One of the big questions that we came up with towards the beginning of our study of the meanings and myths of war was the question regarding what were the causes of war. In The Iliad, Homer establishes that the war is a result of a selfish decisions made by one man. This man, Paris, chose to bring Helen back to Troy for his own pleasure. While we do not know for sure whether Helen was forced to go to Troy or whether she went by choice, it was very selfish for Paris to even consider sneaking off with the wife of a married man. Paris must have known what the consequences of his actions would be; yet he decides that his heart and bring a woman he just met back to Troy. Paris decides that this woman is more worthy than the lives of his own people because he knew that one of the consequences of his actions could lead to the death of some of his people. Because of this decision, which was clearly not well thought out, the Trojan army ends up having to fight the Achaean army.
While on the surface this is just a simple answer to how the war itself started, it also leads to the question of what the conflicts following the initiation of the war are. The conflicts following the initiation of the war, other than the obvious conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans, are usually revolved around one person against another or others. Because of Paris’ decision to bring Helen back to Troy, he is the one faced with the majority of the conflicts. One of the conflicts that Paris is faced with is between himself and the entire Trojan community. The Trojan community feels hatred and resentment towards Paris because they feel he is causing an unnecessary war for the Trojans to fight. Because of these feeling established by the Trojans, it leads to the question of whether the cause of this war is “sufficient” enough for the loss of Trojan lives. It also brings into question whether the war itself is just. Another conflict Paris faced was that with the man he took Helen away from, Menelaus. Menelaus was so furious once he hears that his wife had run away that he went to his brother, Agamemnon, for help. Together they decided to go to Troy and fight, for the conquest of Troy and to win back Helen. Finally, there was a conflict between Paris and his own brother, Hector. Hector feels that Paris should take responsibility for his actions and fight Menelaus when given the opportunity. However, Paris gets afraid and Hector has to insult Paris until he agrees to fight. Paris and Menelaus end up dueling to try and resolve the conflict. During the duel Paris runs away to his room inside the palace out of cowardice. Paris was forced into the situation where he had to fight Menelaus because of the decisions he made. All of these conflicts involving Paris are a direct result due to his immature and selfish decision to bring Helen back to Troy.
14 comments:
Do you think Paris knew it would be a nine-year war? Clearly he knew there would be consequences, but that's a bit much to predict.
i have a lot of trouble with Paris' character. On the one hand, i can't help feeling sorry for him--he didn't exactly volunteer for making the decision of which goddess was the fairest. Zeus thrust that upon him. But he's not exactly trying to save his skin very much, or if he is, he's doing a rotten job of it.
I agree with the fact that Paris could have had no idea that the conflict would not be resolved for nine years, but what I was trying to get across was that the consequences of his actions were extremely detrimental to his people. And the fact that he must have known that he would only hurt his people by choosing to bring Helen back to Troy.
As far as the perception of Paris' character goes, I believe that many people will have different views on his actions throughout The Iliad.
Your arguments concerning how Paris' choice to take Helen was the cause of the Trojan war are well thought out. But I disagree with you that it was the basic cause of the war and see it more as a "trigger" for the war. The Trojans and the Achaens already had a "bad blood" relationship that was just waiting to be triggered by something, such as Paris taking Helen back to Troy. I also agree with you that Paris should not have acted with such cowardice and immaturity as he should have known that taking the wife of a powerful enemy would inevitably caused a war. He should have atleast a little bit of intelligene and forsight before even attempting to take Helen.
After reviewing my own post, I agree with Will that the fight over Helen is a "trigger," but it can still also act as a cause of the war. Although it seems like the Trojans and Acheans would fight for some reason eventually, Paris taking Helen is the trigger, but also gives purpose and cause to some leaders in this war. That purpose lends itself to the warriors that fight for these leaders.
I think Paris is so blinded by love he does not face any conflict. Yes all the circumstances you mention involve Paris, but quite frankly, I don't think Paris cares all that much. I think because of his wrongful decision, Paris makes others take the fall and face conflict, like his brother Hector and Menelaus.
This is ironic... in war, we discussed, that soldiers often make ruthless decisions, they are often unethical, and unbefitting to the enemy or ally. Soldiers must take any measure to stay alive. In this case, Paris's drive is his greed. He has a warfare mentality over a woman and in turn it has created a bigger war and a monster out of Paris. Paris's only conflict is with himself.
That's the power of love, ladies and gentlemen.
I agree with Will's statement that Paris' choice to take Helen was not the cause of the Trojan war but in fact it was the "trigger" for the war.
I also like Scott's point that Paris is so blinded by love that he actually does not face any (or many) conflicts. I believe that if you feel that Paris is not involved in many conflicts then Scott's idea of having other characters play out the conflicts for him is right on track with what actually happens.
I don't blame Paris for starting the war, because I don't think Helen was that important. We have all grown up hearing the story that Helen was the face that launched a thousand ships, but after reading the Iliad I do not buy it. If you refer to the blog written by Tess, you will get a good idea of a woman's role during this time period. A woman was simply an object and I don' think such a large war would transpire because of a woman. The Trojan War was an inevitable battle, and Helen was just a good rallying ploy to inspire the men. Help rescue a stolen woman.
I happen to think that the "blinded by love theory" is a little cheesy. Maybe I'm insensitive or maybe I have yet to feel that burning passion that changes the very essence of my being, but I think Paris knows what he's doing is wrong, and at this point, it is not love that is stopping him from giving Helen back, but rather it is ego. Essentially, Paris is driven by what most men in this story are, ego.
I agree that Paris taking Helen is only a trigger, but I have to ask, why do we care so much? Paris demands no respect from the audience. At times, he is even pathetic, constantly being overshadowed by the leadership and audacity of Hector. As a character, I feel sorry for Paris.
I agree with Will. I think the fact the action of Paris taking Helen only made the inevitable happen sooner. The war was inevitable as the explosive ego and greed of Agamemnon was the driving force behind the invasion. The war is more about the desire to control the entire world. If Agamemnon could take Troy, then what could possibly defeat him.
I agree that Paris must have known that there would be consequences for his actions, but that just reflects the type of person Paris is. While it was Paris' bad actions that directly caused the start of the war, I do not completley blame him for the continuation of the war. The kidnapping of Helen was just an excuse for the Achaeans to go to war, so giving Helen back would not alleviate anything.
Personally i believe more than anything it is the ego of Agamemnon that inflames this war.
I agree with Brad and Will. The war was eventually going to happen and this was an excuse to wage war. If you were to break down Agamemnon as a character you would see that he is a very power hungry man. With the conquering of each little city or town built his overall empire and thus making his empire bigger as well as his ego. Troy was a place of riches and profits. Troy was a huge trading post in the Aegean Sea and if Agamemnon could control Troy his limitations would be endless as a tyrant.
I know Paris was selfish but don't forget about Agamemnon...
I agree with pretty much all of the people who posted comments, I think Paris is like an immature kid who is still learning. He did not know that his little theft would cause a war.
Later on in the novel Helen doesn't really stay the main factor in the war. She was a cause but later her recovery isn't the goal. The Aegean's goal is to take down Troy.
I slightly disagree with Sean. War is inevitable, but that specific war does not seem like it HAD to happen. Agamemnon certainly would have died before any war between the Trojans and the Aegeans if it were inevitable. Someone else on either side would eventually wage the war due to territory and economic gain.
I think a lot of your first paragraph is a big assumption. 1. How do you know that Meneleus was not beating Helen and treating her poorly. If so, wasn't Paris rescuing rather noble? 2. Who would have ever expected that running off with another man's wife would cause a nine-year war? Of course hindsight is always 20/20, but seriously, who could have seen that coming? I know that what Paris did may not have been the most ethical thing to do, but it is hard to make accusations when you do not know the facts.
Paris may have known that there would be consequences for his actions, but I don't think there was any way he could have known that taking a man's wife would spark a war between the Archeans and the Trojans. However, I do agree that his actions were based purely out of selfishness. This is also another example of a topic that we have talked a lot about: ego. Paris has a big enough ego that he believes he deserves to assert his power over Menelaus by taking his wife. Menelaus feels his pride being insulted and he retaliates.
I definitely agree with you in that Paris wasn't thinking too much about how his actions would affect those around him. I'm sure he didn't really expect such a large war to be triggered by taking someone's wife but then again I'm sure he really didn't care enough about Troy when he did so. It seems as though he isn't a good leader whatsoever, the only person leading the Trojans well is Hector
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