Overview of the Children of Helen of Troy

In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful (mortal) woman in the world, the Face That Launched a Thousand Ships. But what was it like having her as a mother? Was she a Mommie Dearest nightmare or a doting dame†¦or somewhere in between? Hermione the Heartbreaker Helen’s most famous child is her daughter, Hermione, whom she had with her first husband, Menelaus of Sparta. Her mother abandoned little Hermy to run off with the Trojan Prince Paris; as Euripides tells us in his tragedy Orestes: She was â€Å"the little daughter she had left behind when she sailed off with Paris to Troy.† Orestes, Helen’s nephew, says that, while Helen was â€Å"away† and Menelaus was chasing her down, Hermione’s aunt Clytemnestra (Helen’s half-sister) raised the little girl. But Hermione was fully-grown by the time Telemachus paid Menelaus a visit in the Odyssey. As Homer recounts, â€Å"He was sending Hermione as bride to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, that breaker of ranks of men, for he had promised her to him, and sworn an oath at Troy, and now the gods brought it about.† The Spartan princess was quite the looker, just like her mom—Homer claims her â€Å"beauty was golden Aphrodite’s†Ã¢â‚¬â€but that marriage didn’t last. Other sources have different accounts of Hermione’s marriage. In Orestes, she’s promised to Neoptolemus, but Apollo proclaims that her cousin Orestes—who holds her hostage for her father’s good behavior in the play—will wed her. Apollo tells Orestes, â€Å"Furthermore, Orestes, your Fate declares that you will marry the woman at whose throat you are holding your sword. Neoptolemus, who thinks that he will marry her, will not do so.† Why is that? Because Apollo prophesies Neoptolemus will kick the bucket at the god’s sanctuary of Delphi when the young man goes to ask for â€Å"satisfaction for the death of Achilles, his father.† Hermione the Home-Wrecker? In another of his plays, Andromache, Hermione has become a shrew, at least as it related to how she treated Andromache. That woman was the widow of the Trojan hero Hector, enslaved after the war and forcibly â€Å"given† to Neoptolemus as his concubine. In the tragedy, Andromache complains, â€Å"My lord abandoned my bed, the bed of a slave, and married the Spartan Hermione, who now torments me with her cruel abuse.† Why did the wife hate her hubby’s slave? Hermione accuses Andromache â€Å"of using drugs of magic powers against her, of making her barren and of making her husband despise her.† Andromache adds, â€Å"She says I’m trying to force her out of the palace so that I can take over as its rightful mistress.† Then, Hermione proceeds to mock Andromache, dubbing her a barbarian and making fun of her plight as her husband’s slave, cruelly quipping, â€Å"And so, I can speak to you all as a free woman, indebted to no one!† Andromache fires back that Hermione was as much of a shrew as her mom: â€Å"Wise children must avoid the habits of their evil mothers!† In the end, Hermione regrets her heinous words against Andromache and her sacrilegious plots to pull the Trojan widow from the sanctuary of Thetis (Neoptolemus’s divine grandmother), violating the right of sanctuary Andromache had invoked by clinging to Thetis’s statue. An undercover Orestes arrives on the scene, and Hermione, fearful of her hubby’s retribution, pleads with him to help her get away from her husband, whom she thinks will punish her for plotting to kill Andromache and her kid by Neoptolemus.   Hermione beseeches her cousin, â€Å"I beg you, Orestes, in the name of our mutual father, Zeus, take me away from here!† Orestes agrees, claiming Hermione actually belonged to him because they were engaged before her father promised her to Neoptolemus, but Orestes was in a bad way—having killed his mom and being cursed for it—at the time. At the end of the play, not only does Orestes take Hermione away with him, but he also plots to ambush Neoptolemus at Delphi, where he’ll kill the king and make Hermione his wife. Off-screen, they get married; with hubby number two, Orestes, Hermione had a son named Tisamenus. The kid didn’t have such good luck when it came to being a king; the descendants of Heracles kicked him out of Sparta. Under-the-Radar Rugrats What about Helen’s other children? Some versions of her story feature her abduction at an early age by the Athenian king Theseus, who’d sworn a pact with his BFF Pirithous that each of them would abduct a daughter of Zeus. The poet Stesichorus claims that Theseus’s rape of Helen produced a little girl, Iphigenia, whom Helen gave to her sister to raise to maintain her own virginal image; that was the same girl whom her purported father, Agamemnon, sacrificed to get to Troy. So Helen’s daughter may have been murdered to get her mother back. Most versions of Helen’s tale, though, feature Hermione as Helen’s only child. In the eyes of the heroic Greeks, that would’ve made Helen a failure at her one and only job: producing a male child for her husband. Homer mentions in the Odyssey that Menelaus made his illegitimate son Megapenthes his heir, noting that â€Å"his son [was] the dearly beloved child of a slave, for the gods, gave Helen no more issue, once she had borne that lovely girl Hermione.† But one ancient commentator says that Helen had two kids: â€Å"Hermione and her youngest-born, Nicostratus, a scion of Ares.† Pseudo-Apollodorus confirms, â€Å"Now Menelaus had by Helen a daughter Hermione and, according to some, a son Nicostratus.† A later commentator suggests Helen and Menelaus had another little boy, Pleisthenes, whom she took with her when she fled to Troy, adding that Helen also bore Paris a son named Aganus. Another account mentions that Helen and Paris had three kids—Bunomus, Corythus, and Idaeus—but sadly, these boys died when the roof of the family home in Troy collapsed. R.I.P. Helen’s boys.

Essay research study on gender differences - 1272 Words

Non-verbal communication is defined as communication without words. (Devito, 116) Throughout your interpersonal interactions, your face communicates many things, especially your emotions. (Devito, 125) Women are stereotyped in today’s society as to being more emotional than men in emotional settings. Not in all instances is this true, however, men feel they need to set a strong, domineering, display of their emotions and the way they react towards certain emotional situations. Gender display rules are a set of rules that usually either male or female follow in order to fit their specific gender script in society. It is stated in the textbook that women talk more about feelings and emotions and use communication for emotional expression†¦show more content†¦Each participant was tested on an individual basis in a sound attenuated room. Each student was placed 2 m from an overhead projector, which was used to display slides of flowers and snakes. The different slides wer e shown in blocks of six with pauses in-between each slide of one and eight seconds. (Thunberg amp; Dimberg, 2) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Facial EMG activity was measured bipolary over the Corrugator supercilli muscle region, with Beckman miniature Ag/AgCI electrodes filled with Beckman electrode paste. (Thunberg amp; Dimberg, 2). The researchers measured the muscle activity with a Colburn Hi Gain Amplifier, and the EMG signal was integrated with a Coulbourn Contour Following Integrator. All data that was collected was expressed in microvolts. The participants each had two Beckman Ag/AgCI electrodes attached to the second phalanges of the first and second fingers of the left hand to measure skin conductance. (Thunberg amp; Dimberg, 2) Furthermore, after the students saw each slide they were asked to rate how unpleasant they experienced the picture on a scale from 0 to 9, where 0 was not at all, and 9 was very high. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The EMG showed that males and females differed in their responses to the slides. Females displayed a larger reaction than males to the fear-relevant slides, where the males did not differ between any of the different slides. The results of the participants’ ratings presentedShow MoreRelatedResearch Study on Gender Differences1272 Words   |  6 Pagesemotional situations. Gender display rules are a set of rules that usually either male or female follow in order to fit their specific gender script in society. It is stated in the textbook that women talk more about feelings and emotions and use communication for emotional expression more then men, and because of this females express themselves facially more than men. (Devito, 148) The research article I chose to summarize for part two of the textbook is titled, Gender Difference in Facial ReactionRead MoreWhen separating men and women according to gender, most people would do it based on physical1300 Words   |  6 Pages When separating men and women according to gender, most people would do it based on physical appearance. Would you have ever thought that you can tell whether someone is man or woman according to psyche? Psychological gender differences have had a long history dating back for more than a century. The use psychological research on women began in 1879 which also marks the beginning of formal psychology. Any research done during these years was mostly used to the notion that the white male was supremeRead MorePersonality Traits Of A Personality Trait Essay1504 Words   |  7 Pages NZ Personality Trait Research Gender differences in personality traits A lot of research has been done regarding gender differences in personality traits; which have given observable differences in previous research done on different levels of traits. This study addresses the gender differences in the levels of neuroticism and agreeableness in New Zealand. Results show that there are significant differences between the levels of neuroticism and agreeableness in malesRead MoreGender Differences Within Social Development1747 Words   |  7 PagesThis research paper is set to inform the reader of the gender differences through social development. Depending on a child’s gender, things such as gender identity and social acceptance have a great impact in their development. The first thing parents learned about their children before birth is the sex of the baby. This highlights the importance of sex and gender. Sex differences have long been a very important topic in psychology and in understanding why gender differences affect social developmentRe ad MoreGender Differences Between Psychological Androgyny Masculinity And Femininity Scores1722 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract This study aimed to test the idea that there are gender differences in psychological androgyny masculinity and femininity scores. Two hundred and twenty nine first year undergraduates (175 females and 54 males), completed one questionnaire measuring masculinity and femininity - Bems sex role inventory (BSRI). Results were analysed using independent t-tests, which revealed that males scored higher than females on the masculinity scores, whereas females scored higher compared with males onRead MoreThe Rate Of Ptsd Different Among Men And Women Returning From Iraq And Afghanistan1606 Words   |  7 PagesAnalyzing Dissonance in Similar Research: Is the Rate of PTSD Different Among Men and Women Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a concern for many Americans, especially soldiers. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reports that 11-20% of military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle with PTSD (PTSD: National Center for PTSD). Thankfully, extensive time, effort, and money go into researching the disorder so that psychologists, psychiatristsRead MoreGender: Annotated Bibliography Essay1480 Words   |  6 Pages(2012). Gender Matters: Frminist Linguistic Analysis. London : Equinox. Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in readingRead MoreEssay about Gender differences and autobiographical memories1599 Words   |  7 Pagesthe mundane to the profound, help form the self, they provide personal historical context or personal biography for who we are now: they are in essence a ‘database’ of the self.†(Conway, A and Holmes, E, 2005, p228) There has been research conducted into gender differences within autobiographical memories and although not fully understood it has become an apparent theme, that female participants provide more detailed, richer accounts of experiences relating to their memories. A greater emotional connectionRead MoreGender Differences Between Veterans Diagnosed With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And How It Affects The Genders818 Words   |  4 PagesTopic: Gender Difference In Treatment For PTSD Bernardy, N. C., Lund, B. C., Alexander, B., Jenkyn, A. B., Schnurr, P. P., Friedman, M. J. (2013). Gender differences in prescribing among veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of general internal medicine, 28(2), 542-548. This research focuses on how medications are being prescribed for PTSD and how it affects the genders. Women have an increase occurrence of having depression and anxiety while men are likely to developRead MoreAbortion Is A Controversial Topic1097 Words   |  5 Pagesopinions among citizens concerning abortions can be related to many factors. Some factors that can polarize citizens’ public opinions towards abortion include laws, politics, religion, and gender. Laws have been established in many states to promote or hinder access to abortions. Medoff (2015) designed a study to determine if restrictive state abortion laws influenced unintended birth rates in the United States. The researcher obtained data concerning unintended birth rates in 2006 and compared

The Roman Politician Augustus

Question: The Roman politician Augustus rose from relatively humble origins to be the most influential governmental figure in Roman history. Shortly before his death, he commissioned a lengthy inscription of what he considered to be his accomplishments and ordered it to be placed in strategic areas across the Roman Empire. This text is known as the Res Gestae, The Things Accomplished or, in short, The Deeds. Read the copy of the Res Gestae. Choose one recurring theme in this document that signifies something of which Augustus seems especially proud. Can the Res Gestae be considered wholly a document of historical fact, or did Augustus also intend it to serve as propaganda? Given that he had founded not just a dynasty but an entirely new form of government, why do you think Augustus would have emphasized your chosen theme in his epitaph? Answer: The central theme of Res Gestae is the glorification of the achievements of Augustus with limited mention of the disappointments and limitations. This is quite evident from the mention of a plethora of achievements of Augustus right from the huge army he raised at a tender age of 19 that helped in establishment of peace in the empire. Additionally, he also emphasizes on the amount of wealth that was spent during his rule on enhancing the prestige of Rome(Morley 1999). It is evident that Ras Gestae is an attempt to serve as propaganda rather than serve as a unbiased historical fact narration. The biased nature is captured in the title itself that translates into The Deeds of the Divine Augustus. Further, the text is aimed at not informing the people of the day about Augustus but rather to serve as a propaganda literature for the future generations who should remember Augustus as an influential leader and thus ensure that his legacy continues in the minds of people (Katrina 2012). In o rder to reach a wider audience, there were several copies of the text so as to enhance the overall propaganda and establish the personal prowess of Augustus. This is also evident from the constant mention of the spent funds being personal funds so as to establish his commitment towards Rome along with his wealth and power. This text was not limited to Latin language but was also translated into Greek so as to ensure wider propaganda(Eck 2007). Hence, the emphasis on propaganda limits its usage as a reliable and authentic reference for the period. References Eck, Werner. The Age of Augustus. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. Katrina. "Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 19-21." Ancient History First year Blog. November 12, 2012. https://brizzleancienthistoryfirstyear.blogspot.in/2012/11/res-gestae-divi-augusti-19-21.html (accessed December 26, 2015). Morley, Neville. Writing Ancient History. New York: Cornell University Press, 1999.