#sorry idk why I'm classics posting i don't think I've actually read Homer since like ninth grade | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

celiaelise · 30 days ago

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The thing about Helen of Troy was that it really WASN'T her face that launched a thousand ships!!! Like, yes, Aphrodite personally declared her the most beautiful woman alive, or whatever, and promised her to Paris, which was fucked up. But none of that is what started the Trojan War!

What started the war is that Menelaus felt that Paris had violated Menelaus' claim on his personal property. (his wife) Those ships weren't launched because each captain was personally moved by Helen's beauty. They were either loyal to Menelaus, or feared his wrath.

Like, I guess if you wanted to interpreted it more romantically, you could say that he was motivated by concern for Helen and her safety? But that's really not how it reads to me.

#the iliad #helen of troy #menelaus #sorry idk why I'm classics posting i don't think I've actually read Homer since like ninth grade #i imagine this is the sort of rant I'd go on if i was drunk #unfortunately i don't even currently have the pleasure of being drunk. 😔#it's just adhd and exhaustion #by elise #classics tumblr peeps feel free to roast me if this is a horribly incorrect opinion #just sometimes i think about male violence and their need to control everything you know?#it's just men it's ALWAYS men #it's entirely possible this is the entire point of the story and i am making a fool of myself rn

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