Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Nature of Greek theatre
Nature of Greek theatre
The trojan war new history
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Nature of Greek theatre
Hecuba was the Queen of Troy before the Greeks attacked her kingdom. Her and her family, were living peacefully, but then they were diminished. Her husband died, along with most of her children. Her son, Polydorous was sent to an island far away from Troy to be with a trusted friend. He was brought there to be kept safe until he was able to build Troy back up. Hecuba and her daughter were both slaves for the Greeks. Hecuba had lost all her trust and dignity when she lost Troy and her children. She was beaten and on top of that she witnessed her daughter’s, Polyxena, death. She also had the sight of discovering her son’s dead body. She had lost faith in humanity and trust because their trusted old friend turned back on them for treasure. Hecuba can …show more content…
She has became a monster which Polymester created. She couldn’t believe that he had killed her son, the only hope for troy, in exchange for his selfish wants. He even didn’t have the decency to give his son a grave where she can grieve to him. She informed Agamemnon about her sons murder, but hes afraid if her helps her seek revenge, his army would think he is conspiring with their. Hecuba greets Polyester as if nothing has happened. His two face self doesn’t realize that she is planning her revenge. She knows his weakness, wealth, so she tells him a secret. That secret is where Priam’s treasure remains. She asked him to include his two son’s in this discovery of the treasure. As a way to get to her murder, she questions Polymester about the whereabouts about her son. She knows that he is lying, but she lets him tell his lies. She lies him and his sons to the room where the treasure is hidden. The sons enter first and are being killed. As for Polymester, his view of his sons are blocked by slave women. He doesn’t witness his sons being killed until he is in front of them. Then after he has seen a bit of their murder, Hecuba stabs him in the eyes. He has
It is Paris’ selfishness and cowardliness that caused the downfall of Troy. Whether he is too scared to fight in the war or taking people's wives, he knows he is causing the death of many fellow soldiers and his family. Hecuba and Priam should listen to the soothsayer when he says Paris will cause the downfall of
In early Sparta, slaves typically came in the form of servants called helots. In discussing the concept of helots, the novel mentions that they were “…the serf class that the Lakedaemonians had created from the inhabitants of Messenia and Helos after they in centuries past had conquered and enslaved them.” (Pressfield, 12). While the male citizens of Sparta trained for war and went off to war to protect their city-state, the helots were left to tend the fields and produce food for the Spartans. All descendants of the former inhabitants of Messenia and Helos were automatically born into life as a helot; in addition, people born in other lands who later chose – or, in the case of Xeones, were forced – to migrate into Sparta were also considered helots. These helots of foreign-birth, who were certainly not eligible for citizenship, were often feared to be informants among their fellow helots. Helots were all expected to contribute equally to the labor and tillage of the soil, and fellow helots ensured a difficult life for those who did not. During Xeones’ time as a helot slave, both of these helot ‘issues’ are realized. Due to extensive injuries from having nails sent through his hands in his past, Xeones was relatively incapable of performing farm tasks. Being unable to work in the fields, along with his foreign origin, made for a rough life for Xeones. He was disliked by most of the
Troy?s relationship with his father was one, which produced much tension, and had a strong influence on Troy?s relationships with his loved ones as an adult. He had very little respect for his father because his father did not, in Troy?s mind, make his family a priority. At an early age, Troy?s father beat him ?like there was no tomorrow? because he caught Troy getting ?cozy? with a girl (549; I,4). Troy said that ?right there is where [he became] a man? (549; I,4). It was at that moment that Troy made the decision to free himself from his father?s power. Despite the fact that he did eventually escape his father?s wrath, the struggle with his father?s aggressive behavior and lack of love resulted in a coldness that resided in Troy?s heart toward life and love. His father did not care about his children; children were there to work for the food that he ate first. Troy describes his feelings toward his father by saying, ?Sometimes I wish I hadn?t known my daddy. He ain?t cared nothing about no kids. A kid to him wasn?t nothing. All he wanted was for you to learn how to walk so he could start you to working? (548; I,4). Although Troy had very little respect for his father and vowed to be nothing like him, many of his father?s harsh personality traits show up in his own personality. Despite Troy?s continuous attempts to push himself away from anything he had ever known about his father, the inheritance of such irrational behavior was inevitable because it was all he had ever known. The inheritance of this angry behavior was, in turn, the cause of his damaging relationships with his own family. Just as Troy endured his father?s cruel ways, Troy?s family is left with no choice but to try to learn to live with his similar ways.
The Bacchant are considered offensive to the Theban elites, due to their destruction of livestock and men. However, they also pose a threat to the structure of Theban politics. Pentheus feels threated both politically and personally due to the, “insolent hybris of the Bacchae, a huge humiliation to Greeks” (779). The humiliation is not only towards Greeks a whole, and due to Pentheus's power he is looked poorly on due to these women. The fact that women overruled men, the serving class uprooting from the served, ensues a chaos which creates a loss of faith to Pentheus's constitutents. Since political destruction is not an outcome Pentheus wants, he must supress the female rebellion. Female independence becomes dangerous and in order to lessen these anxietie...
Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).
To this Jocasta remarks in unpleasant surprise, “What do you say? Is Polybus dead, old man?”(Scene III) At this, the messenger tries to get him to come back but he declares that he’ll never go back. Then the messenger goes on to say that his worries are in vain for Polybus wasn’t really his father. Jocasta calls for Oedipus and they both begin to think that maybe they have defeated fate after all. However, Oedipus still has doubts. “Know that he had received you as a gift from my hands long ago.”(Scene III) The messenger tells Oedipus that he saves him from the mountainside where he found him and gave him to the king of Corinth in hopes that the child would become a king. As Jocasta begins to catch on she begs Oedipus to leave things alone as they are better off that way. There is much admiration for Oedipus’ adamancy to find out the truth yet he does not know that such things have
The first chapter of the trilogy is the story of Agamemnon, the war hero of Troy who returns home after 10 years. The King had left on a rather sour note, having murdered his daughter Iphigenia to appease the Gods in order for the fleet to sail for Troy. Clytomnestra, the Queen, cannot understand the sacrifice. This is the first occurrence of the so-called gender battle in the trilogy. Agamemnon’s actions are typical of the classic Greek ‘male’ point of view. He is mostly concerned with issues of war, honor and the welfare of the city. Clytomnestra, in contrast, is more concerned with ‘female’ issues, such as the welfare of the family. The Queen, during the King’s absence, becomes obsessed with her daughter’s death, and takes a new lover to the exclusion of her remaining children in an attempt to steal control over the city. When Agamemnon returns, instead of a faithful wife he finds a quick death at the hands of Aegithus. It is interesting to note that another person is also killed, an innocent. Clytomnestra kills Cassandra, a prophetic girl brought home from Troy, on a whim...
Antigone believes that a woman should be intrepid and strong, even at the risk of challenging men’s authority. When she proposes to bury Polynices, Ismene answers, “we’re not born to contend with men”. (75) Antigone’s response, “that death will be a glory” (86), does not directly address gender issues, but it expresses her fury at Ismene’s passivity. After the burial of Polynices, Antigone defiantly states, “I did it. I don’t deny a thing,” while being interrogated by Creon (492) and later comments that she was “not ashamed for a moment, not to honor my brother”. (572-3) Antigone’s gallant speech and defiance toward traditional gender identities audaciously shows her revolutionary desire for gender equality.
Although Helen was a major contributing factor of the commencement of the Trojan war, I do not believe she was the lone cause of it. It was the judgement of a beauty contest between three goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite, which had triggered a series of events, that eventually lead to the Trojan war. During this beauty contest, Paris of Troy was to judge the physical appearance of the three greek goddesses. In return of being the favoured beauty, each goddess promised Paris something he desired. The goddess Aphrodite who had made Paris the most appealing offer. She promised him the hand of ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’ if he pleased Aphrodite to be the most beautiful as opposed to Athena and Hera. Seeing that the latter would be the most flattering to Paris, he concluded Aphrodite to be the fairest of the three. Keeping her promise,
After Oenome convinces Theseus that his son has been trying to steal the love of his wife, Hippolytus is banished by his father and Neptune is sent to kill him. At this point, Phaedra learns that Hippolytus was capable of loving someone, and the guilt that she feels is from her denying another woman the love of Hippolytus. She has caused the suffering of another woman, Aricia, and now she has also caused a father to banish and kill his own son. Finally, after the death of Oenome, Aricia, and Hippolytus, the power of her guilt has engulfed her and she can no longer live in the absence of truth or with the deeds she has done.
Hephaestus is the god of fire, metalwork, and crafts. He was born in the heavens, like most greek gods. Hephaestus was the product of Hera’s jealousy of Zeus’ two children. One myth said that Hephaestus sided with Hera during a quarrel between Zeus and Hera so he was thrown from Olympus.. Another myth says that “Hephaestus was born lame and Hera threw him from Olympus”(UXL Encyclopedia, Vol. 3). The other gods often ridiculed Hephaestus for his disability despite how much he helped them.
In Edith Hamilton’ book King Acrisius is desperate for a son. He goes to Delphi to ask if he will someday have a son but the priestess tells him no and also tell him that this daughter will have a son who will some day kill him. He did not want to kill his daughter because he loved her but also because he feared the anger of the gods. So he built an underground bronze house and imprisoned her there. It was there that Zeus visited her and made her pregnant. When the King found out about this he had his daughter placed in a chest and put out to sea. They were discovered by a fisherman who took care of the them as though they were members of his family.
Upon hearing the news that Oedipus is not of Polybus and he is the baby who has his ankles tied, Jocasta retires to the palace and commits suicide. She has put all the pieces together and is beside herself with grief, despair, and anger.
Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, the sister of Eteocles, Polynices, and Ismene, and the fiancé of Haemon. Soon after Eteocles and Polynices kill each other in a duel, it Antigone is caught by guards digging a grave for Polynices’ body with in an attempt to bury him after his body had been left out to rot in disgrace. At first, Creon attempts to cover up this incident and send Antigone back to her bed by saying she was ill, but Antigone tells him that she will just go out that night and attempt to bury the body again. Though Creon does try to dissuade Antigone further, and brings up many good points about her brothers and their relationship with their father, Antigone still insists that she should be arrested. Even when Ismene attempts to ameliorate the situation, Antigone rejects her help, saying that Ismene does not deserve to die with her. Antigone even says that she should be killed soon because her disease, the disease that was making her crazy, was spreading to others. Eventually, Antigone is sentenced to be immured, with her execution spurring the suicides of both Ismene and
But beyond the problem with Helen, Cassandra wants her people to understand just how much the war has affected her society. The kingdom of Troy used to have a balance between matriarchy and patriarchy. For example, Queen Hecuba and King Priam used to participate in the government together. However, since the war started, Priam doesn’t allow Hecuba to meet with the council. Most narratives of this time were told by a male’s perspective, which focuses on heroism and war like the story of Agamemnon. Cassandra shows a light through a female’s eyes which explains the more rational, humanism version of what is going on beyond the war. Since