The battles and long descriptions of parenthood (thank you, Glaucus and Diomedes) were fun to read this week, but it was only a short dialogue that really caught my attention. I would have overlooked it, had it not reminded me of Alcatraz. Now, hear me out. One of the worst prisons ever to exist (that we know of) is located in San Francisco Bay, and location may seem unimportant at first. Learning about the physical conditions the inmates were forced to endure is enough to break the hearts of someone researching the prison. However, what makes Alcatraz one of the worst prisons ever to exist is that it wasn’t just a physical prison. Inmates could actually see the lights from the city of San Francisco. They could see everything that their lives would never be, and they could not escape.
Aphrodite and Helen are both described (extensively) as beautiful, radiant women, but Aphrodite is a goddess. She’s powerful. Helen knows this, yet still speaks so boldly towards Aphrodite. It made me wonder what sort of anger or frustration could have gripped Helen to the extent that she would challenge a goddess to "...go to him yourself...and be a mortal...until he makes you his wedded wife-that or his slave (page 142).” Once again, Aphrodite is a goddess. She is free, for the most part, to make her own decisions, live her life, and not be treated as property. Helen looks at this woman and sees everything she cannot be. Just like on Alcatraz, she cannot escape.
One final bit of irony to share. “Alcatraz” developed from the island’s original name, “La Isla de los Alcatraces.” It translates from Spanish to “the island of the pelicans,” the island’s first inmates. Unlike the prisoners of Alcatraz and Helen, they could escape the island.
PS I commented on Abbie Hedden and Jackson Riddle's posts.
I loved reading your post! You have such a unique view of the relationship between Aphrodite and Helen. The comparison using Alcatraz was very interesting! Helen was definitely in a prison of jealousy. Aphrodite, her light of San Francisco. I think a further irony is that Homer displayed the gods so humanly. They were suppose to be divine beings, capable of anything. Surely they would not be caught up in such petty disagreements or be "trapped" in a certain station (Hera as Zeus' wife. Aphrodite as his lover). Maybe the goddesses were more like pelicans with clipped wings.
ReplyDeleteBefore I even dive into the wonderful correlations you made in this post, I just wanted to say that your final paragraph was amazing and I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed hearing your take on the unique relationship between Helen and Aphrodite. It never really occurred to me until reading your post just how similar their situations truly are. However, I do find it ironic, that Helen is the one who seems to possess more bravery than her ethereal counterpart. Though Aphrodite is a goddess and therefore immortal, Helen is the firecracker, speaking out against a powerful deity despite being a mere mortal!