Homers Relationship With Paris And Aphrodite - 1737 Words

Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships. In Homer’s epic poem, Iliad, he describes Helen of Troy as the most beautiful woman in the world. The introduction of the Iliad states that when Paris steals Helen from her husband Menelaus, a Greek Chieftain, the Achaeans band together and cross the Aegean Sea to wage war against Troy, a gracious, prosperous city in Asia Minor. Their motive is revenge . After fighting for nine years in a land that is not their own, the Greeks miss â€Å"the rich fields and glorious feasts that supposedly make combat worth-while. Both sides have trouble remembering why they are fighting in the first place† Under the leadership of Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon, the Greeks fight around Troy for ten years†¦show more content†¦In each of the three examples listed above the young women are beautiful, they are presented by their creators as vixens who use their siren ways to entice and entrap men into their seductive webs. Eventually each man falls victim to the seductress, living the rest of their days a ruined man. This is how it is presented to the audience, but is this what really happens? Like Helen, these three characters are in fact, victims of society and the men they seduce. Helen is the daughter of Zeus, prized for her beauty. Throughout the span of history she is that by which all female beauty is measured. Her beauty is not subjective but rather absolute. She is the only female in history who can rally an entire army’s response and hold them in battle for over ten years just to bring her home. Her iconic image that spans all of history has been twisted into something very different than what was presented by Homer in the Iliad. Hellen is exploited by the men who worship her, and the gods that favor her. In order to fully understand the relationship between Paris and Helen, the reader must first understand the relationship between Paris and Aphrodite. Athena and Hera are on the side of the Greeks while Aphrodite favors the Trojans. This is because of a dispute between the three about who was most beautiful. Paris, who was judge in the beauty contest, choseShow MoreRelated Expression of Self-worth in Homer’s Iliad1400 Words   |  6 PagesExpression of Self-worth in Homer’s Iliad The story of the Trojan War as played out in the Iliad is perhaps most gripping for the focus on the role of the individual; the soul is struck by the very concept of a decade-long war and a city-state razed to the ground for one man’s crime and one woman’s beauty. As such, the dynamic between Helen, Paris, and the Trojan people they have doomed is a fascinating one. For while Prince Paris is hated by all of Troy, his right to keep Helen is challengedRead MoreEssay on A Review of the Movie Troy808 Words   |  4 Pagesthe movie Troy is a movie for Hollywood that is sure to be a box office hit. Troy, based on the Iliad, has proven to be a very loose adaptation of Homers classic and one cannot help noticing the major differences between the book and the movie. One of the most noticeable differences between the book and the movie is the absence of the Gods. In Homers Iliad, the Gods played a major part in the Trojan War. Though the viewers are made aware that the characters believe in the Gods, the only GodRead MoreHector v.s Paris Rivalry in The Liad1124 Words   |  5 PagesHector and Paris. He focus on these two men that both want to become a great legacy and hero. Homer’s comparison of these to characters shows there drive to become the better man. Through all of there rivalries, which include but are not limited to family, behaviour in battle, and how they relate to the gods, Hector shows that he is the more honourable man. Hector has a family and the way that he shows his compassionate relationship with his family is more honourable then the way that Paris tries toRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad993 Words   |  4 Pages In Homer’s The Iliad, we learn that the mother and father relationships within the family is very important, but we don’t want to overlook the brothers. For instance, in the Greek and Trojan families, it was one way to bring everyone together. The brotherhood of Agamemnon and Menelaus, and Hector and Paris illustrates their devotion. Book Six of The Iliad comprehends several illustrations of how honor strengthens the bond between both brother’s Agamemnon and Menelaus and Hector and Paris. GloryRead MoreThe Epic Poem, The Iliad by Homer879 Words   |  3 PagesHomer’s epic poem, The Iliad, is about the battles and events during the Trojan War between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Mortality and Immortality is the main crucial distinction between humans and gods. That being said, another interesting thing about them is how similar they are to human beings. They make mistakes, become jealous, and get their feelings hurt unlike our modern concepti on of god as infinite, omniscient and omnibenevolent. The Iliad literature on the gods does not displayRead MoreThe Eruption Of The Iliad1558 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the epic of Homer’s The Iliad, the gods take on human characteristics, allowing their feelings guide them, intervening, through the war. Before the war began, there was a wedding feast to honor Thetis and Peleus, Achilles’ parents. The goddess Eris was not invited to the wedding. Eris was angry and threw a golden apple inscribed for the fairest and threw it into the banquet hall. All the goddesses claimed the apple, but Zeus delegates the decision to Paris, a prince in Troy. TheRead More The Gods in Homers The Iliad and The Odyssey Essay1393 Words   |  6 PagesThe Gods in Homers The Iliad and The Odyssey The stories told in the Iliad and Odyssey are based on stories handed down over several generations, for they preserve (as we have seen) memories of an already quiet far distant past. The two pomes show clear connection in their language and style, in the manner in which their incidents presented, and in the combination of agreement with level, which distinguish their creation. The work was written by one author but gave two diverse views on theRead More Religious Beliefs in Aeschylus Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’ Electra1659 Words   |  7 PagesReligious Beliefs in Aeschylus Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’ Electra The final and definitive defeat of the Persian army at the battle of Plataea represented the end of an age-long threat to Athens. But the victory was also a miracle, as all the odds were against the Athenians at the onset of the war. While Pericles took charge of Athens after the war and started the advance of democracy, religion also thrived. The rebuilding of the Acropolis and the construction of the ParthenonRead More Incest in Greek Mythology Essay1765 Words   |  8 Pagesthe characters in the Greek plays the opportunity to also lust after their children and relatives. While the story of Oedipus the King is the delineating play on the subject, Greek mythology is full of incestuous relationships.    The gods who inspired the love and hate relationships among families include Hermes, who used his magical use of language to lure the feelings of his brother Apollo away from jealousy to love. Hermes reward was divination, and he became the god who protected travelersRead MoreGlory And Honor : Honor And Glory1798 Words   |  8 Pagesmany Greek warriors is the fame that remains beyond physical death; the honor of individuals guided most thoughts and decisions. Glory and honor establish heroes and their identities, and are the foundations for the developments that come to pass in Homer’s Iliad. The notions of honor and glory are necessary to understanding the incentives of the heroes in the Iliad. Glory is earned by heroic actions, but in particular heroic actions that others witness and praise. Honor is similar to glory, but while