Ok so a bit of a disclaimer before you read this weeks post. This post is not my best work. It was written right before my hiatus, and my mental health was not good, and it shows in how terse this post is in places. So why didn't I re-write it you might ask? For two reasons that compound on each other. The first is that I read this over a year ago and do not remember the specifics; the second is that re-reading a book, especially when my lists are as long as they are, represents a time and effort cost that I'm not willing to pay in this case for reasons I have put in the post below. That being said I hope you still get something positive out of this blog post and that it is still illuminating you on the classics.
I'm enjoying getting back into the Greek plays though there is no "canon" as different stories portray the same characters in rather different lights. It is still rather interesting to see these different portrayals. Well we are officially 7 days into spring here in New Zealand but it seems no-one has told the weather. We have just bought a new car which is rather nice, but now I need to clean up the old one to sell and its really cold washing a car at the moment.
The Story
Helen starts with Helen herself relating her woes. She is at the grave of the previous king of Egypt as a way to escape the advances of the current king of Egypt who wants her as his wife, she on the other hand wants to stay true to her Greek husband who went to Troy in search of her. She explains that it was not her that Hector stole away to Troy but that a god had sent a substitute in her place and that the Trojan war had been for nothing, well at least it had not been for her virtue.
She asks the Kings sister who is a prophetess if her husband Menelaus will ever come to find her and is told that he is coming.
Menelaus then arrives looking much worse for wear as he has been shipwrecked and is wearing only sailcloth. He inquires about seeing the king and asking for aid but is quickly dissuaded of this as the King kills all Greek men on sight. During this he reveals who he is and Helen explains to him who she is and they plot their escape.
It is decided that Menelaus will pretend to be one of his crewmen and announce his death to the King. Helen will then agree to marry the King as long as she can bury Menelaus at sea as is their, somewhat improvised, custom. The King agrees and leaves the preparation to the Greek man (secretly Menelaus). Who includes provisions and weapons as supposed offerings for the dead.
All the preparations for the mock funeral are made and the rest of Menelaus' crew get aboard and once they are out at sea they escape. When the King finds out he is furious as he has also been tricked by his sister who did not tell him of the deception. He instantly wants to kill his sister for her betrayal but is stopped by the messenger who told him of the escape. Then Dioscori appears and tells him he was never to have had Helen and that he should let her go with her husband. He then renounces his anger at his sister and at Helen.
Reflections
To be honest this whole play feels like wish fulfillment on Euripides part (which is a large part of why I didn't think it was worth re-reading). The idea that Helen had not gone to Troy and could then sail off into the sunset with her true husband undefiled seems too good to be true. And whether true or not Helen would still have come home to Greece with Menelaus, whether by recapture in Troy or by this fanciful meeting in Egypt.
Also the idea that Helen has been allowed to deny to marry the King for a long 10 years seems also a little far fetched when he is an absolute ruler. In saying that we do see her clinging to the burial of the previous King for protection so there must have at least been the threat of force.
Comparisons
This play gives a very different view of Helen than we have seen in the actions of other in the Iliad. She there is portrayed as complicit in the marrying and going with Paris to Troy and being the reason for the whole war against Troy. By contrast in this play she is portrayed as the chaste wife waiting for the return of her husband and denying herself to all others. Menelaus is also portrayed here as a rescuer but also as a schemer rather than as a warrior as we see him in the Iliad.
Have you read Helen? If so what did you think of it?
The Story
Helen starts with Helen herself relating her woes. She is at the grave of the previous king of Egypt as a way to escape the advances of the current king of Egypt who wants her as his wife, she on the other hand wants to stay true to her Greek husband who went to Troy in search of her. She explains that it was not her that Hector stole away to Troy but that a god had sent a substitute in her place and that the Trojan war had been for nothing, well at least it had not been for her virtue.
She asks the Kings sister who is a prophetess if her husband Menelaus will ever come to find her and is told that he is coming.
Menelaus then arrives looking much worse for wear as he has been shipwrecked and is wearing only sailcloth. He inquires about seeing the king and asking for aid but is quickly dissuaded of this as the King kills all Greek men on sight. During this he reveals who he is and Helen explains to him who she is and they plot their escape.
It is decided that Menelaus will pretend to be one of his crewmen and announce his death to the King. Helen will then agree to marry the King as long as she can bury Menelaus at sea as is their, somewhat improvised, custom. The King agrees and leaves the preparation to the Greek man (secretly Menelaus). Who includes provisions and weapons as supposed offerings for the dead.
All the preparations for the mock funeral are made and the rest of Menelaus' crew get aboard and once they are out at sea they escape. When the King finds out he is furious as he has also been tricked by his sister who did not tell him of the deception. He instantly wants to kill his sister for her betrayal but is stopped by the messenger who told him of the escape. Then Dioscori appears and tells him he was never to have had Helen and that he should let her go with her husband. He then renounces his anger at his sister and at Helen.
Reflections
To be honest this whole play feels like wish fulfillment on Euripides part (which is a large part of why I didn't think it was worth re-reading). The idea that Helen had not gone to Troy and could then sail off into the sunset with her true husband undefiled seems too good to be true. And whether true or not Helen would still have come home to Greece with Menelaus, whether by recapture in Troy or by this fanciful meeting in Egypt.
Also the idea that Helen has been allowed to deny to marry the King for a long 10 years seems also a little far fetched when he is an absolute ruler. In saying that we do see her clinging to the burial of the previous King for protection so there must have at least been the threat of force.
Comparisons
This play gives a very different view of Helen than we have seen in the actions of other in the Iliad. She there is portrayed as complicit in the marrying and going with Paris to Troy and being the reason for the whole war against Troy. By contrast in this play she is portrayed as the chaste wife waiting for the return of her husband and denying herself to all others. Menelaus is also portrayed here as a rescuer but also as a schemer rather than as a warrior as we see him in the Iliad.
Have you read Helen? If so what did you think of it?
Want to read Helen but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Helen.
Get a copy of Helen.
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