Different epics, different women..
Homer, an ancient Greek literary persona, demonstrated two diverse influences of women in his epics Iliad and Odyssey. With his two different characters, Helen and Penelope, two unique capabilities of women are revealed.
A story of love blessed by beauty, and cursed by the same...
Helen, the golden Aphrodite whose beauty is beyond compare, was the daughter of the god of the heavens, Zeus, to queen Leda. She grew up as a princess of Sparta and was recognized as the youngest daughter of king Tyndareus who despised her presence, acknowledging her as an illegitimate child. She was abducted by Theseus, king of Athens, at Clytemnestra’s, her sister’s, wedding day. Pollux, her only brother and the sole heir to king Tyndareus’ throne, rescued her from Theseus but both killed each other. Due to her father’s wrath, she was forced to marry Menelaus and display her naked body in front of hundreds of kings, male officials and soldiers and was hailed queen of Sparta. But then, Paris stepped out of the scene and Helen was swooped head over heels. They eloped and sailed to Troy to be together. But a unified Agean fleet followed them and declared a war against the kingdom, all because of a woman whose face launched a thousand ships. Ten years have passed and the golden walls of Troy finally crumbled to the ground.
The faith that could turn impossibility into reality...
Meanwhile, Penelope is the daughter of Icarius and Periboea. She was married to Odysseus, king of Ithaca and was hailed queen. Her husband, Odysseus, joined the quest to defeat Troy to fulfill his oath of protecting the claim of Menelaus over Helen alongside with other Agean kings. Penelope was left to take care of her son, Telemachus, who was still a baby when Odysseus left. Penelope remained faithful and loyal to her husband despite the twenty years of his uncertain survival on his way home. Though many suitors came to her doorstep, she still longed for the return of her husband and dealt with the other men wisely. After decades passed, Odysseus finally came home and back to Penelope’s arms with their son, Telemachus, who searched for his father through the years and finally succeeded.
These maidens truly exhibited women's indescribable ability. The physical beauty, which can build and destroy cities, and the inner beauty, whose love and affection could last a thousand years.
In comparison of these two women, Penelope is an obvious protagonist between the two. Though she didn’t have the beauty that can lure men to their graves, she is a good mother and a dedicated wife despite the fact that her husband was miles away, uncertain of his return. Though she had hundreds of suitor courting her, she never failed to be faithful though her husband’s life is already impossibility. She also used her mind first to follow her heart unlike Helen. Truly, she was a gifted patron of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Helen, though she was a mortal goddess, didn’t think first before doing things that could ruin lives of people. She knew exactly the consequences of their acts, but she was selfish enough to think that the lives of thousands are worth their love. She must’ve used her beauty with some wit; the innocent lives could have been spared. She was just like some ignorant teenagers today who do stupid things and regret them in the end. Was that how Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, worked? Beauty without brains is it.
Truly, it is the content that matters most.
