Premium Essay

Why Is Helen Won In The Iliad

Submitted By
Words 611
Pages 3
A Prize To Be Won

One of the most ridiculous, expensive and disgusting wars is started over a woman and to whom her body belongs to. In the Iliad, Helen of Argos is the prize to be won. Helen’s appearance causes her to involuntarily be objectified, sexualized and made into a political issue to the point of the Trojan War breaking out. We’re talking about the Trojan War. The society is more responsible for the outbreak of the Trojan War than Helen is for having natural beauty.

Although Helen is beautiful, there should not be consequences for having such beauty as it is not something she can help but been created with. An example of how she is viewed through Homer’s words is as follows, “Helen moved like daylight to the vaulted bedroom,”

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Replication of History Through the Humanism

...“The Portraiture of the author’s Perspective on State of his/ her current epoch through literature” Greek culture has had a profound impact on Western Civilizations. It is always and ever be the pinnacle of human ingenuity. The Greeks have bestowed upon Western culture the concepts of citizen’s rights, democracy, mathematics, physics, astronomy, etc. More importantly, the Greeks also had a highly developed spiritual life that is evident in Homer’s eclectic tale The Iliad. Through this highly developed spiritual life, the Greeks imparted many human traits to their gods and goddesses that would greatly affect their own society’s way of thinking and other civilizations. Through Iliad and the other works of many great thinkers of Greece, they have propelled Greece to become the standard in terms of excellence. The contribution of the Greeks to us is not only great but also timeless, even in our modern age, we still able to learn and relate to the poems that were composed many epoch past. In ancient Greece, poetry was considered an art of which only few knew and could impose. Those who didn't know how to write memorized the stories depicted by the poets. There was the category of poetry known as epic, which is displayed by Homer to its full extent with unequalled precision Epic was the poetry that was very extensive and lengthy with a wide vocabulary used throughout and which told stories of adventure and heroism. Poets didn't just serve as entertainment, they were also educators...

Words: 988 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Pride in the Iliad

...of self-importance, which is why people, at times, are driven to act in a selfish manner at the cost of someone else’s own self-interest. While it is important for one to have self-respect and dignity, it is wrong to let those feelings get in the way and cause unnecessary problems. In the Ancient Greek epic The Iliad by the poet Homer, the actions of nearly all of the characters are influenced by their sense of pride. In the story, arrogance is the main reason behind all of the conflicts that take place, and throughout the entire epic, pride is depicted as a destructive force. Pride is the cause of the war, the source of sub-conflicts between the characters, and the motive behind the actions taken by Achilles throughout the story. The entire epic of The Iliad occurs in the middle of a ten-year conflict in the city of Troy between the Trojans and Achaeans. As is the case with most wars, the cause of the Trojan War is arguably quite pointless because it stems from nothing more than wounded egos. The clash of the egos begins when Paris “launches the war” (Homer 14. 33) when he offends Athena and Hera by choosing Aphrodite in a beauty contest between the goddesses. The two who lose the contest feel dishonored, and as a result they take the side of the Achaeans in the war, which causes the Trojans to have a huge disadvantage on the battlefield. Paris continues on his path to starting the war when he insults King Menelaus by charming his wife, Helen, and taking her back with him...

Words: 1313 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Iliad

...Emmett Oh Lyke 4:00 ESSAY 1 FATE IN THE ILIAD Fate is unavoidable, regardless of the effort one puts into changing or avoiding it. Fate in Homer’s ILIAD is depicted as a one way freeway with no exit ramps. No matter what the characters do, once they set foot on their path there is no going back. Dr. Harvey has brought forward the idea in lecture that any speech, simile, or any other small part in the epic can be a microcosm to a greater theme in the text. One of the greater themes that continued to appear throughout the text was fate’s inevitability superseded all other forces in the ILIAD. Fate is the most powerful force in the ILIAD because it shapes the events and decisions that occur throughout the epic. Fate shapes events and decisions by overpowering the will of gods and great warriors, as well as overwhelming characters to the point where they concede to their own fate. Fate`s power is also preserved by the very characters it acts upon. Throughout the Epic, the gods seem to be unable to change fate. For example, the gods are unable to save Hector and Achilles, despite loving them both, as fate has to run it`s course. The Homeric simile described below is a microcosm to these examples. In Book 11 of Homer’s epic, the Acheans are able to drive Trojan forces into a retreat caused by a strong charge put on by Agamemnon. During the Trojan retreat, Agamemnon knocks Isus and Antiphus off their fleeting chariot, killing them, and stripping them of their armor...

Words: 1457 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

How to Make Floor Wax Out of Banana Peel

... Mrs. Lilibeth Vargas (Subject teacher) Trojan War . In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homer's Iliad. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris'...

Words: 2701 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Odyssey

...forget and emancipate ourselves from, knowledge previously acquired; we must set aside old notions and embrace fresh ones; and as we learn, we must be daily unlearning something which it has cost us no small labor and anxiety to acquire. Skepticism has attained its culminating point with respect to Homer, and the state of our Homeric knowledge may be described as a free permission to believe any theory, provided we throw overboard all written tradition, concerning the author of the Iliad and Odyssey. Lots of arguments have appeared to run in a circle. “This cannot be true because it is not true; and that is not true, because it cannot be true.” Such seems to be the style, in which testimony upon testimony, statement upon statement, is consigned to denial and oblivion. Odyssey is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad being the oldest. Another knowledge that has been taken for granted is the Ilocano’s Biag ni Lam Ang. It is an epic poem of the Ilocano people from the Ilocos region of our country, Philippines. It is recited and written in the original Iloco, and is believed to be a composite work of various poets who passed it on through generations and was...

Words: 3665 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

The Story of My Life

...THE STORY OF MY LIFE By Helen Keller With Her Letters (1887-1901) And Supplementary Account of Her Education, Including Passages from the Reports and Letters of her Teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, By John Albert Macy Special Edition CONTAINING ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS BY HELEN KELLER To ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL Who has taught the deaf to speak and enabled the listening ear to hear speech from the Atlantic to the Rockies, I dedicate this Story of My Life. CONTENTS Editor's Preface I. THE STORY OF MY LIFE CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX CHAPTER X CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XV CHAPTER XVI CHAPTER XVII CHAPTER XVIII CHAPTER XIX CHAPTER XX CHAPTER XXI CHAPTER XXII CHAPTER XXIII II. LETTERS(1887-1901) INTRODUCTION III: A SUPPLEMENTARY ACCOUNT OF HELEN KELLER'S LIFE AND EDUCATION CHAPTER I. The Writing of the Book CHAPTER II. PERSONALITY CHAPTER III. EDUCATION CHAPTER IV. SPEECH CHAPTER V. LITERARY STYLE Editor's Preface This book is in three parts. The first two, Miss Keller's story and the extracts from her letters, form a complete account of her life as far as she can give it. Much of her education she cannot explain herself, and since a knowledge of that is necessary to an understanding of what she has written, it was thought best to supplement her autobiography with the reports and letters of her teacher, Miss Anne Mansfield Sullivan. The addition...

Words: 135749 - Pages: 543

Premium Essay

History

... iii. Both are major centers of colonization (magna graecia) Trade and commerce would produce tremendous wealth. Phoenicians They see themselves as monopolizing. Rivalry between Phoenicians and these new Greeks. 2. Alphabetic Writing Writing will return to the Greek world during this period. When it does it won’t be like Linear A or B. It will be based on an alphabet that the Greeks borrowed and modified the Phoenicians alphabet. Homer- iconic poet of Greek literature. He came from the region of Ionia. Produced famous epics of the Trojan War. Legends of the great Mycenaean heroes. Different traditions focused on different heroes. Responsible for two of the great monuments. The Iliad and the Odyssey. Achilles Agamemnon Odysseus Hector Ajax Paris Helen of Troy Penelope Important element- arête means excellence. Surpassing Excellence. Achievement, accomplishment. Exceed potential. Also mental. Ex. Odysseus is smarter than anyone else. He outwits Gods. Virtue of this society. Also is very competitive. Forever contending against one another. Individualistic quality. Have to be the best. Character trait that is the center of Greece. 3. Polis e. Polis literally means city. f. Greeks meant g. Oligarchic rule of Basileis Greece is made up of city-states. Each city will undergo its own political history. At the beginning of the archaic period almost all were Oligarchic. Oligarchic is rule by the few, Basileis- landed...

Words: 3988 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Literature/Greek Mythology

...sorrowful instrument who (as I can) help lovers to complain. Since it is fitting, and truth I maintain, for a dreary mate a woeful soul to grace, and for a sorrowful tale a sorry face. 3. For I, who the God of Love’s servants serve, not daring to Love, in my inadequateness, pray for success, though death I might deserve, so far am I from his help in darkness. But nevertheless, if this should bring gladness to any lover, and his cause avail, Love take my thanks, and mine be the travail. 4. But you, lovers that bathe in gladness, if any drop of pity is in you, remember all your past heaviness that you have felt, and how others knew the same adversity: and think how, too, you have felt Love dare to displease if you have won him with too great an ease. 5. And pray for those that may have been in Troilus’s trouble, as you’ll later hear, that love bring them solace in heaven: and also, for me, pray to God so dear that I might have the power to make clear such pain and woe as Love’s folk endure in Troilus’s unhappiest adventure. 6. And also pray...

Words: 71071 - Pages: 285

Premium Essay

Business Notes

...Principles of Measurement Mosso member of the FASB FASB’s Conceptual Framework project over the period 1973-1985 Define measurement Measurement is the assignment of numerals and other symbols to represent the magnitude of an attribute of a phenomenon Phenomenon A thing or event of interest E.g. a table, a performance, an exam Attribute A characteristic or quality of the phenomenon to be measured Magnitude The extent to which the phenomenon has the attribute Often we can’t directly observe a phenomenon of interest We need to find a substitute Direct observation- the only time we can accurately observe the attribute and phenomenon How happy is the baby? Phenomenon-baby Attribute-happiness Can you measure this attribute directly? NO Smiles per hour Laughter per day Financial Statements: When investors focus on a company’s net income, is net income necessarily the investors’ attribute of interest Firm performance Firm future performance What two things do accounting measures often represent Performance- what have we done? Position- what do we have? Business Strategy and Accounting USSBA Too many teams to manage What is strategy according to Porter? Strategy is creating a fit among an organization’s activities (to enable it to realize its goal or mission). The success of a strategy depends on doing many things well and integrating among them Operational Effectiveness versus Strategic Positioning Operational effectiveness Performing similar activities...

Words: 21330 - Pages: 86

Premium Essay

Ancient Greece

...Ancient Greece The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena, located on the Acropolis in Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks. Part of a series on the | Modern Greece.Septinsular Republic.War of Independence.First Hellenic Republic.Kingdom of Greece.National Schism.Second Hellenic Republic.4th of August Regime.Axis occupation (collaborationist regime).Civil War.Military Junta.Third Hellenic Republic | History by topic.Art.Constitution.Economy.Military.Names | History of Greece | | Neolithic Greece.Neolithic Greece | Greek Bronze Age.Helladic.Cycladic.Minoan.Mycenaean | Ancient Greece.Homeric Greece.Archaic Greece.Classical Greece.Hellenistic Greece.Roman Greece | Medieval Greece.Byzantine Greece.Frankish and Latin states.Ottoman Greece | | Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BCto the end ofantiquity (c. 600 AD). Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in ancient Greece is the period ofClassical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Classical Greece began with the repelling of a Persian invasion by Athenian leadership. Because of conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished fromCentral Asia to the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture...

Words: 17888 - Pages: 72

Free Essay

Grammar Worksheet

...GLENCOE LANGUAGE ARTS Grammar and Language Workbook G RADE 9 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Send all inquiries to: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill 936 Eastwind Drive Westerville, Ohio 43081 ISBN 0-02-818294-4 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 024 03 02 01 00 99 Contents Handbook of Definitions and Rules .........................1 Troubleshooter ........................................................21 Part 1 Grammar ......................................................45 Unit 1 Parts of Speech 1.1 Nouns: Singular, Plural, and Collective ....47 1.2 Nouns: Proper and Common; Concrete and Abstract.................................49 1.3 Pronouns: Personal and Possessive; Reflexive and Intensive...............................51 1.4 Pronouns: Interrogative and Relative; Demonstrative and Indefinite .....................53 1.5 Verbs: Action (Transitive/Intransitive) ......55 1.6 Verbs: Linking .............................................57 1.7 Verb Phrases ................................................59 1.8 Adjectives ....................................................61 1.9 Adverbs........................................................63 1.10 Prepositions...

Words: 107004 - Pages: 429

Free Essay

Art and Story Proceedings 2004

...Proceeding for the School of Visual Arts Eighteenth Annual National Conference on Liberal Arts and the Education of Artists: Art and Story CONTENTS SECTION ONE: Marcel’s Studio Visit with Elstir……………………………………………………….. David Carrier SECTION TWO: Film and Video Narrative Brief Narrative on Film-The Case of John Updike……………………………………. Thomas P. Adler With a Pen of Light …………………………………………………………………… Michael Fink Media and the Message: Does Media Shape or Serve the Story: Visual Storytelling and New Media ……………………………………………………. June Bisantz Evans Visual Literacy: The Language of Cultural Signifiers…………………………………. Tammy Knipp SECTION THREE: Narrative and Fine Art Beyond Illustration: Visual Narrative Strategies in Picasso’s Celestina Prints………… Susan J. Baker and William Novak Narrative, Allegory, and Commentary in Emil Nolde’s Legend: St. Mary of Egypt…… William B. Sieger A Narrative of Belonging: The Art of Beauford Delaney and Glenn Ligon…………… Catherine St. John Art and Narrative Under the Third Reich ……………………………………………… Ashley Labrie 28 15 1 22 25 27 36 43 51 Hopper Stories in an Imaginary Museum……………………………………………. Joseph Stanton SECTION FOUR: Photography and Narrative Black & White: Two Worlds/Two Distinct Stories……………………………………….. Elaine A. King Relinquishing His Own Story: Abandonment and Appropriation in the Edward Weston Narrative………………………………………………………………………….. David Peeler Narrative Stretegies in the Worlds of Jean Le Gac and Sophe Calle…………………….. Stefanie Rentsch...

Words: 117240 - Pages: 469

Free Essay

The Discourses

...\nvt'$ mvmj of thf "i'emW^ le$t ^mH, THE DISCOURSES OF EPICTETUS. WITH THE ENCHEIRIDION AND FRAGMENTS. TRANSLATED, AND A WITH VIEW NOTES, OF HIS A LIFE OF EPICTETUS, PUILO80PUY. By GEOKGE long, M.A. NEW YORK: A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER, EPICTETUS. Very that he little was a is known* native of and of the life of in Epictetus. Phrygia, the in Maeander the a it is saia Hierapolis, a town tween be- the the to Mgeander branch of named of Paul it in the of Lyons. the Hierapolis of Colossi that time is mentioned epistle from people (Coloss. there of the was iv. a 13); which church date of fact his master has been concluded at Christian The Hierapolis birth of the apostie. The Epictetus life is that is unknown. he a was a only Rome, recorded and of broke the his was early slave in Epaphroditus, There is a profligate that the freedman master to on emperor his slave's dence evi- Nero, story leg by torturing of or him; but the that it is better trust to the Simplicins, who an commentator the weak how Encheiridion in he Manual, from but says Epictetus It is not in was body became that found and a lame early age. said modern slave; parents it has the this ...

Words: 160374 - Pages: 642

Free Essay

The Outline of English Literature

...Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан Кокшетауский государственный университет им. Ш. Уалиханова An Outline of British Literature (from tradition to post modernism) Кокшетау 2011 УДК 802.0 – 5:20 ББК 81:432.1-923 № 39 Рекомендовано к печати кафедрой английского языка и МП КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, Ученым Советом филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, УМС КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова. Рецензенты: Баяндина С.Ж. доктор филологических наук, профессор, декан филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова Батаева Ф.А. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры «Переводческое дело» Кокшетауского университета им. А. Мырзахметова Кожанова К.Т. преподаватель английского языка кафедры гуманитарного цикла ИПК и ПРО Акмолинской области An Outline of British Literature from tradition to post modernism (on specialties 050119 – “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages”, 050205 – “Foreign Philology” and 050207 – “Translation”): Учебное пособие / Сост. Немченко Н.Ф. – Кокшетау: Типография КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, 2010 – 170 с. ISBN 9965-19-350-9 Пособие представляет собой краткие очерки, характеризующие английскую литературу Великобритании, ее основные направления и тенденции. Все известные направления в литературе иллюстрированы примерами жизни и творчества авторов, вошедших в мировую литературу благодаря...

Words: 82733 - Pages: 331

Free Essay

Grammar

...NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL English Grammar & Composition BY WREN & MARTIN (With New Appendices) REVISED BY N.D.V. PRASADA RAO S. CHAND Page i New Edition HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION By P.C. WREN, MA. (OXON) and H. MARTIN, M.A. (OXON), O.B.E. Revised By N.D.V. PRASADA RAO, M.A., D.T.E., Ph.D. Dear Students, Beware of fake/pirated editions. Many of our best selling titles have been unlawfully printed by unscrupulous persons. Your sincere effort in this direction may stop piracy and save intellectuals' rights. For the genuine book check the 3-D hologram which gives a rainbow effect. S. CHAND AN ISO 9001: 2000 COMPANY S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. RAM NAGAR, NEW DELHI -110 055 Page iii PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION Wren and Martin's monumental work High School English Grammar and Composition now appears in two editions. One is a de luxe edition, illustrated in full-colour, and the other is an ordinary edition without illustrations. The material in the book has been further updated where called for. It has been felt necessary in particular to revise some material in the chapters dealing with adjectives, active and passive voice, articles and prepositions. Appendix I, which deals with American English, has been expanded. Appendix II has been replaced with a newer set of tests covering the important areas of grammar. It was in the year 1972 that the shrewd visionary Mr. Shyam Lai Gupta obtained the permission of Manecji Cooper Education Trust for the revision of this book...

Words: 211294 - Pages: 846