Ayush Mishra 201302017
Helen of Troy (Sparta), is a lady of mythical beauty. In the myths of Greece, she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world, who eloped with Alexandros to Troy, during her husband Menelaus absence in Sparta, which led to a bloody 10 year war of the Trojans with the Argives and lead her to become a symbol of the devastation that lust can cause to society. After the Achaean’s siege of Troy, Menelaus meets her again and accepts her back in a blink of an eye. This shows the power of her divine beauty that even after years of hatred and war, Menelaus accepts her back without thinking twice. Helen features 1 prominently in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey . Homer does not go deep into describing her physical appearance but uses formulaic expressions such as “fair tressed” and “fair among women” to acknowledge her beauty (Hom. Il . 3.171-175, Od . 15.50 -60). In this essay I want to detail how she is presented in Homer’s work, in order to understand her feelings regarding the war she has caused and how she compares to other model female characters such as Andromache, Penelope or Arete .
In Greek Mythology, whenever Helen has been mentioned, her beauty has never been overlooked. Her beauty has been an integral part of her character. Homer described her as a 'lovely', 'fair' (Hom. Il. 3.1-57) and a 'white-armed' woman (Hom. Il. 3.121-180) with shining hair (Hom. Il. 13.730-5) and a pure cheek line (Hom. Od. 15.138-40). He has also referred to her as “Human Aphrodite” (Hom Il 3.209-10) and “Pearl of Kings”. She used to move gracefully, like Artemis (Hom. Od. 4.125-30), the goddess of hunting. Her beauty and goodly heritage made her a woman everyone Adored.
Homer acknowledges Helen’s mythical beauty and her relation with the immortal Gods. Like, when the Trojan elders state that there is no shame in the war causing agonies to both the Trojans and the Greeks, for a woman like her, she being the image of an immortal Goddess (Hom. Il .3.150-160). By this, the Trojan elders all agree that the Trojan and Greek men are not to be blamed for the war as any man would suffer for the sake of a beauty such as Helen. They believe that the cause of the war is attributed to her alone (Hom. Il . 3.155- 165). And when Agamemnon’s discusses gifts to be given to Achilles to bring him back to the battle, where he says he can choose the twenty most beautiful women of Troy, after Helen (Hom. Il . 9.140-150). She is described using formula epithets as being of high nobility, such as being the queen among women (Hom. Il. 3.220-230), the daughter of Zeus (Hom. Il . 6.290-300) and as being very beautiful, such as being white armed (Hom. Il. 3.120-130), long dressed (Hom. Il . 3.420-430), having lovely cheeks (Hom. Od. 15.120-130) and having lovely hair.
Helen’s character was not as pure as her looks suggest. She acted very godlike and did whatever pleased her without considering its effects on others. At first, she decides to marry Menelaus (Hom. Il. 3.110-5), then she decides to leave him and her daughter and flea with Paris to Troy (Hom. Il. 3.209-11), without thinking of its consequences on her daughter, on Menelaus and on the soldiers of both the kingdoms, just to fulfil her sexual desires. She never realised the responsibilities that lie on her shoulders as the Queen of Menelaus. All she cared about, were her rights and her needs. Though, later in the Iliad, she realised the consequences when Priam, father of Paris, spoke to her about Hektor’s death. She realised how wrong her actions were. She was the cause of Hektor’s death and of the other thousands of soldiers from both the kingdoms. She once told Hektor, “dear to me, bitch that I am, vicious, scheming-horror to freeze the heart!..” (Hom Il 6.408-13). This was the point, when she fell from her divine status to humane levels. She kept wishing for death, instead of facing the consequences of her actions (Hom. Il. 3.209-16). She when back in Menelaus’ court, came to know that Odysseus hadn’t returned from Troy, she weeped (Hom. Od. 4.191-3). To make her husband feel better, she drugged his wine with a tear devoiding drug, when he came to know about the Odysseus.
Achilles states that Helen is the reason for the war but Priam, Penelope and Hector on the other hand, hold the God’s responsibility (Hom. Il . 3.160-170, Il . 9.335- 345, Il . 24.760- 780, Od .23.220 -230). On the other hand, Helen also seems to be very regretful that the whole war has been caused by her actions, for which she blames other people like the Goddess Aphrodite (Hom.Il. 3.410-420), but her thoughts or words of regret do not translate to any action. In addition to this, as expressed by Roisman (2006, pp. 9 10), Helen’s weaving of a tapestry depicting the war rather than a pattern symbolizes the fact that she accepts that she is responsible for the war (Hom. Il .3.120- 130). Helen also describes herself as a whore twice (Hom. Il . 3.180 -183, Il . 6.350 -360), shameless (Hom. Od . 4.140-150), slut (Hom. Il. 6.340-350) and wishes that she was either dead or dies in a natural catastrophe (Hom. Il . 24.760-770). Hence, Helen can be aptly described as a “Beautiful Lifeless Puppet” in the Iliad, as she takes no decisive action to prevent bloodshed allegedly due to being controlled by the Gods and the men around her.
The conjugal life of Helen with Menelaos in the Odyssey and Alexandros in the Iliad are very different. Helen seems to be happier with Menelaos, probably due to him being easily pleased and seduced in the Odyssey and due to her having more power in the household, like being able to order around the maids (Hom. Od. 4.290-300) unlike when she was at Troy. She also stops wishing for her own death, unlike in the Iliad (Hom. Il . 3.170-180) and does not seem to be interfered with by the Gods and happily sleeps with Menelaus (Hom. Od . 4.300-310), unlike the Iliad where she is harassed by Aphrodite to sexually please Paris (Hom. Il. 3.410-420). She seems very tearful and heart broken in the Iliad upset by the consequences of her actions (Hom. Il .3.170-180, Hom. Il. 24.760-770).
It could be seen that, although Helen was initially indifferent of her surroundings and how she affected others, during the later part of her life, she realised about the consequences of her actions and started feeling about others. Andromache and Penelope can be blamed for change in her behaviour. She cared about Menelaus, her true husband, and his kingdom. She was compassionate about her family but now that compassion had extended to other people like Penelope and kids.
Helen is ruled by lust and her need for status and acceptance which is reflected in her choice of suitors. Some authors (Suzuki (1989) and Oleskar (2016)) claim that, Homer connects her with Artemis rather than Aphrodite in the Odyssey to show that after the war, she is more of a model wife (Hom. Od. 4.120- 130). However her actions speak otherwise. Her behavior towards Menelaus proves that it’s all for show. Her claims of remorse are refuted by what her actions prove to be her true intentions.
References :
Hammond, Martin. Homer, The Iliad Translated with an introduction. Penguin, London UK, 1987.
Roisman, H. M. (2006). “Helen in the "Iliad" "Causa Belli" and Victim of War: From Silent Weaver to Public Speaker” . The American Journal of Philology, 127(1), 910.
Whittaker, H. (1995). Gender Roles in the Odyssey. Greece and Gender, 29-42.
Homer - The Iliad by Robert Fitzgerald, 1974
Homer - The Odyssey by Robert Fitzgerald, 1998