Helen

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…

In the Greek myth "Athene", Athene challenges a young girl, Arachne, to a weaving contest. Athene knows she will lose and perish, "Poor child. You are being destroyed by your own worth. Your talent has poisoned you with pride like the sting of a scorpion. So that which makes beauty brings death" (Evslin 11). This simile represents how full of her own pride Arachne is in Athene's perspective, how she is wasting her talent on a contest which she will lose to a goddess and be forced to death.…

Agamemnon suffers an untimely death by the hand of his dear wife, Clytemnestra in the first book, Agamemnon, of the trilogy, The Oresteia. He is very angered by this act of treason and would be likely to seek revenge upon Clytemnestra through his son, Orestes in the book Choephoroe part of the trilogy, The Oresteia. Agamemnon firmly believes people should be held responsible for their actions. Although, Agamemnon would still want Orestes to take revenge upon Clytemnestra, because Agamemnon…

Margaret is the mother of Helen, a beautiful young girl full of life and energy. Margaret spent her days adoring Helen; she lived her life for her. Until she fell ill and then she lived to get better just so she could see Helen and hear her voice once more. “Waking and sleeping, the three women spent their days and night in adoring the young girl; in watching the movements of her sweet spirit in the mirror of her face; in refreshing their souls with the vision of her bloom and beauty” (Twain, 1)…

The epic The Iliad by Homer, is set during the last year of the Trojan War and recounts the battles and epic retelling of the end of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Achilles and Hector are known as the greatest warriors of the Greeks and Trojans, respectively. This places both warriors against each other and predicts direct conflict between both of them. As both are such great warriors they are quite similar, however there are also major differences between them. These major…

The main characters featured in the plays written by Euripides are mortals and gods which appear in multiple other plays, poems and works of fiction during that time. As such, some qualities of these characters were universal such as their lineage, the circumstances of their birth, and their progeny, though there were occasional disputes over even these details. However, due to the culture around which these stories revolve, and the propensities of the author Euripides it is only natural that…

The story of Odysseus, from “The Odyssey” by Homer, is a classic known by many worldwide. In this book we find Odysseus going through many hardships before finally getting back to his hometown in Ithaca. What helped him go through these hardships is the though of getting back to his family, his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope. “Agamemnon” written by Aeschylus, is a tragic story whose main character, Agamemnon, undergoes a chain of events that are both similar and different from each other.…

The Iliad in Our World For centuries humankind have fought wars; whether it was for power, justice, or for peace in their country. We know about the wars that have been fought before our existence thanks to the ones who documented them. Although for the Greeks, it was a different story. Around 1200 B.C.E. important cities of Greece were destroyed and burned leaving not much information of the civilization. They recuperated years after getting back on their feet. We are able to know about the…

“Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, black and murderous, that cost the Greeks incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark, And left their bodies to rot as feasts for dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will be done” (1:1-8). These are the first few lines of the book and we are already given dark imagery such as “black and murderous” and “incalculable pain” to explain the war to come. This remains a constant theme throughout the story which signals the act of war, and the death it…

1. Hospitality is a great manner that is heavily practiced in The Odyssey, by Homer. When I look at the times of ancient Greek, I notice they are quite similar to the traditions practiced in my culture today. This is quite evident in book four, when Telemachus and Nestor 's son are spotted at the castle gate by one of Menelaus ' servants. He immediately ran to the king to decide whether or not they should send them elsewhere due to preparing for a wedding. Without a question, without a doubt,…