Helen Fielding

The Aeneid is bursting with violent acts from the beginning to the end. The main character, Aeneas, faces conflict from both humans and gods. Aeneas is a Trojan hero and prince who embodies pietas, or driven by duty, honor, and devotion, which makes him an example of an ideal Roman citizen. Aeneas was determined to be a successful founder of Rome, but he faced complications along the journey. In each conflict, Aeneas dealt with fighting and violence; therefore, Rome was founded on violent…

The Homecoming The Odyssey by the ancient Greek writer Homer takes us into the life of a man called Odysseus. Odysseus, the son of Lartes, has left both his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope, to fight a war in Troy. After 10 years of fighting the war, Odysseus and his men were finally ready to return home to their families, however, the Gods were not finished with Odysseus. They needed to test his wisdom, honor, piety and prudence to prove that he is truly a noble hero. While Odysseus was…

Like an avalanche in the mountains change is inevitable and unstoppable. In the Iliad, by Homer, an epic/poem retelling the tale of the Trojan war, there was a bloody battle between Greece and Troy. One of the main characters is Achilles, an almost invincible Greek warrior. The author uses characterization to show Achilles experiences great change throughout the poem, from stubborn to devastated to avengement seeking, all because his good friend and comrade, Patroclus, was killed in battle.…

Jean Anouilh’s play Antigone is a tragedy inspired by Greek mythology and the play of the same name (Antigone, by Sophocles) from the fifth century B.C. The play Antigone tells the story of a brave girl (one of Oedipus’s daughters) who stands up against the law in order to honor her brother. The play had many important characters without which the meaning would be incomplete. However, there were many minor characters that completed the play and aided the reader’s understanding which leads us…

The Trojan War was being fought in the 13th or 12th BC which was a period of time known as the Bronze Age. In Greek Mythology, the war was fought against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband who is the King of the Spartans. Many people fought wars to achieve and gain pride or themselves and their family. Although in Ancient Greece many were fearless and brave: in the Trojan War, Hector, a fierce Greek warrior, portrays the most hero-like qualities, in the epic poem,…

Hector, Paris’ older brother, comments on the stupidity of such a long war over a woman. However, the reason for this irrationality is simply Helen’s immense attractiveness, which compels every male gaze. Both Menelaus and Paris’ sexual yearning for Helen is so great, that they are willing to sacrifices innumerable amounts of troops in order to feel the satisfaction of her sex. Even in Lysistrata, it is referenced that Menelaus became so enchanted by Helen’s bare chest, that he dropped his sword…

The relationship between the gods and the men in the Odyssey is a unique relationship. Sometimes the way the gods treat the men make the gods seem mortal although most of the time they grant help and wisdom to certain people. In a way, the change in the behavior of the gods between the two stories is extremely significant. The gods and the men in the Iliad and the Odyssey help each other most of the time and they both have similar traits and views. In the Odyssey Homer portrays the gods as…

Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is the story of Inman and Ada, two lovers who are dealing with their separation due to the American Civil War. Ada is trapped in her home at Black Cove where she goes on a mental and emotional journey to maturity. Inman goes on a physical journey which leads him back to Ada. Frazier uses references to Greek mythology to strengthen the novel and provide deep connections to the classic hero’s journey as well as other elements of mythology. Inman’s journey directly…

Dear Carlo, Odysseus finds himself in the hostile city, Troy, where he meets the princess Helen. Helen is the cause of this Trojan war which has consumed Odysseus for ten years. For some unknown reason, he tells her the Greeks’ plan to destroy to the Trojans. Helen chose the Trojans over the Greeks. Aside from King Priam, she is the worst possible person he could tell, yet he trusts her. These heros play with the tools the gods give them. Achilles is the greatest fighter to ever live. He is…

enemies. Paris, however, is aware of his cowardness, “you criticize me fairly, yes nothing unfair, beyond what I deserve” (70-71). Instead, he tells his brother that he would fight Menelaus head on, “pit me against Menelaus[...] we’ll fight it out for Helen [...] the one who proves the better man wins [...]”, ending the war. Although a noble request, Paris only suggests this after Menelaus points out his flaws, making…