrifice his daughter, in which, Agamemnon’s pride is top priority that he chose to sacrifice his daughter. Clytemnestra’s killing, is then, demanded as revenge for the death of Iphigeneia, which is itself the product of a difficult cause and consequence, transgression, and punishment.
Hecuba is an old widow of Priam. She lost her pride and now serving as a slave with the rest of the trojan women. She was the queen of Troy. A mother to love and shelter and all her children died. She tries to prove Helen wrong by shedding light onto her sins with reality. She blamed Helen for everything she has suffered and wanted her dead. She states that its ridiculous to blame the gods and bring them into this conversation “Don’t try to give respectability to your crime by making the goddesses out to be fools. You will certainly not convince intelligent people of this.” (980, 65). She then says that Paris was very handsome and would have never fell for Helen if she didn’t mislead him with her charms. If Paris took Helen by force why didn’t the guards hear her scream ing. She confirmed Helen wasn’t suffering from slavery but, was enjoying all the luxury that Paris provided her. She tells that she tried to help Helen so that she could run back to Greece and stop the war. The loss of your presence will cause Paris to marry another woman. But this news was like death to Helen because she enjoyed the
Zeus was known as not being faithful to his wife Hera. While not being unfaithful he had many children, one of which was a daughter named Helen. Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and is known for being a figure during the Trojan War. She was the most beautiful woman in the known world, after Aphrodite, and numerous men tried to win her hand. Eventually the king of Sparta, Menelaus, won her hand and had a daughter and three sons. Helen’s marriage would mark the beginning of the end of the age of heroes. Later on she eloped with Paris while still married to Menelaus. Helen of Troy left her first husband who started the Trojan War in fit of rage towards Paris. With that, Helen became an iconic symbol of the Trojan
According to Britannica, Helen who in Greek Legend is the mortal daughter of Zeus and the most beautiful woman of Greece. Helen of Troy is also the indirect cause of the Trojan War. (cite coming) For she, Helen of Troy abandoned her husband, daughter and parents to be with the man she loved. Helen finding Paris the most beautiful. This implies that she was clouded by beauty which made her thoughtless she forgot who she loved and who loved her.