Helen Herron Taft

Mycenaean Greece. This conflict went on for about 10 years. What caused this war against the Spartans and the Trojans? According to Historylink101, “the cause of the Trojan war can be traced all the way back to the courtship of Helen”. (Bandinelli, Uffizi, Florence). Helen the Queen of Sparta was kidnapped by the Trojan Prince whose name was Paris took her to the kingdom of Troy. “Paris (also known as Alexandros) and taken as his prize for choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess in a…

Whenever Hollywood writers adapt a story, it changes. In the case of Perseus, there were drastic differences. In the story, Perseus goes on an adventure and fights monsters to save his mother; in the movie, Perseus goes on a similar adventure but for the princess and to challenge the Gods. There are many similarities and differences between the story of Perseus and Clash of the Titans. The underlying story line in the story of Perseus and Clash of the Titans is very similar. Perseus goes on a…

Aeschylus’s trilogy The Oresteia is a play of immense proportions, and at its heart it is a study of morality and the palpable tension of the competing ideas of dikē – justice or right. It depicts a societal change from one form of justice and law to another; from the law of the old gods to the law of the new. The third play in the trilogy, The Eumenides, depicts the culmination of this conflict, where all the individual conflicts reach their conclusions and the overarching themes of the trilogy…

In Homer’s The Iliad not only is Achilles the main character, he is also the perfect depiction of what a self-sufficient man looks like. Sometimes we get the idea that we are able to accomplish and conquer anything without help. To add on, the point of human interaction is to create human empowerment. Human empowerment is the ability to come together as a unified whole. Thus when you are unified together as a group you can conquer, solve and learn from one another. Human interaction is also…

FLIP #1 #1. Cole-Symes: How did the epics of Homer transmit the values of the Bronze Age to the aristocracy of the new Greek polis? What were these values? 1. A polis was not a unified city-state or its people. a) Greeks saw poleis as the collective houses of various city-states that made them up, and the collective values and beliefs they had, but did not see themselves as a unified people. 2. Myths are written to reflect the values of the culture at the current time. a) Homer and other…

Trojan War. The Greeks and Trojans were followers of the immortal gods, that loved war, and did not believe that they would be defeated. The heroes in the Iliad are fighting over Helen, the wife of the Menelaus king. After Helen had been promised to the prince of troy by Aphrodite; Paris, the Prince of Troy, had taken Helen away to Troy. Angered, her husband had begun gathering an army to bring her back to him with the help of this dear brother. Successfully, Menelaus had gathered enough…

Ever since I started understanding philosophical ideas, one of the most feared things for me was karma. When people follow their bliss, they forget that the sins they commit in order to attain their bliss will follow perpetually. Dante Alighieri’s Inferno is a prime example of karma which conveys to the audience what to avoid when “following one’s bliss,” an idea of Joseph Campbell. Campbell believes that myths “won’t tell you what makes you happy, but it will tell you what happens when you…

Human history has been shaped by the rise and fall of different leaders throughout the course of time. Both strength and cowardice, charisma and introversion, from these leaders has left an indelible mark on society, which begs the question, what constitutes a good leader? Throughout the ages, opinions on the value of different leaders have varied. While the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, emphasized positive moral change, Niccolo Machiavelli prioritized notoriety in a leader. The value of a…

This is not the first time I have read the Iliad. I took a course back in my sophomore year called Love and War in the Ancient World. After reading the Iliad for a second time, I realized something that I did not see when I read it the first time. I realized that the Greeks were not all that much different than myself. While reading the Iliad, I got a sense that there was a theme of God, Family, and Country. This reminds me of a lot of important in my own life. Let me explain the Greeks are more…

Iris’ message is framed in a manner that expects Helen to be grateful for the war going on outside the city’s walls. Iris’ claims that the war is something marvelous directly contrasts with the somber images in Helen’s weaving, which Iris interrupts to bring Helen to the Skaian gates. Iris is essentially adopting the role that best supports one of the major themes of the Iliad: personal glory. As Iris indicates, Helen should be witness to all the great deeds, heroic deaths, and the…