Treatment Of Women In The Iliad

In the classic poem The Iliad there are a wide arrange of women portrayed. It has women from the strongest to the weakest. For a poem that is centered in male dominate time, women take center stage in the poem. The women captured during the war were considered rewards. Other women of true birthrights were found to be valuable. They were worth more. Then there were Goddess whose help sometimes just made things worse. Helen is considered the most beautiful women in the world. As beautiful as a Goddess. She is married to a man she doesn’t love. She ends up with Paris, the prince of Trojan. Helen did not follow the matrimonial standards of that time. During this time, women did not go against what their fathers wanted. Whether she was happy …show more content…
Chryseis and Briseis were both women captured during the war. They were taken as prizes from an earlier battle. Chryseis was Agamemnon’s reward, and Briseis was Achilles. Chryseis father gave sacrifices to Apollo, and Apollo sent plagues until Chryseis was giving back. “Chryses, a priest of Apollo and Chryseis ~ father, comes to Agamemnon with gifts and offerings to ransom his daughter. Against the advice of the army, however, Agamemnon refuses to let Chryseis go, and Chryses prays to Apollo for revenge. Apollo sends a plague into the Greek army, and many men die (Taylor).” Agamemnon gave Chryseis back but was upset about losing his trophy. As a result, Agamemnon took Achilles women Briseis. This was the cause of Achilles not wanting to fight the Trojan’s because Agamemnon took Achilles prize possession Briseis. These two women were seen as loot from war. Achilles now had his feeling hurt and did not want to fight for the Greeks until Agamemnon restored his …show more content…
Thetis went to her son to see if she could help him in any way. “Thetis does as her son bids, and Zeus agrees with the result that the gods, already divided in their loyalties, enter the fray, each god fighting for or protecting his or her own: Athena and Hera supporting the Greeks while Apollo and Aphrodite support Troy” (Taylor). Thetis being a good mother just wants her son to be happy knowing he has a short life ahead of him goes to Zeus to discipline Agamemnon, so Agamemnon will have to ask Achilles for help with the Trojans, thus restoring Achilles honor in front of the men. Thetis was a sea goddess that was once perused by Zeus. When Zeus learned that Thetis was destined to have a son greater than his father he did not want that fate. Thetis was chosen to marry a mortal man named Peleus. It was at her wedding that the golden apple was rolled in, and the rivalry started between the goddesses. Thetis had killed several children before Achilles was born. Achilles was the only one to pass the test of being immortal. Still Thetis knew that Achilles was a prophecy to die in the Trojan War and went to great lengths to hide him, even disguised him as a young girl. Nothing helped Odysseus’s found him, and Achilles was brought into the war. Thetis tried everything to keep her son happy for the short years he had. When Achilles armor was taken by Hector after Patroclus was killed wearing it, she went to