Lowell Edmunds
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691165127
- eISBN:
- 9781400874224
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691165127.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Folk Literature
This chapter turns to a comparison of the myth of Helen with “Abduction” as defined in Chapter 1. It reconstructs the myth by outlining the stages of Helen's life—her birth, her childhood, and so ...
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This chapter turns to a comparison of the myth of Helen with “Abduction” as defined in Chapter 1. It reconstructs the myth by outlining the stages of Helen's life—her birth, her childhood, and so forth—and of episodes, which contain scenes of relatively independent actions, such as her abduction. Besides the events of Helen's life, the chapter also discusses the men most closely connected to her story, above all Menelaus and Paris. In addition, this chapter takes account of variants, recording and discussing them as they bear on the outline of Helen's life story. For this purpose, the chapter is guided by the principle that what is latest in the history of the sources may be earliest in the history of the myth.Less
This chapter turns to a comparison of the myth of Helen with “Abduction” as defined in Chapter 1. It reconstructs the myth by outlining the stages of Helen's life—her birth, her childhood, and so forth—and of episodes, which contain scenes of relatively independent actions, such as her abduction. Besides the events of Helen's life, the chapter also discusses the men most closely connected to her story, above all Menelaus and Paris. In addition, this chapter takes account of variants, recording and discussing them as they bear on the outline of Helen's life story. For this purpose, the chapter is guided by the principle that what is latest in the history of the sources may be earliest in the history of the myth.
Elizabeth Vandiver
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199693979
- eISBN:
- 9780191745324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199693979.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses Herodotus' use of the Homeric concept of xenia in the Histories. It argues that the appearance of xenia in key passages reflects the importance of Homeric epic and of the Greek ...
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This chapter discusses Herodotus' use of the Homeric concept of xenia in the Histories. It argues that the appearance of xenia in key passages reflects the importance of Homeric epic and of the Greek legendary and mythic tradition for Herodotus' historiography. Herodotus foregrounds xenia in two logoi: Croesus' acceptance of Adrastus as a xenos (I.35–45) and Proteus' rebuke of Paris for wronging Menelaus (II.114–117). These logoi culminate in the death of Croesus' son Atys and in Herodotus' statement of his own opinion about the reason for Troy's destruction. The terminology of xenia establishes a Homeric tone that highlights these passages' significance for one of the overarching themes of the Histories: from the earliest encounters of Greeks and Asians onward, the gods made it clear that great transgressions by Eastern rulers would be punished. Paris in the remote past and Croesus at the cusp of humanly verifiable memory are guilty of the same transgression as was Xerxes within living memory; they overstep their bounds and claim more than is their right. Herodotus' inclusion of recognizably Homeric xenia in these logoi underscores the inevitability of divinely-sanctioned nemesis against such transgressions.Less
This chapter discusses Herodotus' use of the Homeric concept of xenia in the Histories. It argues that the appearance of xenia in key passages reflects the importance of Homeric epic and of the Greek legendary and mythic tradition for Herodotus' historiography. Herodotus foregrounds xenia in two logoi: Croesus' acceptance of Adrastus as a xenos (I.35–45) and Proteus' rebuke of Paris for wronging Menelaus (II.114–117). These logoi culminate in the death of Croesus' son Atys and in Herodotus' statement of his own opinion about the reason for Troy's destruction. The terminology of xenia establishes a Homeric tone that highlights these passages' significance for one of the overarching themes of the Histories: from the earliest encounters of Greeks and Asians onward, the gods made it clear that great transgressions by Eastern rulers would be punished. Paris in the remote past and Croesus at the cusp of humanly verifiable memory are guilty of the same transgression as was Xerxes within living memory; they overstep their bounds and claim more than is their right. Herodotus' inclusion of recognizably Homeric xenia in these logoi underscores the inevitability of divinely-sanctioned nemesis against such transgressions.
Glen Van Brummelen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691175997
- eISBN:
- 9781400844807
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691175997.003.0003
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter discusses the ancient approach to trigonometry, beginning with Hipparchus of Rhodes, the founder of trigonometry. It reconstructs when and where Hipparchus must have lived by taking into ...
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This chapter discusses the ancient approach to trigonometry, beginning with Hipparchus of Rhodes, the founder of trigonometry. It reconstructs when and where Hipparchus must have lived by taking into account the observations that he made as an astronomer and the references his successors made to him. It then considers the theorems of Menelaus of Alexandria, whose book Sphaerica completely reinvented the mathematical study of the sphere. In particular, it describes Menelaus's Theorem, which became the standard tool of spherical astronomy for the next 900 years. It also examines Abū Sahl al-Kūhī's use of the Menelaus theorems to solve the problem of rising times of arcs of the ecliptic.Less
This chapter discusses the ancient approach to trigonometry, beginning with Hipparchus of Rhodes, the founder of trigonometry. It reconstructs when and where Hipparchus must have lived by taking into account the observations that he made as an astronomer and the references his successors made to him. It then considers the theorems of Menelaus of Alexandria, whose book Sphaerica completely reinvented the mathematical study of the sphere. In particular, it describes Menelaus's Theorem, which became the standard tool of spherical astronomy for the next 900 years. It also examines Abū Sahl al-Kūhī's use of the Menelaus theorems to solve the problem of rising times of arcs of the ecliptic.
Ruby Blondell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199731602
- eISBN:
- 9780199344956
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731602.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter is devoted to Euripides’ tragedy Helen, which challenges the notion of woman as a “beautiful evil” by presenting Helen of Troy as the apogee of virtue. The play is set in the mythic ...
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This chapter is devoted to Euripides’ tragedy Helen, which challenges the notion of woman as a “beautiful evil” by presenting Helen of Troy as the apogee of virtue. The play is set in the mythic fantasy land of Egypt, where the innocent Helen was transported by the gods when her double (eidolon) went to Troy. Euripides makes his heroine credible as Helen by providing her with versions of all her principal epic moments but rewriting them in her favor. She uses her traditional character traits, likewise, to preserve her virtue and her husband’s life. She adopts, in particular, a reformed attitude towards her own beauty, which she willingly defaces in order to return happily to Greece with her long-lost husband, Menelaus, who presents himself as the hero of the Trojan War and thus her fitting counterpart. Yet Euripides handles the story in ways that call into question the viability of this romantic fantasy. Menelaus’s manly “heroism” is undercut by mockery, and the illusory nature of the supremely beautiful and good woman is suggested by the theatrical Helen’s equivalence to her own eidolon.Less
This chapter is devoted to Euripides’ tragedy Helen, which challenges the notion of woman as a “beautiful evil” by presenting Helen of Troy as the apogee of virtue. The play is set in the mythic fantasy land of Egypt, where the innocent Helen was transported by the gods when her double (eidolon) went to Troy. Euripides makes his heroine credible as Helen by providing her with versions of all her principal epic moments but rewriting them in her favor. She uses her traditional character traits, likewise, to preserve her virtue and her husband’s life. She adopts, in particular, a reformed attitude towards her own beauty, which she willingly defaces in order to return happily to Greece with her long-lost husband, Menelaus, who presents himself as the hero of the Trojan War and thus her fitting counterpart. Yet Euripides handles the story in ways that call into question the viability of this romantic fantasy. Menelaus’s manly “heroism” is undercut by mockery, and the illusory nature of the supremely beautiful and good woman is suggested by the theatrical Helen’s equivalence to her own eidolon.
Ruby Blondell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199731602
- eISBN:
- 9780199344956
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731602.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter starts by discussing the techniques used to represent the beauty of Helen of Troy in Euripides’ tragedy Trojan Women, including costume and masking, dramatic context, and textual cues. ...
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This chapter starts by discussing the techniques used to represent the beauty of Helen of Troy in Euripides’ tragedy Trojan Women, including costume and masking, dramatic context, and textual cues. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the scene in which she defends her behavior to Menelaus, who is determined to kill her for eloping. This remarkable performance backfires through its sophistic arguments, arrogance, and appropriation by a woman of the male prerogative of public speech. But it also draws attention to Helen’s body and its visual power. Hecuba, who speaks in response, rebuts Helen’s arguments but cannot compete with her self-display. Euripides thus stages a contest between visual “persuasion” and the power of rational discourse. The judge, Menelaus, is convinced by Hecuba, but the play ends with signs that Helen’s beauty will overcome his better judgment.Less
This chapter starts by discussing the techniques used to represent the beauty of Helen of Troy in Euripides’ tragedy Trojan Women, including costume and masking, dramatic context, and textual cues. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the scene in which she defends her behavior to Menelaus, who is determined to kill her for eloping. This remarkable performance backfires through its sophistic arguments, arrogance, and appropriation by a woman of the male prerogative of public speech. But it also draws attention to Helen’s body and its visual power. Hecuba, who speaks in response, rebuts Helen’s arguments but cannot compete with her self-display. Euripides thus stages a contest between visual “persuasion” and the power of rational discourse. The judge, Menelaus, is convinced by Hecuba, but the play ends with signs that Helen’s beauty will overcome his better judgment.
Charles McNelis and Alexander Sens
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199601899
- eISBN:
- 9780191827525
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199601899.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Much as she diminishes Achilles’ heroism, so, too, does Cassandra cast Odysseus in a negative light. This chapter explores in detail her treatment of that hero. By reconfiguring Odysseus’ account of ...
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Much as she diminishes Achilles’ heroism, so, too, does Cassandra cast Odysseus in a negative light. This chapter explores in detail her treatment of that hero. By reconfiguring Odysseus’ account of his own adventures in the Odyssey, Cassandra explicitly engages with the question of their veracity. For her part, she minimizes his accomplishments, and by rewriting the telos of the Odyssey, undercuts the epic idea that the hero’s sufferings are offset by the glory conveyed by poetry. Her account of the adventures of Menelaus is thematically and verbally set up as parallel to her treatment of Odysseus, and rewrites the story that Menelaus himself tells in the Odyssey in a way that underscores the limited success of his nostos.Less
Much as she diminishes Achilles’ heroism, so, too, does Cassandra cast Odysseus in a negative light. This chapter explores in detail her treatment of that hero. By reconfiguring Odysseus’ account of his own adventures in the Odyssey, Cassandra explicitly engages with the question of their veracity. For her part, she minimizes his accomplishments, and by rewriting the telos of the Odyssey, undercuts the epic idea that the hero’s sufferings are offset by the glory conveyed by poetry. Her account of the adventures of Menelaus is thematically and verbally set up as parallel to her treatment of Odysseus, and rewrites the story that Menelaus himself tells in the Odyssey in a way that underscores the limited success of his nostos.
