Helen in the Iliad and Dido in the Aeneid - Essay Example

Helen in the Iliad and Dido in the Aeneid Dido and Helen are woman characters of famous ancient stories - Aeneid and Iliad, respectively. Both these characters play a significant role in the writings that describe these characters and their actions, and these characters were used by the authors for different purposes. These woman characters have some common features and characteristics, but also have distinctions that make them differ from each other. Helen is treated as a character, symbolizing ambiguity of feminine character, and she has become a model for many characters of women described in later writings by various authors all over the works. She is a symbol of woman bringing grief to the men loving her, but she is also a symbol of beauty and passion. The Aeneid, on the contrary, has a theme of woman subordination and exclusion as one of the major plot themes. Dido became one of literature characters, symbolizing abandoned women, who repented of adultery and returned back to their husbands, although Dido did it after her death. Dido is not just a character of a nice young woman who is unhappy with love. This character is much more complicated. The author describes her as a loving woman but he also portrays her so that the danger she may cause to Aeneas becomes evident for the reader. One of the examples is her anger when Dido is about to commit a suicide: And could I not have dragged his body off, and scattered him piecemeal upon the waters, limb by limb Or butchered all his comrades, even served Ascanius himself as banquet dish upon his father's table (Aeneid, Book 4) This is the thing that makes Dido be similar to the character of Helen from Iliad. Both women symbolize beauty and danger to men characters of these writings. But at the same time she is sad and unhappy with Aeneas' departure after he had been provoked by Venus and decided to leave for Italy. "And shall he go, and flout my kingdom thys No arms leap out, not all my city chase and drag the ships from dock Go! Fetch me quick Firebrands; bring arms! Ply oars!" (Aeneid, Book 4) Despite a funeral pyre is unusual and even choking for Roman court, being regarded as the witchcraft, Dido calls understanding and sympathy. Readers appreciate her devotion and love, and condemn Aeneas for leaving her, her grieve makes the reader not notice a negative undertone the author uses in describing this character. In general, Virgil uses this character for two different goals. The first of the goals is to reflect the relations between Carthage and Rome via romantic relationship of Dido and Aeneas. The second one is to point out Aeneas' human nature. It was usual to depict the main protagonist as a person of perfect moral and physical qualities. The situation where Aeneas expresses weakness of the character, leaving Dido, shows that the hero is not a perfect hero, born by a goddess, but an average person with lacks that are inherent to human nature. The character of Helen in Iliad is to be observed from several angles of vision. The writing has a lot of negative remarks, pronounced by the heroes that mention her name. Helen understands and realizes her guilt, and the scandal she caused by leaving a husband for a warrior from a foreign country. The author appreciated honor as one of the most precious virtues, and shame is one of the most vivid emotions that reveal in Helen. The author burdens her guilt by pointing out that she disgraced not only herself but also the people of Hellas who were involved into war because of her adultery: "...if only death had pleased me then, grim death, the day I followed your son to Troy, forsaking my marriage bed, my kinsmen, and my child" (Iliad, book 3) However, Helen is not a cause of the war, but she is also a victim. Her behavior is determined by Venus, she is not fully responsible for herself, and she becomes a symbol of a woman who causes woe to her men: "terrible is the likeness of her face to immortal goddesses." (Iliad, book 3). The critics do not agree whether Helen was forced by Venus to leave her husband or not. The goddess of love is represented as the symbol of passion, but the personal motivation of Helen was lust. Helen has ambivalent character, sometimes revealing the features that are regarded as the features of men's character. She watches the scenes of battles, and her will and persistence make her stand aside from other woman characters, she understands the consequences her behavior may have, but she does what her heart and passion make her do. This character was also used by the author to prove how the warriors support each other and act as a community. The question if Helen was a single and main cause of the war is left unanswered by the author. By the beginning of the war the fact of adultery and Helen herself become more abstract than they were, and the heroine becomes a casus belli, but not just a wife, whose husband wants to get her back home. It is evident that both woman characters observed, Helen and Dido have similar and distinct features. Both these women were married and left their husbands for foreigners. Both Helen and Dido betrayed their families and homes for love and passion. But distinctions lie in the roles they play in the writings and in their destiny. Dido is abandoned by her lover, and she chooses to die, rather than suffer. But the further events described by Virgil show us that she forgets Aeneas, and even her shadow returns back to her husband, leaving Aeneas. Helen instead, chooses life, even being aware of disastrous events her behavior caused to her lover's people. She is prepared to withstand all the obstacles and sufferings to remain with her beloved man. In general, Helen may be regarded as the symbol of feminine nature and passion. Dido is a character of abandoned woman who chooses to die rather than to live without her lover beside her. References Homer, Fitzgerald, R. (Translator). (1998). The Iliad (Oxford World's Classics). Virgil, Jackson, J. (Translator). (1995) The Aeneid (Wordsworth Classics). Read More