TEXT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Grateful acknowledgement is made for permission to reproduce material from the following translations: J. Balmer, from Sappho: Poems & Fragments (1992) Bloodaxe Books; C. E. Boer, from Homeric Hymn to the Earth (1980), Spring Publications; D. A. Campbell, Reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of the Loeb Classical Library from Greek Lyric: Volume I, Loeb Classical Library ® Volume 142, translated by David A. Campbell, p. 73, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, copyright © 1982 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The Loeb Classical Library ® is a registered trademark of the President and Fellows of Harvard College; M. Davies, from The Epic Cycle (1989), Bristol Classical Press by kind permission of Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd; R. Fagles, scattered excerpts from the Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, © 1990 by Robert Fagles. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.; scattered excerpts from the Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, copyright © 1996 by Robert Fagles. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and by Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.; A. E. Galyon, from The Art of Versification (1980), Iowa State University Press/Blackwell Publishing; H.J. Magoulias, reprinted from Harry J. Magoulias (trans.) O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniates, p. 360 © 1984 The Wayne State University Press, with the permission of the Wayne State University Press; A. M. Miller, from Greek Lyric: an anthology in translation (1996), reprinted by kind permission of Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. all rights reserved; W.H. Parker, from Priapea: Poems for a Phallic God (1988), Routledge; P.H. Young from The Printed Homer: A 3000 Year Publishing and Translation History of the Iliad and the Odyssey © 2003 Philip H. Young, reprinted by permission of McFarland & Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640, www.mcfarlandpub.com; P. Vellacott, from Euripides’ Orestes and other plays (1972), Penguin; N. Wright from Joseph of Exeter, Trojan War, reproduced by kind permission of the translator.
Grateful acknowledgement is also made for permission to reproduce material from the following publications: HD (Hilda Doolittle), ‘Helen’ from Collected Poems 1912–1944 and from Helen in Egypt, copyright © 1961 by Norman Holmes Pierson, both reprinted by kind permission of New Directions Publishing Corp., and for UK and Commonwealth rights by kind permission of Carcanet Press Ltd; Carol Ann Duffy, ‘Beautiful’ from Feminine Gospels by Carol Ann Duffy, by kind permission of the author and Macmillan Publishers Limited; Lord Dunsany, ‘An Interview’ from Mirage Water (1938), reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Ltd, London on behalf of The Dunsany Will Trust, copyright The Dunsany Will Trust; Lawrence Durrell, ‘Troy’, Faber & Faber Ltd; D. Parker, ‘Partial Comfort’ from The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker, edited by Brendan Gill © 1928, renewed © 1956 by Dorothy Parker. Used by kind permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.; S. B. Pomeroy from Spartan Women copyright © 2002 by Sarah Pomeroy. Used by kind permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.; W.B. Yeats, ‘Leda and the Swan’ and ‘Lullaby’ by kind permission of A.P. Watt Ltd on behalf of Michael B. Yeats, reprinted with the permission of Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, from The Collected Works of W. B. Yeats, Volume I: The Poems, Revised, edited by Richard J. Finneran. Copyright © 1928 by the Macmillan Company; copyright renewed © 1956 by Georgie Yeats.
Every effort has been made to trace and contact copyright holders. The publishers will be pleased to correct any mistakes or omissions in future editions.
TIMELINE
All dates before 500 BC are approximate unless otherwise stated.
BRONZE AGE CRETE
2000 BC
MIDDLE MINOAN (MM) period starts MM I—II Old Palaces at Knossos and elsewhere are built Destroyed c. 1700 BC by earthquakes
1700 BC
MM III in New Palaces are built
1600 BC
LATE MINOAN (LM) period starts
1425–1370 BC
LM II—IIIAI Linear B in use at Knossos. Mycenaeans begin to dominate the Aegean and influence Minoan culture
1370 BC
Destruction of palace at Knossos
BRONZE AGE GREECE
1600 BC
LATE HELLADIC (LH) period starts
Grave Circles A and B at Mycenae
? 1550 BC
Eruption of Thera/Santorini
1525–1450 BC
(LH IIA)
Early tholos and chamber tombs constructed at Mycenae
1450–1410 BC
(LH IIB)
Warrior panoply found near Midea, the ‘Dendra armour’
1410–1370 BC
(LH IIIA1)
Treasury of Atreus constructed at Mycenae
1370—1300 BC
(LH IIIA2)
Uluburun shipwreck
Tomb of Clytemnestra built at Mycenae
1300–1200 BC
(LH IIIB1)
? Trojan Wars? c. 1275 BC–1180 BC
‘Mycenaean Lady’ fresco from the House of the High Priest Cult Centre at Mycenae
Extant Linear B tablets found at mainland Greek sites date from c. 1200 BC
Evidence of destruction in Mycenaean palace settlements
THE HITTITE WORLD
1400 BC
First mention of Wilusa (Troy) and Ahhiyawa (Greece) in Hittite texts. Hittite Empire at its height
1360 BC
Horse-training manual written by Kikkuli
1300 BC
Alakšandu rules over Wilusa, correspondence: the ‘Alakšandu treaty’
1275 BC
Battle of Kadesh between Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II and Great King of Hatti
1275–1250 BC
Destruction of Troy VIh
1275–1180 BC
The Trojan War?
1250 BC
‘Tawagalawa letter’ sent to King of Ahhiyawa
(c. 1265-1240 BC)
Hattusili III reigns at Hattusas, with Puduhepa as his queen
1230 BC
Crisis between Hittite states of Ugarit and Amurru over marriage alliance
1223 BC
Last mention of Ahhiyawa in Hittite text
1200 BC
Last mention of Wilusa in Hittite texts
1175 BC
Collapse of the Hittite Empire
‘DARK AGES’ OF GREECE
1100–800 BC
Mycenaean citadels abandoned, literacy appears to be lost
1000 BC
Dorians settle Sparta and Lakonia
ARCHAIC GREECE
800 BC
Sparta expands to include settlement at Amyklai
700 BC
Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, written down
650 BC
Poems of the Epic Cycle composed, including the Cypria
650 BC
Works of Hesiod composed – Works and Days, Theogony, Catalogues of Women and Eoiae
‘Helen’s Temple’ or the Menelaion: shrine to Helen and Menelaus dedicated at Therapne, Sparta
650-550 BC
Lyric poems of Sappho, Stesichorus, Alcaeus and Alcman featuring Helen composed
Earliest extant votive offerings left for Helen at the Menelaion
650 BC
The Mykonos vase is created, one of the earliest surviving images of Helen and the Trojan War
Reform of Spartan society attributed to Lycurgus
CLASSICAL GREECE
506 BC
Sparta and Peloponnesian League allies invade Attica
500–450 BC
Persian Wars between Greeks and Persians
480 BC
Battle of Thermopylae
Persian king Xerxes visits Troy
500–400 BC
Radical development of Athenian democracy and cultural ‘golden age’ of Athens
447 BC
Building of the Parthenon begins
Tragic plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides
composed and performed at Athens, in
cluding those that deal specifically with Helen or the Troy story:
472 BC –Aeschylus’ Persians
458 BC – Aeschylus’ Agamemnon
415 BC – Euripides’ Trojan Women
412 BC – Euripides’ Helen
411 BC – Aristophanes’ Lysistrata
408 BC –Euripides’ Orestes
c. 405 BC – Euripides’ Iphigeneia at Aulis (posthumous)
431–404 BC
Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Ends with Spartan hegemony of much of Greece
430 BC
Herodotus’ Histories
Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War
400 BC
Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen
390–350 BC
Plato’s philosophical works, include reference to Helen
370 BC
Isocrates’ Encomium of Helen
335–322 BC
Aristotle’s philosophical works
336-323 BC
Alexander the Great of Macedon conquers territories from Greece to India
334 BC
Alexander visits Troy
280 BC
Foundation of the Library of Alexandria
270 BC
Theocritus’ Epithalamium for Helen written at Alexandria
IMPERIAL ROME
31 BC-AD 14
Octavian defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium Reign of Octavian, henceforth known as Augustus. Birth of imperial Rome
19 BC
Death of Virgil, and publication of the Aeneid – telling of the travels of Aeneas after the fall of Troy
c. 25 BC–AD 17
Works of Ovid, including Art of Love, Heroides and Metamorphoses – many of which make Helen their subject
AD 14-68
Julio-Claudian dynasty. Includes reigns of Tiberius (AD 14-37); Claudius (AD 41-54); Nero (AD 54-68)
AD 64 Fire of Rome (Nero reported to have sung of the fall of Troy)
AD 66 Alleged ‘discovery’ of Dictys’ account of the Trojan War
AD 69–6
Flavian Dynasty
AD 79
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, destroying towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Death of Pliny the Elder, author of the Natural History
AD 96-192
Age of the Antonines. Includes reigns of Trajan (AD 98–117); Hadrian (AD 117–138); Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180)
c. AD 160
Pausanias’ Guidebook to Greece
Works of Lucian, including Dialogues of the Dead
c. AD 200
Works of Christian writers such as Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and Justin Martyr, with testimony on Simon Magus’ life in the first century AD
Statue of kore/Helen from Samaria-Sebaste
Cult of Simon Magus and Helen at Rome
Dictys’ account of the Trojan War written
AD 306-337
Reign of Constantine I
Official recognition of Christianity
(c. AD 300– 600)
Dares’ account of the Trojan War?
Statue of kore/ Helen destroyed
MEDIEVAL TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
c AD 500
Collapse of Roman Empire in the West
c. AD 700
Isidore of Seville inscribes Helen’s name into account of 132 seminal events in the history of the world
AD 1122–1204
Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine
c. AD 1170
Benoît de Sainte-Maure writes the Roman de Troie for Eleanor
c. AD 1175
Matthew of Vendôme’s Art of Versification
c. AD 1180
Joseph of Exeter completes his Trojan War tale
AD 1204
Sack of Constantinople, destruction of Helen’s statue in the Hippodrome
AD 1475
William Caxton produces the first printed book in English, the Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye
AD 1594
The first recorded performance of Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Dr Faustus
AD 1864
Premiere of Offenbach’s operetta, La Belle Hélène
AD 1870
Heinrich Schliemann begins excavations at the site of Troy
AD 1876
Heinrich Schliemann excavates at Mycenae – Grave Circle A
AD 1880s
Gustave Moreau paints a number of Helen canvases including Helen at the Ramparts of Troy
AD 1952–3
Michael Ventris and John Chadwick decipher and publish Linear B
AD 1961
Publication of Hilda Doolittle’s (H.D.) Helen in Egypt
AD 2004
Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy
DRAMATIS PERSONÆ
ZEUS king of the gods and father of Helen
LEDA wife of Tyndareus and mother of Helen, raped by Zeus disguised as a swan
TYNDAREUS Helen’s adoptive father and king of Sparta
HELEN wife of Menelaus of Sparta, abducted by Paris of Troy
CASTOR & Pollux Helen’s twin brothers, also known as the Dioscuri
CLYTEMNESTRA sister of Helen and the Dioscuri, wife of Agamemnon
THESEUS hero-king of Athens, attempts to abduct Helen
MENELAUS king of Sparta and husband of Helen
AGAMEMNON king of Mycenae and brother of Menelaus
IPHIGENEIA daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, in some traditions the daughter of Helen and Theseus
EILEITHYIA pre-Greek goddess of childbirth and fecundity
HERA goddess-wife of Zeus, favours the Greeks in the Trojan War
POSEIDON god of the sea, younger brother of Zeus
PARIS Trojan prince who abducts Helen from Sparta
PRIAM king of Troy and father of Paris and Hector
HECTOR Trojan prince, brother of Paris, and finest Trojan warrior
HECUBA queen of Troy, mother of Hector, Paris and Deiphobus
DEIPHOBUS Trojan prince who marries Helen once Paris is dead
CASSANDRA sister of Paris and Hector, a prophetess whose curse is never to be believed
APOLLO divine protector of Troy, son of Zeus and Leto
APHRODITE goddess of sexual love, mother of Aeneas, champion of Troy and in particular of Paris
ARES god of war, another protector of Troy, son of Zeus and Hera
FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE STUDY OF HELEN as a real character from history has been consistently neglected. Historians and romantics alike have enthusiastically sought out the heroes of Greece and by-passed its heroines. It has been too tempting perhaps to remember Helen as ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’, too appealing to keep her vapid and perfect – too disappointing to discover the world’s desire1 and to find her flawed. Yet there is now a sufficient weight of scholarship to root Homer’s account of Helen, the Iliad, in an epoch known as the Late Bronze Age (1600 to 1050 BC). Tracking the life of a Late Bronze Age aristocrat from birth to death, I hope to put flesh on Helen’s beautiful bones. To put into context a name that is familiar, but strangely insubstantial.
Because Helen is not just one story, but many, told over and over across Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, I have also travelled through the landscape to bring together a promiscuous range of ‘Helens’. There is no single arterial route to the truth of Helen of Troy, but a number of paths that wind across time: Helen grazes the historical record and when written sources are absent I have allowed artefacts, art and the landscape to become articulate. This fusion of ideas and things, people and places, the past and the present, is very Greek; for the early societies around the Mediterranean, boundaries were blurred between the physical and spiritual worlds, between aesthetics and politics. My hope is that this book is an ‘historia’ in the sense used by the ancients: an account which encompasses observation and narrative, inquiry, analysis and myth;2 a physical quest in search of a woman who was renowned, above all, for the physical impact she had on t
hose around her.
There are a number of things this book does not attempt to do. I do not seek to prove the historicity of the Trojan War or indeed of Helen but to examine the character and historical context of both. Erudite works have been written demonstrating that Helen was a vegetation goddess – this is not one of them. A definitive survey of the reception of Helen would run to many volumes; in this book I have focused on those examples that seem to me to demonstrate, particularly vividly, what she has meant to women and men for over twenty-eight centuries.
I use the phrase ‘the Greeks’ to describe those who lived on the Greek mainland and in Greek territories, and ‘Anatolians’ for the inhabitants of what is now predominantly Asiatic Turkey;3 to avoid confusion, Greece, Crete and Turkey describe geographical areas rather than political entities. Where appropriate I use the Roman name for Anatolia – Asia Minor. In the Bronze Age the Greeks appear to have been variously called the Achaioí, Danaoí, and Argeioí almost certainly explaining why Homer refers to them as the Achaeans, the Danaans and the Argives.4 This group of peoples I describe collectively as the Mycenaeans – a nomination they were first given in the 19th century AD. When I talk of a Bronze Age Helen I am describing evidence of the real queens who did indeed live in the Eastern Mediterranean and who were, I believe, a prototype for Homer’s Helen. Even if Helen was just an archetype, she was an archetype with distinct historical features. ‘The ancients’ is a loose term, here applying to those who lived between the 8th century BC and the 3rd century AD, a period known as ‘antiquity’.
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