Women in Greek Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper briefly looks at the female protagonists in "The Iliad" and "The Aeneid" and compares how they are perceived as woman and as individuals. It shows how, in Homer's epic, women such as Briseis and Chryseis are shown to be little more than trophies of war for the male heroes Achilles and Agamemnon. It also discusses how, like Homer's Helen, Dido "The Aeneid" is a tool of the gods, manipulated cruelly and coldly into loving Aeneas.

From the Paper:

"The reader feels far more deeply for Dido than for Helen, because Virgil has given her character a more fully tragic nature and destiny than Homer has given Helen. Both women are the victims of the gods, but Dido's struggle for love and her sense of the contradiction between love and war are heartbreaking, while Helen's struggle is less tragic and less involving. Dido is far more compelling than Helen because Virgil has imbued her with qualities of character which can only come from her great suffering."

More papers on Women in Greek Literature:

• Analytical Essay # 5005 : "Women in Greek Literature"
• Analytical Essay # 28500 : "Greek Mythology: Women in Greek Life"
• Analytical Essay # 118902 : "Portrayal of Women in "The Iliad "

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