The writing
The plot of the Iliad stems from a cycle of heroic tales about the Trojan War. The action of the poem represents only an episode of the war, in the 10th year; the actors are assumed to be already known. Therefore, when discussing the characters of the Iliad, it is necessary to relate not only to the text of the poem, but also to the entire cycle of legends.
Achilles. The central figure of the poem is Achilles, the bravest of the Achaean warriors - the son of the Thessalian king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. He is "short-lived", he is destined for great glory and "quick death". Achilles is portrayed as such a powerful hero that the Trojan enemies are afraid to leave the walls of the city. Achilles is angry that the captive Briseis is being taken away from him and refuses to participate in hostilities. As a child, the mother, the goddess Thetis, tried to make Achilles' body invulnerable, and only in the heel could he be wounded. According to the prediction of the priest Kalanta, the campaign against Troy was doomed to failure without the participation of Achilles, and the Achaeans, led by Odysseus, call him to war. In the Iliad, the motif of Achilles' invulnerability is of little importance; Achilles' invincibility comes from his inner qualities. Achilles strives to prove himself a hero, knowing that he is destined for a short life. A clash with Agamemnon over Briseis almost leads to bloodshed in the camp of the Achaeans. The end of Achilles' anger comes only when he learns of the death of a friend of Patroclus at the hands of the Trojan hero Hector. Having received new armor from Hephaestus, he rushes into battle, defeats the fleeing Trojans and defeats Hector in a decisive battle. However, the death of Hector portends the imminent death of Achilles himself. Achilles gives the body of Hector to the Trojan king Priam for a large ransom. The unsurviving epic "Ethiopias" tells about the further fate of Achilles.
Agamemnon is the supreme leader of the Achaeans, the son of Atreus and Aeropa. The Iliad describes Agamemnon as a valiant warrior, but does not hide his arrogance and intransigence; it is these qualities of a leader that are the cause of many disasters for the Greeks. Bragging about a successful shot while hunting provokes the wrath of the goddess Artemis, and she deprives the Greek fleet of a fair wind. Having captured Chryseis in raids on the outskirts of Troy, he refuses to return her for ransom to Chris, the priest of Apollo, for which God sends a pestilence on the Greeks. In response to Achilles' demand to return his daughter to his father, he takes away the captive Briseis from Achilles, which incurs the wrath of the hero. This episode is the beginning of the Iliad. Agamemnon in a witty way tests the loyalty of the army: he invites everyone to return home, and only after that he starts fighting. Other sources say that after the capture of Troy, Agamemnon with great booty and Cassandra returns to his homeland, where death awaits him.
Patroclus is a companion of Achilles. Although he is one of Elena's suitors, his participation in the war is more due to his friendship with Achilles. When Achilles withdrew from the fighting and the position of the Greeks became critical, Patroclus persuaded Achilles to allow him to fight. Dressed in the armor of his friend, on his chariot harnessed by immortal horses, Patroclus put the Trojans to flight and defeated over 20 Trojan warriors, including the famous hero Sarpedon. Fascinated by the battle, Patroclus forgot the covenant of Achilles, who ordered him to return as soon as the enemy was pushed back from the Achaean camp. Patroclus pursued the Trojans to the very walls of Troy and died there at the hands of Hector, who was helped by Apollo. In the ensuing battle over the murdered Patroclus, Hector managed to remove the armor from him, while the Achaeans, led by Menelaus and Ajax, recaptured the body of Patroclus and carried it to the camp. Here Achilles arranged a solemn funeral for Patroclus: over the funeral pyre, 12 captive Trojan youths were sacrificed to the hero.
Menelaus - brother of Agamemnon, Spartan king, husband of Helen. Menelaus and Helen lived peacefully for about ten years, after which Helen was kidnapped by the Trojan prince Paris. Then Menelaus gathered all the former suitors of Elena, who swore an oath to protect her honor, and went on a campaign. In single combat with Paris, Menelaus clearly prevails, and only the intervention of the goddess Aphrodite saves Paris. Soon Menelaus was wounded by Pandarus with an arrow. Once again, Menelaus shows valor, defending the body of the murdered Patroclus from the Trojans. Menelaus is one of the Greek soldiers hiding in a wooden horse, and on the night of the fall of Troy, he killed the Trojan prince Deiphobes, who became Helen's husband after the death of Paris.
Helen is the wife of Menelaus, the Spartan queen, the most beautiful of women. Her father is Zeus and her mother is Nemesis. The rumor about Elena's beauty spreads so widely throughout Greece that the heroes of all Hellas are going to woo the girl. Menelaus is chosen as husband. But Paris kidnaps Helen and flees with her to Troy, taking with her great treasures and many slaves. Elena in the Iliad is clearly burdened by her position; on the night of the capture of Troy, Elena's sympathy is on the side of the Greeks. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus wanted to kill her, but at the sight of his wife, he releases the sword from his hands and forgives her. The Achaean army, already ready to stone Elena, upon seeing her, abandons this thought.
Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, the son of Laertes and Anticlea, an intelligent, cunning, dexterous and practical hero. Thanks to his invention - a wooden horse - Troy died. He is the bearer of practical intelligence, tireless energy, a far-sighted ability to navigate in difficult circumstances, the ability to speak eloquently and convincingly, the art of dealing with people. Odysseus wins not only with weapons, but with words and mind. He goes with Diomedes to the Trojan camp. Odysseus beats and makes a mockery of Thersites, who seduces the soldiers, and then delivers an inspirational speech that arouses the fighting fervor of the troops. He goes as an ambassador to Achilles, speaks in council, and words pour from his lips like a snow blizzard, so that no mortal can compete with him. Odysseus is "glorious with a spear", "great in soul and heart." In archery, he is surpassed only by Philoctetes. His "perfection" is emphasized. However, he himself admits to King Alkinos that he is famous for cunning inventions among people. Athena confirms that it is difficult even for a god to compete with Odysseus in cunning, fabrication and deceit. The Odyssey is dedicated to the return of Odysseus to his homeland.
Ajaxes are two warriors in the army of the Achaeans. In battle, they are often side by side. Ajax Oilid, king of Locris, is a skilled javelin thrower and an excellent runner. During the capture of Troy, he committed violence against Cassandra at the altar of Athena and attracted the disfavor of the gods and the wrath of the troops, his ship crashed, returning from Troy, and Ajax died. Ajax Telamonides is the cousin of Achilles, a valiant warrior of great stature and powerful physique. He throws a huge stone at Hector and pierces the enemy's shield with it. The Trojans scatter in fear before him. When Patroclus is killed, Ajax helps carry his body from the battlefield. He also protects the body of the slain Achilles and claims to inherit his armor. When Odysseus gets the armor, the offended Ajax tries to kill the Achaean leaders at night, but Athena sends madness on him. When Ajax regains his sanity, he commits suicide.
Hector is the son of Priam and Hecuba, the main participant in the war on the side of the Trojans. He leads the fighting, himself distinguished by strength and heroism. Twice fights Ajax Telamonides. Under the leadership of Hector, the Trojans break into the fortified camp of the Achaeans, approach the Achaean ships and manage to set fire to one of them. Hector also manages to defeat Patroclus in front of the very gates of Troy and remove the armor of Achilles from him. After Achilles enters the battle, Hector, despite the entreaties of his parents, remains with him in the field alone and dies in a duel at the Scaean Gate, predicting the imminent death of Achilles himself. Achilles, obsessed with a thirst for revenge for Patroclus, ties Hector's body to a chariot and circles around Troy, dragging the corpse of a slain enemy. But the dead Achilles is protected by the god Apollo, and birds and animals do not touch him. The gods force Achilles to hand over the body of Hector to his father Priam, who arranges a magnificent funeral.
Paris is the son of Priam and Hecuba. According to the prediction, he was to be the culprit in the death of Troy, and his parents threw him on Mount Ida to be eaten by animals. But the child survived and was raised by a shepherd. The goddess Aphrodite awarded him to become the owner of the most beautiful woman. Paris returned to Troy, where he was recognized by his sister, the prophetess Cassandra, and recognized by his parents. He again went to Greece, visited King Menelaus and became the culprit of the Trojan War, kidnapping the wife of the king Helen. During the fighting, Paris died from the arrow of Philoctetes.
There are many other significant characters in the Iliad who appear in episodes or throughout the entire action: Diomedes, Aeneas, Pandarus, Andromache. In addition, events unfold in parallel on Olympus, among the gods: Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hera and others take part in the action.
The plots of the famous works "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are taken from the general collection of epic tales about the Trojan War. And each of these two poems is a small sketch from a larger cycle. The main element in which the characters of the Iliad operate is war, which is depicted not as a clash of the masses, but as the actions of individual characters.
Achilles
The main character of the Iliad is Achilles, a young hero, the son of Peleus and the goddess of the sea, Thetis. The word "Achilles" is translated as "swift, like a god." Achilles is the central character of the work. He has a solid and noble character, which personifies real valor, as the Greeks then understood it. For Achilles, there is nothing higher than duty and honor. He is ready to avenge his friend's death by sacrificing his own life. At the same time, duplicity and cunning are alien to Achilles. Despite his honesty and sincerity, he acts as an impatient and very short-tempered hero. He is sensitive in matters of honor - despite the serious consequences for the troops, he refuses to continue the battle because of the offense inflicted on him. In the life of Achilles, the dictates of heaven and the passions of his own being coincide. The hero dreams of glory, and for this he also turns out to be ready to sacrifice his own life.
Confrontation in the soul of the protagonist
Achilles, the protagonist of the Iliad, is accustomed to command and control, as he is aware of his strength. He is ready to destroy Agamemnon in place, who dared to offend him. And Achilles' anger manifests itself in many different forms. When he takes revenge on his enemies for Patroclus, he turns into a real demon-destroyer. Having filled up the entire bank of the river with the corpses of enemies, Achilles enters into a fight with the very god of this river. However, it is very interesting to watch how Achilles' heart softens when he sees a father asking for the body of his son. The old man reminds him of his own father, and the cruel warrior relents. Achilles also yearns bitterly for his friend, weeps at his mother. In the heart of Achilles nobility and the desire for revenge are fighting.
Hector
Continuing to characterize the main characters of Homer's Iliad, it is worth dwelling in particular detail on the figure of Hector. The courage and courage of this hero are the result of the goodwill prevailing in his mind. He knows the feeling of fear, like any other warrior. However, despite this, Hector learned to show courage in battles, to overcome cowardice. He leaves his parents, son and wife with sadness in his heart, as he is faithful to his duty - to protect the city of Troy.
Hector is deprived of the help of the gods, so he is forced to give his own life for his city. He is also depicted as human - not once does he reproach Elena, he forgives his brother. Hector does not hate them, despite the fact that they were the perpetrators of the outbreak of the Trojan War. In the words of the hero there is no disdain for other people, he does not express his superiority. The main difference between Hector and Achilles is humanity. This quality is opposed to the excessive aggressiveness of the protagonist of the poem.
Achilles and Hector: comparison
A frequent task is also a comparative description of the main characters of the Iliad - Achilles and Hector. Homer gives the son of Priam more positive, human features than the main character. Hector knows what social responsibility is. He does not put his experiences above the lives of other people. In contrast to him, Achilles is a true personification of individualism. He raises his conflict with Agamemnon to a truly cosmic scale. In Hector, the reader does not observe the bloodthirstiness that is inherent in Achilles. He is an opponent of war, he understands what a terrible disaster it is for people. The whole disgusting and terrible side of the war is clear to Hector. It is this hero who proposes not to fight with whole troops, but to put up individual representatives from each side.
Gods help Hector - Apollo and Artemis. However, he is very different from Achilles, who is the son of the goddess Thetis. Achilles is not affected by weapons, his only weak point is his heel. In fact, he is a half-demon. Going to battle, he puts on the armor of Hephaestus himself. And Hector is a simple man who faces a terrible test. He realizes that he can only answer the challenge, because the goddess Athena helps his enemy. characters are very different. The Iliad begins with the name of Achilles, and ends with the name of Hector.
Element of heroes
The description of the main characters of the poem "Iliad" by Homer would be incomplete without a description of the environment in which the action of the poem takes place. As has already been pointed out, such an environment is war. In many places of the poem, the exploits of individual characters are mentioned: Menelaus, Diomedes. However, the most significant feat is still the victory of Achilles over his opponent Hector.
Also, the warrior wants to know exactly who he is dealing with. In some cases, the confrontation stops for a while, and in order to ensure the freedom of the soldiers, as well as the non-interference of outsiders, the truce is consecrated by sacrifices. Homer, who lived in an atmosphere of war and constant murder, expressively depicts the agony of the dying. The cruelty of the victors is no less vividly depicted in the poem.
Menelaus and Agamemnon
One of the main characters of the Iliad is the Mycenaean and Spartan ruler Menelaus. Homer portrays both as not the most attractive characters - both do not miss the opportunity to abuse their position, especially Agamemnon. It was his selfishness that caused the death of Achilles. And the interest of Menelaus in the attack was the reason that the war broke out.
Menelaus, for whom the Achaeans advocate in battles, was to take the place of the Mycenaean ruler. However, he turns out to be unsuitable for this role, and this place turns out to be occupied by Agamemnon. Fighting with Paris, he gives vent to his anger, which he has accumulated against his offender. However, as a warrior, he is significantly inferior to other heroes of the poem. His actions are significant only in the process of saving the body of Patroclus.
Other heroes
One of the most charming protagonists of the Iliad is the elder Nestor, who likes to constantly remember the years of his youth, to give his instructions to young soldiers. Also attractive is Ajax, who surpasses everyone with his courage and strength, excluding Achilles. Admirable and Patroclus, the closest friend of Achilles, who was brought up with him under the same roof. Performing his exploits, he was too carried away by the dream of capturing Troy and died from the merciless hand of Hector.
The elderly Trojan ruler named Priam is not the main character of Homer's Iliad, but he has attractive features. He is a true patriarch who is surrounded by a large family. Having grown old, Priam cedes the right to command the army to his son, Hector. On behalf of all his people, the elder brings sacrifices to the gods. Priam is distinguished by such character traits as gentleness, courtesy. He even treats Elena, whom everyone hates, well. However, the old man is haunted by misfortune. All his sons die in battles at the hands of Achilles.
Andromache
The main characters of the poem "Iliad" are warriors, but in the work you can also find many female images. This is named Andromache, his mother Hecuba, as well as Helen and the captive Briseis. For the first time, the reader meets Andromache in the sixth canto, which tells of her meeting with her husband, who returned from the battlefield. Already at that moment, she intuitively anticipates the death of Hector and persuades him not to leave the city. But Hector does not heed her words.
Andromache is a faithful and loving wife who is forced to live in constant anxiety for her husband. The fate of this woman is filled with tragedy. When her home city of Thebes was devastated, Andromache's mother and brothers were killed by enemies. After this event, her mother also dies, Andromache is left alone. Now the whole meaning of her existence is in her beloved husband. After she says goodbye to him, she mourns with the maids, as already dead. After this, Andromache is not found on the pages of the poem until the death of the hero. Sorrow is the main mood of the heroine. She foresees her bitter fate in advance. When Andromache hears screams on the wall and runs to find out what happened, she sees: Achilles is dragging the body of Hector along the ground. She falls unconscious.
Heroes of the Odyssey
A common question that students are asked in literature lessons is to name the main characters of the Iliad and the Odyssey. The poem "The Odyssey", along with the "Iliad", is considered to be the most important monument of the entire era of the transition from the communal-clan to the slave-owning system.
The Odyssey describes even more mythological creatures than the Iliad. Gods, people, fabulous creatures - Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are full of various characters. The main characters of the works are both people and gods. Moreover, the gods take an active part in the lives of mere mortals, helping them or taking away their power. The protagonist of the Odyssey is the Greek king Odysseus, who returns home after the battle. Among other characters, his patroness, the goddess of wisdom Athena, stands out. The sea god Poseidon opposes the main character. An important figure is the faithful Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.
Menelaus (Greek Μενέλαος) is the legendary hero of the Homeric epic Iliad, Helen's husband. Menelaus was the son of Atreus (according to Plisfen) and Aeropa, the younger brother of Agamemnon.
Menelaus and Agamemnon, expelled by Fiesta, fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, Elena, Menelaus married, inheriting the throne of his father-in-law. They had a daughter, Hermione. During the abduction of Helen, Menelaus was visiting Crete.
Trojan War
When Paris took Helen away, Menelaus and Odysseus went to Ilion (Troy) and demanded the extradition of the kidnapped wife, but to no avail.
Returning home, Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself put up 60 ships, recruiting soldiers in Lacedaemon, Amykla and other cities. Gathering an army, he planted a plane tree near Mount Kafiy in Arcadia. According to the Iliad, he killed 7 named Trojans. Killed 8 warriors in total. Killed Euphorbus, the shield he took from Euphorbus, he later dedicated to the temple of Hera near Mycenae.
Before Ilion, Menelaus, having the help of Hera and Athena, showed himself to be a valiant warrior and a reasonable adviser. When Paris announced a challenge to single combat, Menelaus gladly agreed and rushed at the enemy so fiercely that the latter was frightened and began to retreat. Hector shamed Paris, and the single combat took place: Menelaus grabbed Paris by the helmet and dragged him to the Achaean squads, but Aphrodite saved her favorite. The victorious side began to demand the extradition of Helen and the treasures taken with her, but Pandarus, who stepped out of the ranks of the Trojans, wounded Menelaus and thereby eliminated the possibility of a truce. Later, Menelaus is called to single combat with Hector, but at the request of his friends he leaves this dangerous plan; in the same way Antilochus kept him from competing with Aeneas. When Patroclus fell, Menelaus was among those who protected the body of the slain hero. In the funerary games according to Patroclus, he won the javelin throw. In the Achilles games, he won the chariot race.
When the wooden horse was built, Menelaus, along with others, was brought into the city of Troy and was one of the first to start a decisive battle in the streets of Troy, which led to the fall of the latter. Depicted in a painting by Polygnotus at Delphi among the participants in the capture of Troy with a dragon on a shield.
Return to Greece
After the capture of Troy, Athena caused a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus. On the way back, he got into a storm, moored at Cape Sunia, then to Crete, wandered through Libya, Phenicia, Cyprus, and arrived in Egypt with only 5 ships. After wandering for 8 years in the East, he was detained for some time on the island of Pharos and suffered hunger until, on the advice of Idothea, her father Proteus helped him sail home. Stories about the stay of Menelaus in Libya are associated with the Cyrenian colonization. The name of Menelaus bore the harbor at Ardanida (Cyrenaica). According to another version, Menelaus in Egypt married the royal daughter, according to him, the Egyptians wrote down the history of the Trojan War on the steles.
Returning to his homeland, he lived with Elena in Lacedaemon, and after his death was transferred to Elysium. Telemachus visits Menelaus and Helen in Sparta. Hera made him immortal and he arrived at the Elysian Fields with Helen. His house was shown in Sparta. The graves of Menelaus and Helen were shown in Ferapna, where his sanctuary was located and took place in honor of his game. In relation to Agamemnon, he considered himself a subordinate, recognizing his supreme power in everything.
The protagonist in the tragedies of Sophocles "Eant", Euripides "Iphigenia in Aulis", "Troyanki", "Helen", "Orest", "Andromache", the comedy of Alexis "Menelaus". Among the Spartans, the name Menelaus does not occur.
Menelaus and Agamemnon were forced to flee from Mycenae. They found shelter in Sparta with King Tyndareus, who married Agamemnon Clytemestra and helped him regain the royal throne in Mycenae (Tzetz., Chil. I 456-465). Menelaus, chosen from several dozen of the most noble heroes of all Hellas to be the wife of Helen (whose earthly father was Tyndareus, and heavenly Zeus), Tyndareus soon ceded royal power in Sparta. The serene life of Menelaus with Helen lasted about ten years; their daughter Hermione was nine years old when the Trojan prince Paris appeared in Sparta. Menelaus at this time went to Crete to participate in the funeral of his maternal grandfather Katreya. Upon learning of the abduction of his wife and treasures by Paris, Menelaus called for the help of all her former suitors, bound by a joint oath to protect the honor of her husband, and he himself put up a militia on 60 ships. Before the outbreak of hostilities, Menelaus, along with Odysseus, went as ambassadors to Troy, trying to resolve the conflict peacefully, but Paris and his supporters refused to return Helen and the treasure, and war became inevitable. In single combat with Paris, Menelaus clearly prevails, and only the intervention of the goddess Aphrodite saves the rival Menelaus. Soon Menelaus was wounded by Pandarus with an arrow from a bow. Once again, Menelaus shows valor, defending the body of the murdered Patroclus from the Trojans; known sculptural group of the 2nd century. BC e., depicting Menelaus with the corpse of Patroclus, also represented by a large number of later copies). Menelaus was one of the Greek warriors who took refuge in wooden horse , and on the night of the fall of Troy, he killed the Trojan prince Deiphobes, who became Helen's husband after the death of Paris. Immediately after the victory over Troy, Menelaus, together with Helen returned to him, sailed to his homeland, but already off the coast of the Peloponnese he fell into a terrible storm, which threw him to the shores of Crete. During his eight-year wanderings, Menelaus ends up in Cyprus, Phenicia and Egypt, where he acquires great treasures. The last episode of the wanderings of Menelaus is connected with the island of Pharos at the mouth of the Nile: from the sea elder Proteus, with the help of his daughter Eidothea, Menelaus receives a prediction about his future and about ways to return to his homeland. Another version of the myth connects Menelaus with Egypt, according to which only the ghost of Helen was in Troy, but she herself, by the will of Zeus, was transferred to the banks of the Nile and was waiting for her husband here in the possession of Proteus. The last stage of the return of Menelaus to Sparta after an absence of eighteen years, according to epic tradition, proceeded without complications. Warned by Proteus about the murder of Aegisthus by Agamemnon, Menelaus is in a hurry to take revenge on Aegisthus, but he is ahead of Agamemnon's son Orestes, who killed Aegisthus and Clytemestra, Menelaus only has time for their funeral. After many years of quiet life with Helen, upon his return to Sparta, Menelaus, as the son-in-law of Zeus, was awarded a settlement on the Champs Elysees, where the ancient tradition placed the legendary heroes of the past. Later authors give the names of several sons of Menelaus, born to him in the absence of Helen by concubines; one of them (Megapenth) is associated with a variant of the legend about the expulsion of Helen from Sparta after Menelaus was transferred to the monastery of the blessed. Unlike the image of Helen, which goes back to the most ancient plant deity, the image of Menelaus is the fruit of a heroic tale, perhaps based on some historical memories of the Mycenaean era. According to legend, in Arcadia there was an old plane tree planted by Menelaus when he was gathering an army for a campaign near Troy (the Arcadians put up, according to the Homeric catalog, a militia for 60 ships. Note. II. II 603-614). In Sparta, they showed the house in which Menelaus and Helen once lived (Paus. Ill 14, 6); apparently, near him in historical times, the girls' choir performed the ritual epithalamus of Elena, like the poet of the 3rd century attested in the 18th idyll. BC e. Theocritus.
Plan:
- Introduction
- 1 Trojan War
- 2 Return to Greece Sources
Introduction
Menelaus(gr. Μενέλαος ) - the legendary hero of the Homeric epic "Iliad", the husband of Elena. Menelaus was the son of Atreus (according to Plisfen) and Aeropa, the younger brother of Agamemnon.
Menelaus and Agamemnon, expelled by Fiesta, fled from Mycenae to Sparta, to Tyndareus, whose daughter, Elena, Menelaus married, inheriting the throne of his father-in-law. They had a daughter, Hermione. At the time of Helen's abduction, Menelaus was visiting Crete.
1. Trojan War
When Paris took Helen away, Menelaus and Odysseus went to Ilion (Troy) and demanded the extradition of the kidnapped wife, but to no avail.
Returning home, Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself put up 60 ships, recruiting soldiers in Lacedaemon, Amykla and other cities. Gathering an army, he planted a plane tree near Mount Kafiy in Arcadia. According to the Iliad, he killed 7 named Trojans. Killed 8 warriors in total. Killed Euphorbus, the shield he took from Euphorbus, he later dedicated to the temple of Hera near Mycenae.
Before Ilion, Menelaus, having the help of Hera and Athena, showed himself to be a valiant warrior and a reasonable adviser. When Paris announced a challenge to single combat, Menelaus gladly agreed and rushed at the enemy so fiercely that the latter was frightened and began to retreat. Hector shamed Paris, and the single combat took place: Menelaus grabbed Paris by the helmet and dragged him to the Achaean squads, but Aphrodite saved her favorite. The victorious side began to demand the extradition of Helen and the treasures taken with her, but Pandarus, who stepped out of the ranks of the Trojans, wounded Menelaus and thereby eliminated the possibility of a truce. Later, Menelaus is called to single combat with Hector, but at the request of his friends he leaves this dangerous plan; in the same way Antilochus kept him from competing with Aeneas. When Patroclus fell, Menelaus was among those who protected the body of the slain hero. In the funerary games, Patroclus won in the javelin throw. In the games, Achilles won the chariot race.
When the wooden horse was built, Menelaus, along with others, was brought into the city of Troy and was one of the first to start a decisive battle in the streets of Troy, which led to the fall of the latter. Depicted in a painting by Polygnotus at Delphi among the participants in the capture of Troy with a dragon on a shield.
2. Return to Greece
"Menelaus with the body of Patroclus" (Loggia Lanzi, 1st century AD)
After taking Troy, Athena caused a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus. On the way back, he got into a storm, moored at Cape Sunia, then to Crete, wandered through Libya, Phenicia, Cyprus, and arrived in Egypt with only 5 ships. After wandering for 8 years in the East, he was detained for some time on the island of Pharos and suffered hunger until, on the advice of Idothea, her father Proteus helped him sail home. Stories about the stay of Menelaus in Libya are associated with the Cyrenian colonization. The harbor at Ardanida (Cyrenaica) bore the name of Menelaus. According to another version, Menelaus in Egypt married the royal daughter, according to him, the Egyptians wrote down the history of the Trojan War on the steles.
Returning to his homeland, he lived with Elena in Lacedaemon, and after his death was transferred to Elysium. Telemachus visits Menelaus and Helen in Sparta. Hera made him immortal and he arrived at the Elysian Fields with Helen. His house was shown in Sparta. The graves of Menelaus and Helen were shown in Ferapna, where his sanctuary was located and took place in honor of his game. In relation to Agamemnon, he considered himself a subordinate, recognizing his supreme power in everything.
The protagonist in the tragedies of Sophocles "Eant", Euripides "Iphigenia in Aulis", "Troyanki", "Helen", "Orest", "Andromache", the comedy of Alexis "Menelaus". Among the Spartans, the name Menelaus does not occur.
Sources
- Myths of the peoples of the world. M., 1991-92. In 2 vols. T.2. P.138-139, Lubker F. Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. M., 2001. In 3 volumes. T.2. pp.379-380
- Hygin. Myths 81
- Pseudo Apollodorus. Mythological Library III 2, 2 next
- Tsets. Before Homer 99-101 // Losev A.F. Mythology of the Greeks and Romans. M., 1996. P.156
- Homer. Iliad II 587; Pseudo Apollodorus. Mythological Library E III 12; Hygin. Myths 97
- Pausanias. Description of Hellas VIII 23, 4
- Hygin. Myths 114
- Hygin. Myths 112
- Ovid. Metamorphoses XV 164; Pausanias. Description of Hellas II 17, 3, see comments: and in other temples
- Hygin. Myths 273
- Quint Smirnsky. After Homer IV 610-615
- Hygin. Myths 108; Quint Smirnsky. After Homer XII 338; Trifiodor. Capture of Ilion 163; Virgil. Aeneid II 264
- Pausanias. Description of Hellas X 26, 3
- Hegius of Trezensky. Returns, synopsis
- Pseudo Apollodorus. Mythological Library E VI 1; VI 29
- Malkin I. Myth and territory in the Spartan Mediterranean. Cambridge U.P. 2003. P.56
- Herodotus. History IV 169; Strabo. Geography I 2, 32 (p. 40)
- Dion. Trojan speech 38, 135
- Homer. Odyssey IV
- Pausanias. Description of Hellas III 14, 6
- Pausanias. Description of Hellas III 19, 9
- Malkin I. Myth and territory in the Spartan Mediterranean. Cambridge U.P. 2003. P.46
When writing this article, material from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907) was used.
- Theorem of Menelaus
This abstract is based on
