Classical Wisdom Litterae - April 2019

APRIL 2019 | ISSUE No. 36

AGEOF HEROES Classical Wisdom Litterae

Herculesv.Hera JasonandtheArgonauts Helenof Troy AgamemnonandtheCursedHouseofAtreus

Cleopatra, John William Waterhouse, 1888

I N T H I S I S S U E :

III. Hercules v. Hera: Anya Leonard

X. Jason and the Argonauts: Part I: Anya Leonard

XIII. Ancient Anecdotes: The Trojan War’s Would-be Draft Dodgers

XIV. Part 2: The Quest for the Golden Fleece: Anya Leonard

XVII. Part 3: The Colchis Days: Anya Leonard

XXII. Agamemnon and the Cursed House of Atreus: Ben Potter

XXIX. Oedipus: A Hero or a Murderer?: Nicole Saldarriaga

XXXV. Helen of Troy: Miriam Kamil

XLIII. Ancient Anecdotes: Memnon : Man, Hero and God

Project Director: Anya Leonard Managing Editor: Kristin Deasy

I

The Age of Heroes

We classicists know the importance of mythology in ancient Greece; indeed, it was at the very heart of everyday life, a part of their history. They used myths to demonstrate morals, culture, traditions,

the ancient Greeks most definitely preferred the age of heroes. For instance, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed the divine-focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. As such, we here at Classical Wisdom felt it was about time we dedicated an entire Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine to the heroic age... to help set straight some of the most important mythological stories known, loved and feared by the ancient Greeks. What is exactly included in the age of heroes? Good question... The events and labors of Heracles are usually considered the dawn of the age of heroes. Following this strong demi-god are three great events, the Argonautic expedition, the ‘Generational Crimes’ including both the House of Atreus and the Theban Cycle, and the Trojan War. We’ve made sure to include something from every section... So get ready to read all about the mythological heroic age... a time when men took the main stage in stories... and heroes were born.

values and natural phenomena.

And yet knowing this, it can be very difficult to fully comprehend the entire breadth and depth of their ancient stories. So, with that in mind, let’s take a moment to have a bird’s eye view of ancient Greek mythology... We can, if we wish to categorize for comprehension’s sake, split Greek mythology into 3 major categories: 1. The age of gods: These are myths about the origins of the world, the gods, and the human race. 2. The age when gods and mortals mingled freely: These are stories of the early interactions between gods, demigods, and mortals. 3. The age of heroes: This is where divine activity was more limited. The last and greatest of the heroic legends is the story of the Trojan War (which sometimes is placed in its own, fourth, category). Now, while modern day mythology lovers may be drawn to the creation stories and the birth of gods,

Anya Leonard Co-Founder and Project Director Classical Wisdom

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HERCULES

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Hercules parting the Calpe and Abyla mountains, by Francisco de Zurbarán, 1634, Museo Nacional del Prado

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The God of the sky disguised himself as this poor woman’s husband in order to make love to her and consequently impregnate her. In fact, her actual groom came home later that night, and Alcmene also became pregnant with his son at the same time. (It was technically a case of heteropaternal superfecundation, where a woman carries twins sired by different fathers.) Zeus’ adultery was the sole reason for Hera’s unending wrath against the unfortunate Heracles. Hera did everything she could to stop Heracles and his brother from even existing. She forced Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth, to sit cross legged, with knotted clothing to hinder their very entry into the world.

H eracles and Hera had a difficult relationship.

In fact , the queen of the gods tremendously hated the half-man known for his strength and hero status, and really went out her way to make his life as difficult as possible.

Snubb i ng He r a c l e s publicly would just not do… Hera wanted to make him suffer. It all started before Heracles (Hercules in latin) was born.

“H ERA DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD TO STOP H ERACLES AND HIS BROTHER FROM EVEN EXISTING .”

The bastard was the result of one of Zeus’ many affairs, this time with a mortal woman named Alcmene.

Hera might have permanently denied the children’s lives

The Twelve Labors of Hercules, Roman relief, 3rd century AD

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if the mother’s servant hadn’t fooled the Goddess of childbirth. The quick witted help convinced Ilithyia that the babies had already been born. Seeing her task as pointless, the goddess jumped up, undid the knots and allowed the birth of the twins to proceed. After this, Heracles’ mother was worried about Hera… she might enact revenge. So Alcmene exposed her half god child, who was taken up by Athena to see Hera. Zeus’ wife did not recognize her mini-semi-mortal enemy and inadvertently nursed him out of pity. The super strong infant, however, suckled so intensely that Hera pushed him away due to pain. Her milk then sprayed across the sky, forming the Milky Way. Heracles, meanwhile, acquired supernatural powers from the divine milk and was returned to his mother.

She sent down two enormous serpents to the babies’ crib so she might be rid of them. Unlike his twin brother, Heracles was not afraid, and grabbed the reptiles. His parents found him happily babbling away in baby gibberish, holding the strangled snakes as if they were toys. Heracles’ strength, and partial divinity, was confirmed by the act. The young boy then grew into a huge, powerful and courageous man that legends are made of. Sure, he killed his music teacher with a lyre, but overall he was destined for greatness. He was prophesied an unusual future, full of vanquishing monsters and making myths. Heracles then moved to Thebes where he married King Creon’s daughter, Megara and started a family. Unfortunately at this moment Hera stepped back into Heracles’ life. She drove him so mad that he murdered all of his children, and maybe even his wife as well. After being cured of his temporary insanity, he fled to the Oracle of Delphi to search for a way to expiate his sins.

Despite her accidental gift, Hera was still on a warpath.

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Even this attempt was foiled by his arch enemy, who guided the oracle to punish Heracles further. He was ordered to serve King Eurystheus, a man he knew was lesser than him, and do whatever was asked of him for the following ten years. It was during this time that Heracles completed his famous twelve labors. He was actually only supposed to do ten, but King Eurystheus cheated him into doing two more. Apparently a few of his miraculous, monster killing acts were not up to scratch because he either received money or help. Once Heracles was purged of infanticide, he joined a superhero group called the Argonauts. They searched for the Golden Fleece, conquered Troy, fought against the Gigantes and of course, rescued heroines. During one such escapade, Heracles fell in love with Princess Iole of Oechalia, an ancient Greek city. In legend like fashion, her father, King Eurytus, promised his daughter to whomever could win an archery competition against his sons. Heracles promptly triumphed, but the King did not fulfill his promise of giving away his daughter. Instead, King Eurytus and all his sons, except one named Iphitus, spurned Heracles. The demi-god then proceeded to kill them all… except Iphitus, who became his best friend. She again drove Heracles mad and this time the hefty beast of man threw his greatest pal, Iphitus, over the city wall to his death. And just like the last time, Heracles submitted to servitude as penalty for the killing. The epitome of all things masculine, Heracles then spent the next three years doing women’s work in women’s clothes. His new master, Queen Omphale of Lydia (modern day Turkey), completed the farce by donning Heracles’ iconic club and lion skin garb. Eventually the queen freed Heracles and married him. Over the years Heracles continued to have extraordinary adventures. He rescued poor Prometheus from a vulture that ate his liver every day. He killed countless beasts, Enter heartless Hera once more.

The Origin of the Milky Way, by Jacopo Tintoretto, 1575

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dragons and monsters. He had a drinking contest with Dionysus and lost. He founded a new nation in Scythia by having relations with a half-woman, half-snake. In addition to all the warring, Heracles managed to have endless affairs with women and men, fathering countless children and heirs, and thereby passing on his strength and partial divinity. Kings for ages on would boast lineage from the demi-god. Eventually though, these extramarital affairs were the end of Heracles. It all happened when Heracles and his third wife, Deianira, tried to cross a river. A centaur named Nessus offered to help the young lady, but then tried to take advantage of her while Heracles was on shore. The mighty warrior was not pleased and swiftly shot the deceitful centaur with a poisoned arrow. As Nessus lay dying, however, he plotted his revenge. He told Heracles’ wife that she should gather up his blood and spilled semen in order to prevent her husband from being unfaithful. All she had to do was apply his (poisoned) fluids to Heracles’ clothes.

Eventually when Deianira suspected that Heracles was enamored with Iole (the one with the dishonest father), she inadvertently followed through with Nessus’ lethal plan. She soaked Heracles’ clothes in the blood and gave the item to his servant to deliver to him. Heracles put it on and was immediately in torment. The poison burned the flesh from his bones. Heracles then chose to die on a pyre to end his suffering. After the flames ate away at his mortal body, all that remained was a immortal and divine entity. He then became a full god, joined his father on Mount Olympus and married his fourth and final wife, Hebe. Heracles was then living upstairs, on the mountain top, with Hera, the goddess who unsuccessfully tried to kill and torture him. Her Herculean efforts to ruin him all failed and in the end Heracles was killed by the trait that Hera hated so much…. infidelity.

Pallas Athena, Franz von Stuck, 1898

Roman copy of a Greek 5th century Hera of the "Barberini Hera" type, from the Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican City

Hercules, by John Singer Sargent, 1921

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J ASON ANDTHEARGONAUTS

PART I

Pelias, king of Iolcos, stops on the steps of a temple as he recognizes young Jason by his missing sandal, fresco, 1st century AD, from Casa di Giasone, Pompeii , Italy

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the throne, our stereotypical baddie, Pelias, killed his half- brother and rightful king, Aeson. Not only that, Pelias murdered all of Aeson’s descendants to be rid of his competition. After the familial slaughtering, Pelias was still worried that one day he would be overthrown. He consulted with an oracle to be certain and was dismayed at the news: Be wary of the man with one sandal.

I magine a group of superheroes, each with their own special power, traveling around on wild, improbable adventures.

There is the guy who can fly, another with super strength and yet another fellow with a secret, unbeatable weapon. And of course there is also the captain of the team, usually an “all around good guy” who’s almost an everyman… if it wasn’t for his quick-witted thinking and problem solving. This is the Argonauts, a fantastic ancient Greek gang, complete with a cool name and trusty boat to speed them on their way.

The main man leading the group is Jason. In his cadre of killers are famous myth makers such as the Boreads (sons of Boreas, the North Wind) who could fly, Heracles, Ph i l oc t e t e s , Pe l eu s , Te l amon , Or pheus, Cas tor and Pol lux, Atalanta, and Euphemus.

Their mission? To help Jason take his rightful place as king. To accomplish this quest, however, the band of heroes must fetch the golden fleece…. which is hung from a tree in the grove of the Colchian Ares, guarded night and day by a dragon that never sleeps. Back up a minute.. you might s ay. A g o l d e n fle e c e ? A displaced price? A fire breathing dragon? How did this all happen in the first place? How did our greek myth get to this fantastic junction point, filled with monsters, martyrs and missions?

It began, like many great stories, with a power struggle. Not pleased at being second to

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Unfortunately for Pelias, the oracle was right.

help an old woman (who, fantastically enough, was the goddess Hera) and he lost his shoe. When Jason was announced as the man with one sandal, the fearful uncle knew the time had come.

Aeson’s infant son, Jason, miraculously survived. When the executions began, Jason’s mother ordered the women to cluster around the baby and cry as if he was still-born. Thus they successfully deceived the wrathful uncle that he was not alive.

Pelias could not kill his nephew, however, in front of all the gathered kings and spectators, so he sent Jason on a mission, one he t h o u g h t wa s imp o s s i b l e t o accomplish…

“[P ELIAS ] TOLD J ASON THIS : ‘T O TAKE MY THRONE , WHICH YOU SHALL , YOU MUST GO ON A QUEST TO FIND THE G OLDEN F LEECE .’ J ASON HAPPILY ACCEPTED .”

Afterwards she sent Jason away to be educated with the centaur Chiron, knowing his life would be in danger if Pelias found out the truth.

He told Jason this: “To take my throne, which you shall, you must go on a quest to find the Golden Fleece.” Jason happily accepted. Jason then assembled his super team of monster vanquishing men, and embarked in their famous ship, the Argo. Their first stop? The island of Lemnos, known for the foul smelling, men-killing women who inhabit the place.

Jason grew up to be a strong, capable man who was determined to return to his hometown and take back his rightful throne.

One day Pelias decided to throw a few games in honor of his alleged father, the god Po s e i don . Th i s wa s t he pe r f e c t opportunity for Jason to visit.

And so, the myth of Jason and the Argonauts began…

On the way, he crossed a river to

Left: Engraving, The Argonauts Pass the Symplegades, 1655

THE ILIAD, BYHOMER Dive into battle amidst the most memorable heroes of the ancient world. Relive the battle for Troy through Homer’s irreplaceable epic.

No mere war story, The Iliad touches upon some of the most important themes in literature. Guided by introductions and analysis from Classical Wisdom Weekly, you can start exploring the text today and, if you wish, discuss it with your fellow society members at our forum. iPad:

Kindle:

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Ancient Anecdotes TrojanWar:Would-beDraft Dodgers

Odysseus feigned madness in order to avoid the war. He tried to sow his fields with salt as proof, but Agamemnon’s man tricked him into revealing his sanity. He placed Odysseus’ infant son in front of the plough’s path, and the father could not fake delusion any more. He turned aside to save his child. Achilles did not readily join forces either. His mother disguised him as a woman so he would not have to go to battle. When Odysseus, Telamonian Ajax, and Achilles’ tutor Phoenix came to fetch him from the island of Skyros, they could not immediately recognize him.

and weapons. They were then able to spot Achilles out the second he chose to look at the swords and spears rather than bracelets and beads. The Achean army was almost ready. All of the suitors sent their forces to the city of Aulis, and one by one the commanders with their ships and men arrived. The last one to show up was Achilles, who was at the time only 15 years old. An omen then occurred. A snake slithered from a sacrificial altar to a sparrow’s nest nearby. It ate the mother and her nine babies and was then converted into stone. Troy, apparently, would fall in the tenth year of war.

Fortunately, they had a plan. The men pretended to be merchants bearing trinkets

Odysseus recognizes Achilles amongst the daughters of Lycomedes, by Louis Gauffier, 1791

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JasonANDTHEARGONAUTS,PartII Thequestforthe goldenfleece

Above: Illustration from the book Stories of Gods and Heroes, 1920, by Thomas Bulfinch

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The Golden Fleece, by Herbert James Draper, 1904

S ome superhero stories feature perfect wonder men or women, conquering the world and beating the bad guys. Other legends include characters with tragic flaws, which lead to their ultimate demise. While another category portrays bigger than life stars with pathetically human traits. Jason and the Argonauts fulfill this last description. Jason, the rightful king of Iolcos, and his Greek gang of half gods and magical men, made numerous bad decisions on their quest for the golden fleece, spurned on by lust, ignorance and pride. They also completed their fantastic mission while vanquishing monsters, employing quick-wittedness as well as making important friends. The result is an amazing adventure full of mishaps, apologies and the thing which all Greek heroes seem to seek – glory. After Jason banded together the team, named the Argonauts after their ship, The Argo , they set sail for

Jason and the Golden Fleece Finding the island free of competition, the ‘glorious’ group had their way with the inhabitants… all of them. Jason, himself, fathered twins with the ruler, Hypsipyle. All this mingling lead to a new “race” called Minyae. Eventually the Argonauts were pressured to leave by Heracles, usually the epitome of a philandering fellow, who was disgusted by the sailors’ antics at port. Lemnos. This small island was notorious for its foul-smelling women. The ladies foolishly incurred Aphrodite’s wrath and were punished by an odious odor, which had their men running to the arms of the mainland concubines. Enraged, the Lemnos women murdered the island’s males in their sleep, except for the king who was put to sea in a chest. It was then just females, who were ruled by the King’s daughter, Hypsipyle… until Jason and the Argonauts landed.

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This time the heroic team set anchor in the land of Doliones, ruled by the gracious king Cyzicus. After enjoying royal treatment, Jason was gifted with important information about the land beyond Bear Mountain. Unfortunately, some crucial details were conspicuously absent. The region had giants. Giants, swaddled in leather loincloths, who each miraculously possessed six arms. While the Argonauts were doing their usual and necessary forging, the earthborn gargantuas made a break for the ship, which was guarded by only a few men. Jason’s team, however, had the mythical Heracles, who managed to kill almost all of them before the leader

returned. Together they killed the rest of the giants and set sail again. Now the Argonauts were back on the seas, off towards their next destination. Then fate swirled her wand and the Greek group of superheroes lost their way. Muddled and confused, they finally arrived on land late at night and were mistaken as enemies… by their friends the Doliones. A battle ensued in which the Argonauts emerged victorious, although not without killing their previously kind host, King Cyzicus. When the dust settled, and the sun rose, the Argonauts realized their horrendous mistake. They held a funeral and cast out to sea once more, this time to Thrace…

Argonauteschëff by Lorenzo Costa, 16th century

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TheCOLCHIS DAYS JasonANDTHEARGONAUTS,PartIII

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Photographic adaptation of The Clashing Rocks

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S o far Jason has gathered his infamous gang, which unabashedly enjoyed the man-free island of Lemnos and accidentally killed the kind king of B Y A N YA L E ON A R D

Cyzicus and many of his trusted men.

One might not be cheering these fellows at the moment, but nevertheless, they continue on their crusade. This time the Argonauts land in Thrace, at the court of Phineus of Salmydessus. Due to his keen ability of prophecy and his propensity to reveal too much, the poor King Phineus had incurred the disfavor of Zeus. The god of the gods responded by blinding the foreseeing royal and placing him on an island in front of a buffet of food. But with his twisted ways, Zeus also sent Harpies, or mythological winged spirits, to steal Phineus’ food everyday. When Jason chanced on the emaciated king, he took pity on him and killed the Harpies. As thanks for this good deed, Phineus revealed the next set of clues for Jason: the location of Colchis, where Jason would find the elusive golden fleece, as well as how to pass the Symplegades, or The Clashing Rocks. This passage was surrounded by huge cliffs which would crash together randomly, making the journey incredibly dangerous, if not impossible. However, it was the only way to get to Colchis. Following Phineus’ advice, Jason released a dove upon arrival. He was informed that if the dove makes it, they should row with all their might.

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They passed, with minor damage to the extreme stern of their ship. From that moment onwards, the clashing rocks stopped clashing. Finally Jason arrived in Colchis, which is on the modern day Black Sea coast of Georgia. The golden fleece was so close… and yet still far away. The precious item was owned by the King of Colchis, King Aeetes. He promised to give Jason his quest’s goal, but only if he could perform three, seemingly impossible tasks. Jason was in despair, as it involved fire, mythical warriors and of course, a dragon. But here the deities that be stepped in. Queen of the gods, Hera, convinced Aphrodite and her son, Eros, to ensure that Jason had help, in the form of King Aeetes’ daughter, Medea. With cupid’s arrow, she fell in love with our hero and so was able to aid him in each of the potentially insurmountable tasks. Jason’s first duty was to plow a field with the Khalkotauroi, or fire breathing oxen, which Jason himself had to yoke. Medea fulfilled her role nicely by providing Jason with an ointment that made him fireproof and so he was able to combat the oxen’s flames. His second assignment required that he sow the teeth of a dragon into a field. This might seem easy enough, except that the teeth sprouted into an army of warriors or spartoi . Fortunately Medea already had insider knowledge – these spartoi were not

The Persecution of the Harpies, Peter Paul Rubens, 1636

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particularly intelligent.

And so she advised Jason to throw a rock into the group of fighters, who promptly attacked and killed each other, as they did not perceive from where the rock had come.

Finally, his last labor was in front of him.

He had to combat a large, fierce, sleepless dragon which was charged with guarding the sacred golden fleece itself. Once again, Medea came to the rescue. She concocted a potion from distilled herbs which put the beast to rest, enabling Jason to thieve the fleece. The quest had been achieved! However, they still needed to leave Colchis… As they departed, Jason and Medea were chased down by her father, King Aeetes. It is here that Medea does the most extreme, seemingly horrendous, thing in her love and devotion for Jason. She butchers her own brother and spreads his remains into the sea… forcing her father to collect what’s left of his son and abandon the pursuit.

Jason and Medea had finally escaped with the golden fleece.

Argo, by Constantine Volanakis

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AGAMEMNON and the Cursed House of Atreus

Agamemnon rises against Achilles andMenelaus, Poland, circa 1897

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A gamemnon was the first of a trilogy of plays (the Oresteia ), performed back to back during the Great Dionysia of 458 BC; it focused on two generations of The Cursed House of Atreus. Regular readers will be well-aware of the bad blood flowing through, and often out of, the members of this unfortunate dynasty.

Aeschylus‘ trilogy begins three generations later. By its end, the family’s seemingly perpetual cycle of hubris and nemesis, sin and vengeance, betrayal and blood will have drawn to a close. However, there was plenty to get through before then, starting with the Agamemnon .

Agamemnon, (great-grandson of Tantalus) has returned from leading the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War and is greeted at the door by his ‘loving’ wife Clytemnestra.

“A ESCHYLUS ‘ TRILOGY BEGINS THREE GENERATIONS LATER . B Y ITS END , THE FAMILY ’ S SEEMINGLY PERPETUAL CYCLE OF HUBRIS AND NEMESIS , SIN AND VENGEANCE , BETRAYAL AND BLOOD WILL HAVE DRAWN TO A CLOSE .”

Tantalus (grandfather of Atreus) founded this woeful household of par r i c ide, infant icide, cannibal i sm, incest and hubris.

From this moment on we witness what has, for her, been years in the planning: the total destruction of Agamemnon. Describing Clytemnestra as ‘loving’ is not facetious. Her strength of hate is borne from her strength of love, what we know as philos-aphilos . Clytemnestra’s hate for Agamemnon overtook/replaced her love for him when

His sins that doomed his descendants? Not merely stealing from the gods, but also serving them his murdered son, Pelops, for dinner. His punishment? Eternal hunger and thirst in the darkest recesses of the underworld (Tartarus) and a bloodline with filth in its veins.

Mask of Agamemnon, found in a Mycenae tomb by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876

Theater adaption of The House of Atreus, by Aeschylus

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he killed their daughter Iphigenia in a religious sacrifice (without which the Greeks couldn’t have sailed to Troy). Any lingering doubt she may have had is extinguished when she sees her husband arriving home after ten years away bearing, not flowers, tears and apologies, but a royal concubine, Cassandra. Thus her possible motives for wanting to kill Agamemnon are: • Vengeance for her murdered daughter, • Feelings for her new lover (Agamemnon’s cousin, Aegisthus), • Jealously of Cassandra, • The curse of The House of Atreus (which she frequently invokes) or, • Possible madness. The last reason is the only one that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Although the Chorus say to her “the red act drives the fury, within your brain”, she is, initially, remarkably cold and calculating; single and bloody-minded, but certainly not insane. This clarity of purpose is what aids her in tricking Agamemnon into the hubristic act of entering the house on purple tapestries. Purple was an expensive dye obtained from the murex shellfish. To walk on tapestries of this color was an oriental excess, insulting towards the gods, not worthy of a Greek hero. As Philip Vellacott put it: “to a Greek the essence of piety was humility, the conscious acknowledgement that the gods are greater than man, and that man’s greatness is held by their sufferance”. Despite his initial reluctance, Clytemnestra convinces Agamemnon to commit what he knows is an impious act. She does this through a subtle reference to his sacrifice of Iphigenia: “Might you have vowed to the gods, in danger,

Clytemnestra After the Murder, by John Collier, 1882

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such an act?”

Then by appealing to his ego as the vanquisher of the King of Troy: “Imagine Priam conqueror: what would he have done?” And finally, brilliantly, by asking that he humor the whim of a ‘foolish’ woman: “Yield! You are victor: give me too my victory.” Her success in dialogue and trickery put her in the ascendancy over Agamemnon who is not only guilty in the eyes of the gods, but has also shown to his citizens that he is doomed by his own arrogance, by his god-like behavior. Nor is this a one-off. He has taken Cassandra as his concubine when she had previously refused the advances of the mighty Apollo. It’s almost as if Agamemnon is wearing a ‘What Would Zeus Do’ wristband which he consults before each of his foolish and despicable acts. As Agamemnon steps foot on the tapestries, Clytemnestra lets out a “prolonged, triumphant cry”. All that remains is the manner of his death which, although just, still manages to sicken and disturb. Clytemnestra murders her husband in his bath. Though ‘murder’ is not quite accurate, she sacrifices him, much as he had sacrificed Iphigenia: Agamemnon’s fate is sealed.

“I T ’ S ALMOST AS IF A GAMEMNON IS WEARING A ‘W HAT W OULD Z EUS D O ’ WRISTBAND WHICH HE CONSULTS BEFORE EACH OF HIS FOOLISH AND DESPICABLE ACTS .”

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“I gave a third and final blow, my thanks for prayers fulfilled, to Zeus.” More disturbing still is her mania at the point of triumph: “With cough and retch there spurted from him bloody foam in a fierce jet, and spreading, spattered me with drops of crimson rain”. This is not a chronicle of a horror, or even victorious crowing, but feels more like Clytemnestra reveling in a disturbing and distasteful orgasm of blood: “[W]hile I exulted as the sown cornfield exults drenched with the dew of heaven when buds burst forth in Spring.” Lust and blood-lust are intermingled to such an extent that they sully and demean the justice of vengeance.

Especially in regard to the fact that

Above: The Funeral Procession of Agamemnon, by Louis-Jean Desprez, 1787

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she has, quite arbitrarily, decided to execute Cassandra too: “He – as you see him; she first, like the dying swan, sang her death-song, and now lies in her lover’s clasp. Brought as a variant to the pleasure of my bed, she lends an added relish now to victory.” This is the key question repeatedly raised in the Agamemnon: ‘What is justice’? We can comprehend that Clytemnestra is just in killing Agamemnon, but not Cassandra. Likewise she is unjust in marrying Aegisthus, as this will disinherit her son, Orestes. Aegisthus goes on to show a further injustice when he tries to kill the Chorus, only to be stopped by Clytemnestra: “Stop, stop, Aegisthus, dearest! No more violence!” Whatever the justice of the piece, there is no doubt the figure of Agamemnon lying dead in the bath; cuckolded, outsmarted, impious, naked and helpless is an entirely pathetic and unheroic end for the victorious commander of the Trojan War. Did You Know? The myth of the Cursed House of Atreus doesn’t stop there. After Clytemnestra murdered her husband, her son, Orestes, murdered her. Orestes was then haunted by the ‘furies‘ which chased him all the way to the court of Athena. There the goddess of wisdom passed judgement, exonerated Orestes, and finally brought the twisted tale to an end.

Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon, by Frederic Leighton, 1869

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Louis Bouwmeester as Oedipus in a Dutch production of Oedipus Rex, c. 1896

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or aMurderer?

B Y N I CO L E S A L DA R R I AGA

I’m fairly sure it would be safe to say that everyone’s heard of Oedipus. If that’s too much of a generalization, I would only amend it to something like

For those of us who need a quick recap, this odd play takes place well after Oedipus discovers the identity of his parents and his own transgressions, blinds himself, and is exiled from Thebes. By this time Oedipus is an old, frail man who has ceaselessly wandered the country with help from his daughter, Antigone. The play begins as Oedipus and Antigone arrive at Colonus, a small village within sight of Athens (and, incidentally, Sophocles’ birthplace). A wandering stranger tells Oedipus and Antigone that they are standing in a grove sacred to the Furies, which immediately agitates Oedipus. We learn that the same oracle who told him he would kill his father and marry his mother told Oedipus that he would die in a place sacred to the Furies, and his grave would be an immense gift to the place in which he is buried. Thus the question: how could the grave of a man like Oedipus possibly be considered a gift? In fact, as soon as the villagers of Colonus realize who Oedipus is, they want to kick him out of the village! No one wants anything to do with him—and they certainly don’t want to bury him in town.

“most people” have heard of him—he’s the legendary character of classical tragedy who killed his father, slept with his mother, and fathered children who were also his siblings. It’s the classic story of patricide and incest. Largely thanks to the work of Sigmund Freud, the name “Oedipus” has become such an accepted addition to our cultural lexicon that you would be able to have discussions about the “Oedipal complex” with people who have never even heard of Sophocles, let alone read his plays about the aforementioned character. Many people, then, would be surprised to hear that Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus —the last of his three Theban plays—argues that Oedipus’ burial in Athens would bring great benefit and safety to the city. This should immediately raise several eyebrows and one very important question: how can the grave of a man who killed his father, slept with his mother, and begot children who were also his siblings be considered a boon of any kind?

No one, that is, except Theseus—the legendary king of

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Athens. He intervenes, offers Oedipus protection, seems to agree that Oedipus’ grave would indeed be a gift to Athens, and promises to bury him. Okay, what’s going on here? Many of us may pity Oedipus, but it’s difficult to understand why Theseus would befriend him and defend him so wholeheartedly. Before diving into an examination of Oedipus’ role in Athens, it’s incredibly important to understand the political relationship between Athens and the titular city, Colonus. It is clear that Colonus is separate from Athens, and when Oedipus and Antigone first arrive, they learn from a wandering stranger that the town has its own unique founding myth. However, when asked if Colonus is ruled by a sovereign, the stranger replies that their ruler is Theseus, Athens’ king.

Even before the hundredth line of the play, we’re led to understand that Athens and Colonus are experiencing some political awkwardness. According to legend, Theseus was, at the time of the play, attempting to unite the lesser Attic communities with Athens proper in the hopes of forming a cohesive, powerful city-state. The historian Thucydides, in his History of the Peloponnesian War, says:

“In the days of Cecrops and the first kings, down to the reign of ’ Theseus, Attica was divided into communes, having their own town halls and magistrates. Except in case of alarm the whole people did not assemble in council under the king, but administered their own affairs, and advised together in their several townships. But when Theseus came to the throne, he, being a powerful as well as a wise ruler…dissolved the councils and separate governments, and united all the inhabitants of Attica in the present city, establishing one council and town hall. They continued to live on their own lands, but he compelled them to resort to Athens as their metropolis, and henceforward they were all inscribed in the roll of her citizens” (Book 2 Chapter 15). As readers of Oedipus at Colonus, we are meant to understand that Colonus is still in the process of being absorbed—and this is inherently a complicated process which involves so much more than Theseus declaring himself ruler. For Colonus to be truly united with Athens

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into one larger city-state, Theseus will have to encourage the people of Colonus to break their natural attachment to the literal, geographical place on which their town was founded. The permanent presence of Oedipus, in the form of his grave, can actually help Theseus achieve the breaking of this bond. To understand how this is possible, we also have to understand how Oedipus has changed since the revelation of his crimes. By the end of Oedipus the King, Oedipus is so distraught at the realization that he killed his father and slept with his mother that he begs for banishment from Thebes. He appears to completely blame himself for his actions, and says: “I beg of you in God’s name hide me/ somewhere outside your country, yes, or kill me/ or throw me into the sea, to be forever/ out of your sight.” These are obviously not the words of a man who believes he’s done nothing wrong. However, by the time Oedipus arrives in Colonus, he is singing a different tune. “Do not see me as a lawbreaker,” he says to the Chorus, “that I entreat you.” Oedipus, in this play, argues rather passionately that he is guiltier of suffering than he is of law-breaking. His reasoning? That he can’t be fully guilty because his crimes were committed through ignorance. Basically, Oedipus argues that he did not know he’d be killing his father when he killed Laius (out of self-defense, he’s careful to emphasize), so he can’t be truly guilty of patricide, and he certainly had no idea that Jocasta was his mother when he married her, so he can’t technically be guilty of incest. In essence, he did commit the crimes, but it wasn’t his fault that he committed them, and this double-ness makes him, in some way, innocent. Of course, this reasoning isn’t exactly bullet-proof—but the point isn’t really to pick it apart. It’s more important to consider how this sort of reasoning would affect our big question: why is Oedipus’ grave a gift? Oedipus tells Theseus that for his burial to bring true benefit and protection to Athens, the location must be kept completely secret. He entreats Theseus to describe the gravesite “to no man, ever/ neither where it is hidden nor in what region,/ that doing so may make you a defense/ beyond the worth of many shields.” At first glance, the goal of this secrecy seems purely practical: if Jason and the Argonauts,

Oedipus at Colonus by Fulchran-Jean Harriet

Jason and the Golden Fleece,

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Oedipus at Colonus, Jean-Antoine-Théodore Giroust, 1788

the burial location of Oedipus were common knowledge, thieves from another city could steal the body and re- bury it in their own city. The true reason is much more complex, and highly symbolic. In the ancient world, graves were considered sacred ground, and it was forbidden to walk on them. If Oedipus’ grave, like all graves, is to be sacred ground, and no one actually knows where that grave is, Oedipus’ secrecy makes it impossible not to violate the sanctity of the burial site. Anyone, purely through ignorance, could walk upon his grave and thus commit a crime. This crime-through-ignorance is a clear echo of Oedipus’ own transgressions, and because of this, his burial site seems to bring a kind of pervading guilt to Athens. But this doesn’t tell us why his grave is considered a gift—or what it has to do with Theseus’s unification project. If Oedipus’ ignorance makes him in some way innocent, his life reveals to us that we are not responsible for who we get as parents—or what family we’re born into ( I’m sure we all know plenty of people who have expressed

this same idea before, usually while they’re angry and talking about never calling home again). Family is, in essence, accidental. The idea that family is accidental immediately implies that the natural attachment a person will feel for his or her family is, for all intents and purposes, irrational. For example, Oedipus would probably say that it makes more sense to love your sister because she’s a lovely person with whom you’re close than to love her simply because you share the same mother. Because the mental and emotional processes that attach us to our family are so similar to the processes that attach us to our cities, countries, or general places, this idea that the attachment is irrational is the number one weapon Theseus can use to break the bonds between people and particular place. Oedipus’ grave, in that case, doesn’t symbolize guilt as much as it symbolizes the irrationality of our attachment to things we didn’t even consciously choose for ourselves.

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This is absolutely critical to Theseus’s plan for a unified Athens. It is not enough for the lesser Attic communities

Athens became—a city-state whose wealth and power would indeed provide a great deal of protection.

t o r e c o g n i z e h i s s ov e r e i g n t y—t h ey have to feel Athenian. Even if they remain on the same land, in the same houses— even if daily life barely changes—the people of Colonus (and the people of every other t o w n A t h e n s i s absorbing) have to become “people of Athens.” Without this kind of mental and pol i t i cal cohes ion, Theseus’s imagined city-state would fall apart, and the whole a r e a w o u l d b e incredibly vulnerable not just to outside attack, but also to i n t e r n a l c o n fli c t s between communities. H o w e v e r , t h i s cohesion is impossible if the townspeople don’t first reject their attachments to the land on which they were born. This is why Theseus chooses to protect Oedipus, and to grant Oedipus ’ reques t s.

So, in some way, the answer is yes: a man who killed his father and slept with his mother can play a big r o l e i n A t h e n s ’ survival and success— at least according to Sophocles. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the idea of a man like Oedipus can play a role—and that’s really the point, in the end, of the play. Like s o many c l a s s i ca l tragedies, Oedipus at Colonus ul timately points back to the i m p o r t a n c e o f tragedy, or poetry, itself. Oedipus’ grave may lead citizens to realize the irrationality of their attachments to things over which they had no control, but only because those ci t izens wi l l know Oedipus’ story. A grave without a story would simply be a plot of land. Athens gets no real benefit

The permanent (though hidden) presence of Oedipus’ grave and its symbolic meaning does indeed grant Athens a very important boon. By promoting the principles that Oedipus’ life and death represent—disassociation from the accidental, the rejection of irrationality—Theseus is one step closer to uniting the lesser Attic communities into the wealthy, powerful, and especially cohesive city-state we know

from the physical grave alone—all the benefit comes from a combination of the secret grave and the circulation of Oedipus’ tale. The city benefits, then, from the presence of poetry, or tragedy to be specific, and Athens’ particular devotion to tragedy will be one more thing that holds its citizens together—and ultimately sets Athens apart. In that case, despite his crimes, Oedipus may be a hero in his own right after all.

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HELENOF TROY THE BEAUTYWHO SPARKED THE TROJANWAR

The Abduction of Helen, by Gavin Hamilton,1784

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I n Greek mythology, Helen of Troy is known as the woman whose beauty sparked the Trojan War. But Helen’s character is more complex than it seems. B Y M I R I AM K AM I L

When considering the many Greek and Roman myths that surround Helen, from her childhood to her life after the Trojan War, a layered and fascinating woman emerges. Helen is among the mythical characters fathered by Zeus. In the form of a swan, Zeus either seduced or assaulted Helen’s mother Leda. On the same night, Leda slept with her husband Tyndareus and as a result gave birth to four children, who hatched from two eggs. From one egg came the semi-divine children, Helen and Polydeuces (who is called Pollux in Latin), and from the other egg came the mortals Clytemnestra and Castor. The boys, collectively called the Dioscuri, became the divine protectors of sailors at sea, while Helen and Clytemnestra would go on to play important roles in the saga of the Trojan War. In another, older myth, Helen’s parents were Zeus and Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance. In this version, too, Helen hatched from an egg. Helen was destined to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her reputation was so great that even as a young child, the hero Theseus desired her for his bride. He kidnapped her and hid her in his city of Athens, but when he was away, Helen’s brothers, the Dioscuri, rescued her and brought her home. As an adult, Helen was courted by many suitors, out of whom she chose Menelaus, the king of Sparta. But though Menelaus was valiant and wealthy, Helen’s love for him would prove tenuous. Around this time there was a great event among the Olympians: the marriage of the goddess Thetis to the mortal Peleus. All the gods were invited to attend except for Eris, whose name means “discord.”

Furious at her exclusion, Eris comes to the party

Leda and the Swan, copy by C

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anyway and tosses an apple to the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite on which is written “for the most beautiful.” Each goddess claims the apple is meant for her and the ensuing dispute threatens the peace of Olympus. Zeus appoints the Trojan prince Paris to judge who is most beautiful of the three. To sway his vote, each goddess offers Paris a bribe. From Hera, Paris would have royal power, while Athena offers victory in battle. Aphrodite promises him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife, and Paris names her winner of the competition. To claim the prize promised by Aphrodite, Paris travels to the court of Menelaus, where he is honored as guest. Defying the ancient laws of hospitality, Paris seduces Helen and flees with her in his ship. Roman poet Ovid writes a letter from Helen to Paris, capturing her mix of hesitance and eagerness: Paris sails home to Troy with his new bride, an act which was considered abduction regardless of Helen’s complicity. When Menelaus discovers that Helen is gone, he and his brother Agamemnon lead troops overseas to wage war on Troy. There is, however, another version of Helen’s journey from Mycenae put forth by the historian Herodotus, the poet Stesichorus, and the playwright Euripides in his play Helen . In this version, a storm forces Paris and Helen to land in Egypt, where the local king removes Helen from her kidnapper and sends Paris back to Troy. In Egypt, Helen is worshipped as the “Foreign Aphrodite.” Meanwhile, at Troy, a phantom image of Helen convinces the Greeks she is there. Eventually, the Greeks win the war and Menelaus arrives in Egypt to reunite with the real Helen and sail home. Herodotus argues that this version of the story is more plausible because if the Trojans had had the real Helen in their city, they would have given her back rather than let so many great soldiers die in battle over her. Nevertheless, in the most popular version of the story, that of Homer, Helen and Paris return to Troy together. When they arrive, Paris’ first wife, the nymph Oenone, sees them together and laments that he has I wish you had come in your swift ship back then, When my virginity was sought by a thousand suitors. If I had seen you, you would have been first of the thousand, My husband will give me pardon for this judgment! (Ovid, Heroides 17.103-6)

abandoned her. sare da Sesto after a lost original by Leonardo, 1515–1520

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The Judgement of Paris, by François Xavie

Venus preventing her son Aeneas from killing Helen of Troy, by Luca Ferrari, circa 1650

Exemplifying this point, in Vergil’s Aeneid , the protagonist Aeneas calls her “the nightmare of both Troy and her homeland” and he considers killing her (Vergil, Aeneid 2.567-88). The Trojan king Priam, however, treats Helen kindly. As they look out over the city walls together, Priam points to Agamemnon, Odysseus, Ajax, and other warriors, while Helen describes them as she knew them. Although she wishes to go home, Helen nevertheless gives useful and honest information about her former allies to the Trojans. Since the war is rooted in the conflict between Paris and Menelaus, the two warriors agree to hand to hand combat. Paris, the inferior warrior, is choked by his helmet strap and almost killed, until the goddess Aphrodite magically transports him to the safety of his palace, since she still favors him for choosing her in the contest with the apple. But when Paris returns to the palace, Helen is not pleased with his cowardice. She tells Aphrodite to marry Paris herself and take on the shame of being the wife of a

She grows bitter and even faults Helen for having been kidnapped by Theseus as a child. In heartbroken anger she says she “who is abducted so often, must offer herself u p t o b e a b d u c t e d ! Paris’ slight against Oenone would prove detrimental for him in the end. The Greeks sail to Troy and years of war commence. The Iliad of Homer concerns the tenth and final year of the conflict. Throughout this tale, Helen regrets her part in causing the war and longs to return to her husband and daughter, Hermione. The other Trojans scorn her, with the city elders saying: We cannot blame the Trojans or the well-grieved Achaians, For enduring pain all this time for the sake of such a woman, For she looks mightily like an immortal goddess in beauty. But even so, let her board one of their ships, So she is not left here, a punishment for us and our children. (Homer, Iliad 3.156-60) .

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Fabre, 1766

The Judgement of Paris, by Enrique Simonet, 1904

coward. She then says to Paris:

The war ends when the Greeks pretend to sail away and leave behind a huge hollow horse as an offering to the gods. The best Greek warriors hide inside the horse and the Trojans bring it inside. To test whether there is anyone hiding within, but without damaging the gift for the gods, the Trojans have Helen walk around it, imitating the wives of those within. Clever Odysseus keeps them from falling for the trick and shouting out in response. Again we see Helen aiding the Trojans, making her true allegiance at this time hard to determine. That night, the Greeks break out of the horse and raze Troy to the ground. Since Paris’ death, Helen had been married to his brother Deiphobus. Helen leads Menelaus and Odysseus to Deiphobus and they cut off his arms, ears, and nose, killing him. When the war is won, the Trojan women become slaves to the conquering Greeks. In Euripides’ Trojan Women , Queen Hecuba, the wife of Priam, mother of Hector and Paris, blames Helen for her dead children and her fate as a slave.

You’ve come back from battle, but you should have died there, Beaten by a stronger man, he who was my husband before you. (Homer, Iliad 3.428-9)

Helen’s shame over Paris’ cowardice highlights an important belief of this age, that a man’s worth lies in his arete , which means bravery, especially as estimated by other men. Both Hector and Achilles exemplify this trait and are widely considered valiant. Paris is contrarian, having eschewed Athena’s promises of valor in war in favor of the love offered by Aphrodite. As the war wages on, Paris kills Achilles with an arrow, before he too is killed. While Paris is dying, the Trojans appeal to his first wife, Oenone, who has the gift of healing. But, still heartbroken, Oenone lets Paris die, killing herself shortly after.

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