This past Friday, a forum presented by Professor Karanika of the Department of Classics, revealed to me that Homeric women had much more power than I initially perceived.
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Marvel's Illustrated: The Iliad issue #1 |
While it is true that Homeric women are seen as prizes, as status symbols for the man whom she belongs to, they also wield a tremendous amount of power that even they may not have been aware of.
Two women that must be mentioned first include Helen, wife of Greek king Menelaus now coupling with Paris of Troy, and Briseis, Achilles' won consort taken by king Agamemnon. The power these two women wield is the power endowed to them by beauty (Karanika).
Helen is acclaimed to be the most beautiful mortal woman alive for whom "the men of Troy and Argives under arms have suffered / years of agony for her" (3. 188-9). Her beauty gave her the power to initiate a ten year long war in which countless people, young and old, found their lives forfeited to the God of Death.
Similarly, Briseis' power also relies upon woman's beauty. Her power was the brief relief the Trojans see in battle since Achilles became enraged with Agamemnon and refused to aid the Achaean war effort. Briseis, even though she is a spoil of war, was a trigger in the major losses of Achaean life.
Ordinary women also wielded a power the ancient heroes did not possess. Homeric women had the power to immortalize a hero.
Professor Karanika made evident, through contextual evidence, that Homeric women have a voice only when working, praying, performing a ritual, or lamenting. These acts is what make male glory.
When a hero dies, it is a woman's lamentation that memorializes their heroic deeds. Lamentation can even be seen before a hero's death as Thetis demonstrates, " O my child!/ Yes, I gave birth to a flawless, mighty son.../the splendor of heroes" (18. 63-5). Henceforth, Achilles, the son spoken about in the outburst, will be known and attributed with characteristics of splendor and might.
Homeric women also exhibited power in the circles of prayer and rituals for prayer. The right offering and profusion of adequate words given by a woman or group of women could save a life, a city, a culture, or it could foretell doom. An instance such as this seen in The Iliad is the gathering of Troy women who pray to the Goddess Athena:
"lifting the [Sidonian] robe on high/ ... [they] prayed to the daughter of mighty Father Zeus:/ "Queen Athena- shield of our city- glory of goddesses!/ Now shatter the spear of Diomedes!...." (6. 357-361).The collective prayer of the women above is an instance were their power and their lack of correct use sealed the fate of Troy. While the prayer itself might have been pleasing to the goddess Athena, the improper ritualistic rite was not. While ritual in prayer dictated an offering (which these women certainly provided- i.e. the robe) they were incorrect in using that specific offering since it was not made by Trojan hands but by Sidonian enslaved hands. This technicality was what invalidated the women's prayer and in the long run cost them their freedom and their husbands and sons' lives (Karanika).
Most modern women today continue to pursue gender equality since they believe their predecessors lacked it. While most women of the past may not have enjoyed many of the freedoms today's women enjoy, I would not count them out in terms of influence and power. They certainly had their share of it if The Iliad is believed to be a historical reference to actual past events.
Works Cited
Fagles, Robert, trans. The Iliad. By Homer. Penguins Books: New York, 1990
Comxicology. 9 October 2015. Gamma Radiation. 9 October 2015.
Karanika, Andromache. "Friday Forum." The War Prayer: Women's Rituals in the Iliad. Biological Sciences III, Lecture Hall 1200, University of California, Irvine. 2 October 2015.
