In Homer’s Illiad, a character mentioned is the king of Sparta and a husband to Helen of Troy, Menelaus. Son of the king of Mycenae, he won the hand of Helen, and ruled after her father, King Tyndareos, died. When Helen is abducted by the Trojan prince Paris, who Helen supposedly ran off with, the ten year Trojan War begins. Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon assemble an army to return her to Sparta. (Menelaus). With men and heroic warriors dying, the war ends when Menelaus obtains a victory and brings his wife Helen back to Sparta. After returning to Sparta, Helen and her husband live an uneventful life. (Unhappily ever after).
However, after the king’s return, he never returned to his normal state. The warrior had turned into a pained and miserable leader. In his story he describes how his life has changed after the betrayal of his wife with Paris. With all the good and victories he obtained, the king continued to live a life of discontent. He could not let go of the past and led his life mourning about his past. He experienced trauma of those who died around him in war, including the murder of his brother and the disappearance of his friend Odysseus. (Menelaus). Menelaus continued to spend his life grieving until his death.
However, after the king’s return, he never returned to his normal state. The warrior had turned into a pained and miserable leader. In his story he describes how his life has changed after the betrayal of his wife with Paris. With all the good and victories he obtained, the king continued to live a life of discontent. He could not let go of the past and led his life mourning about his past. He experienced trauma of those who died around him in war, including the murder of his brother and the disappearance of his friend Odysseus. (Menelaus). Menelaus continued to spend his life grieving until his death.
A bust of Menelaus, the devoted warrior and husband to Helen of Troy.
Works Cited
Doyle, A. "'Unhappily ever after?' the problem of Helen in Odyssey 4." Akroterion 55 (2010): 1+.
World History in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Homer: Iliad Book III, Helen on the walls of Troy (ca. 750 BCE)." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
McCaffery, Elisabeth. "Menelaus." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Menelaus." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Don Nardo. Ed. Robert B. Kebric. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. 215. World History in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Menelaus." Image. Instructional Resources Corporation. World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
World History in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Homer: Iliad Book III, Helen on the walls of Troy (ca. 750 BCE)." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
McCaffery, Elisabeth. "Menelaus." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Menelaus." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Don Nardo. Ed. Robert B. Kebric. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. 215. World History in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Menelaus." Image. Instructional Resources Corporation. World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.