This is my final copy of the essay:
Special
Study: Essay
How are
the themes of lust and adultery with women explored in The Illiad, The Odyssey and The Voyage of the Argo?
Lust and
adultery are interpreted in many ways, but when in association with the Greek
epic poems The Voyage of the Argo, The Iliad
and The Odyssey, it is
interpreted through the extremity of the disloyalty of women. In a world written
by men, there was a degree of sexism and favouritism which could be explored.
When exploring the theme of the lust and adultery of women, there are examples
within each Greek epic poem of loyalty, or lack of, and how that is punished,
or in the case of Penelope, rewarded. Medea’s treacherous betrayal of her
father, Aeetes, and brother, Apsyrtus, culminated in the King of Colchis losing
the three things he cherished most. Her lustful betrayal was due to her choice
of blind love over her oikos, however
when under the spell of Eros’ arrow, her actions could not be prevented. Helen’s
adulterous acts with Paris of Troy behind the back of her husband, King
Menelaus of Sparta, proved to be the catalyst to the Trojan War. Like Medea,
Helen had no way of preventing her actions, as Aphrodite had promised her to
Paris after his judgement. This is viewed in comparison to the public
humiliation of Aphrodite after her husband, Hephaestus, reveals her lustful
actions with Ares in the god of fire’s bed. Penelope’s unwavering loyalty to
her husband, King Odysseus of Ithaca, even when faced with the one-hundred and
eight Suitors is the primary example of the loyalty expected of Greek women in
the Mycenaean Age. She executed her astonishing intelligence and cunning to
fool the Suitors and waited twenty years for her lost husband to return to her,
which is a pivotal reminder that some women can resist the temptation of lust
and adultery in Greek epic poems. In contrast, Klytemnestra did not show the
same loyalty to Agamemnon, resulting in his death at the hands of her lustful
acquaintance Aegisthus. Thus, when exploring The Iliad, The Odyssey and
The Voyage of the Argo, the themes of lust and adultery of women is diverse
in the loyalty of the central female figures in each respective epic poem.
In Greek
epic poems, as men are sent off to battle or arrive in foreign places, the
women had the expectation of being loyal wives who stayed in the palace and
ensured that the bloodline of the oikos
continued. In Mycenaean times, “the wife serves as the mistress of the
household, keeping watch over provisions and property and supervising the
slaves”[1], but most importantly, women were expected to be loyal to their oikos and husband, keeping the male
bloodline pure. The punishment for adultery was vastly different for men and
women. Helen of Sparta was imprisoned with Menelaus forever for her treacherous
betrayal of him, however Odysseus slept with Kirke and Kalypso, and Penelope
was expected to still be loyal and accept Odysseus’ adultery. This treatment of
women reinforces the speculation of how sexism influences the perspective of
the inequality of men and women in Mycenaean Greece. Apollonius of Rhodes and
Homer were two of the most prominent epic poets of the Greek world.
Coincidentally; like all epic Greek poets from this time, they were male. There
is no evidence of female epic poets, however, this does not escape the fact
that there is a definite favouritism to men in the epic poems. Despite this,
the majority of women in these poems experiencing moments of lust and adultery
are punished accordingly, however, on rare occasions, women resist the
temptation to be treacherous and are rewarded.
Medea’s lust towards Jason from the arrow of Eros was a crucial
beneficiary in his pursuit of the elusive Golden Fleece in Apollonius of
Rhodes’s The Voyage of the Argo,
however it is her betrayal of brother Apsyrtus and father King Aeetes of
Colchis which revealed the treachery she would commit for love. As princess of Colchis , Medea was well-respected, however her
father Aeetes favoured Apsyrtus, Medea’s brother, over her. A devout worshipper
of the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, it was these skills which Medea used to
assist Jason in succeeding in what was presented as an impossible task by
Aeetes. Jason was initially reluctant to ask for Medea’s guidance and
assistance, proclaiming, “But oh, how bleak the prospect is, with our one hope
of seeing home again in women’s hands!”[2]. Hera persuaded Aphrodite
to order her son Eros, “to loose an arrow at Aeetes’ daughter, Medea of the many
spells, and make her fall in love with Jason”[3], and this proved to be
the catalyst for Medea’s betrayal of her oikos.
After assisting Jason in taking the Golden Fleece, Medea fled with the son of
Aeson, and prepared an ambush for her brother, Apsyrtus. “Medea gave the
heralds a message for Apsyrtus that would serve as bait”[4], and her loyal brother
took it; eventuating in a gruesome ambush from Jason as he slaughtered
Apsyrtus. Medea’s treachery was complete, as Apsyrtus, “painted red her silvery
veil and dress”[5], and the Argonauts fled
back to Iolcos with her. This betrayal from Medea due to her lustful devotion
to Jason is portrayed as being gruesome for the bloodied ambush of her brother
Apsyrtus, while also stripping her father of his most prized possession; the
Golden Fleece.
Helen’s lustful
and adulterous betrayal of her husband, Menelaus, in The Iliad and The Odyssey
resulted in the death of thousands of Greeks in the Trojan War, and resembled
the adulterous betrayal of Hephaestus by his wife, Aphrodite. Helen had been
loyal to Menelaus, however after the Judgement of Paris, “she was used by
Aphrodite, who gave her to Paris as a reward”[6], for selecting the goddess of love as the fairest of the goddesses.
Truly enraged, Menelaus sought comfort from his brother, Agamemnon, however his
brother suggested the prospect of war with the Trojans, as Agamemnon and his
Achaean forces had conquered the majority of Ancient Greece. This betrayal by
Helen was the catalyst to the Trojan War; a battle which lasted for ten days
and resulted in the death of thousands of innocent Trojans. This betrayal of
Helen was brought to an end by Menelaus, who reclaimed and imprisoned her
within his palace, ensuring that she never betrayed him again. When speaking
with Telemachus and her husband, Helen proclaimed, “shameless creature that I
was!”[7], and this quotation epitomises the harsh realisation of her actions and
the misery and shame it has brought to her and Menelaus. This betrayal
resembles the tale told by Demodocus of when Aphrodite was caught in her
lustful act with Ares by her husband, Hephaestus, resulting in a public
humiliation for the goddess of love. As Ares and Aphrodite, “made love secretly
in her husband Hephaestus’ palace”[8], unbeknown to them, “the Sun had witnessed their loving embraces”[9], and after informing Hephaestus; the god of fire and the blacksmith,
“went straight to his workshop with his heart full of evil plans”[10]. After completing his invisibles chains, “a masterpiece of cunning work”[11], Hephaestus pretended to have, “gone to somewhere in Lemnos”[12], but instead set his trap for Ares and Aphrodite, for which, “there was
no escape”[13]. When the other immortals, “caught site of Hephaestus’ clever device a
fit of unquenchable laughter seized the blessed gods”[14], completing the humiliation which Aphrodite suffered for her lustful
actions. Helen’s adulterous treachery to her husband Menelaus proved to be the
pivotal catalyst for the Trojan War, whilst Aphrodite’s lustful betrayal of
Hephaestus led to her public humiliation in her husband’s chains.
Penelope’s
unwavering loyalty to her husband Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey proved that there was not always treachery from the
central females in Greek epic poems, and this is a significant contrast to the
adulterous betrayal of Agamemnon by his wife, Klytemnetra. “For twenty years
she waited for Odysseus, away at the Trojan War”[15], and in that time she was courted by the one-hundred and eight Suitors,
who Telemachus proclaimed were, “too cowardly to present themselves at her
father’s house”[16], and instead constantly resided in the house of Odysseus, “eating me out
of house and home”[17] Despite so many men competing for her hand in marriage, and with her
husband absent for twenty years, Penelope did not descend into the treacherous
actions of Klytemnestra with her husband, Agamemnon. While fighting in the
Trojan War, Agamemnon was unaware that Klytemnestra had betrayed him with her
adulterous actions with Aegisthus. Upon his return Agamemnon was, “caught off
his guard through the treachery of his accursed wife”[18], and was murdered by Aegisthus. Unlike Klytemnestra, Penelope used her intelligence
and cunning which had made her the perfect match for Odysseus to postpone the
Suitors and allow Odysseus the time to return. This was never the true plan; it
is more likely that Penelope was avoiding the Suitors for as long as she
possibly could, “she misled them with a trick: promising that she would take a
new husband when she had finished weaving Laertes’ shroud, she unpicked during
the night what she had woven during the day”[19]. Her constant use of devotion and loyalty to Odysseus showed how
Penelope did not follow the treacherous paths of Klytemnestra, and this loyalty
was a contrasting theme in comparison to the treachery of women, as Penelope
resisted the temptation and is rewarded for her patience with the return of her
husband.
The extremity of the
treacherous actions by the central female figures of The Voyage of the Argo, The Odyssey and The Iliad defined not only their punishment, but in the case of
Penelope, their reward. In comparison to males, the degree of punishment
differed greatly, especially with Odysseus’ adultery when away from Penelope,
but her devout loyalty was rewarded with the return of her beloved husband after
a twenty year absence. The adulterous desires of Klytemnestra culminated in the
betrayal of her husband, Menelaus, and his death at the hands of Aegisthus. The
influential arrow of Eros forced Medea to follow her heart and assist Jason in
obtaining the Golden Fleece, however this treachery was punished with the
gruesome death of her brother Apsyrtus and leaving her father Aeetes without
the three things he cherished above all others; Apsyrtus, Medea and the Golden
Fleece. Following the same moira as
Medea, Helen was powerless to resist Paris after he received her as a reward
for the selection of Aphrodite in his judgement, but this unpreventable
treachery culminated in the Trojan War; which led to the death of thousands of
Greeks and the infinite imprisonment of Helen in Menelaus’ palace. The lustful
desires of Aphrodite which led to her betrayal of her husband, Hephaestus, led
to her public humiliation after becoming trapped in invisible chains for all
the Immortals to see. The sexism and favouritism of men in the epic poets is
from the opinion of only male epic poets, so there is an air of doubt to the
true accuracy of the treatment of treachery between men and women, especially
in the area of adultery. Hence, when reflecting on the exploration of The Voyage of the Argo, The Iliad and The Odyssey and the specific theme of the treachery of women, there
are varying levels and extremities to the treachery committed, but also the
punishment or reward which is received after the actions of the central female
figures in the epic Greek poems.
Bibliography
Demont, P., The
Illiad and The Odyssey: Troy. Octopus Publishing, London. 2004.
Homer(transl. Rieu, E.V. ), The Odyssey. Penguin, London. 1946.
Apollonius of Rhodes, (transl. Rieu, E.V.), The Voyage of the Argo. Penguin, London. 1959.
Hexter, R., A Guide to the Odyssey. Random House, New York. 1993.
Homer(transl. Rieu, E.V. ), The Odyssey. Penguin, London. 1946.
Apollonius of Rhodes, (transl. Rieu, E.V.), The Voyage of the Argo. Penguin, London. 1959.
Hexter, R., A Guide to the Odyssey. Random House, New York. 1993.
Homer(transl. Rieu, E.V. ), The Iliad. Penguin, London. 1946.
[1]
R. Hexter, A Guide to the Odyssey, Random House,
New York, 1993, P. 57.
[2]
Apollonius of Rhodes, (transl. E.V. Rieu), The Voyage of the Argo, Penguin, London, 1959, P. 122.
[3]
ibid. P.
109-110.
[4]
ibid. P. 159.
[5]
ibid. P. 160.
[6]
Paul Demont, The Illiad and The
Odyssey: Troy, Octopus Publishing, London, 2004, P. 250.
[7]
Homer (transl. E.V. Rieu), The
Odyssey, Penguin, London, 1946, P. 44.
[8]
ibid. P. 101
[9]
ibid.
[10]
ibid.
[11]
ibid.
[12]
ibid.
[13]
ibid. P. 102.
[14]
ibid.
[15]
P. Demont, op.
cit. P. 251.
[16]
Homer, op. cit. P. 16.
[17]
ibid. P. 9.
[18]
ibid. P.43.
[19]Paul
Demont, The Illiad and The Odyssey: Troy , Octopus Publishing, London
