Book Review: Women Of Troy

“The men who hunted down a single woman and, in Helen, a single Kypris destroyed countless thousands”

So everyone knows what the heck happened with Troy, right? If not quick Greek Mythology history class for you. So it all starts with this numpty called Paris. No, not the city and NO not the character from that shit show Romeo and Juliet. This Paris is very confident and he is the crux to which all hangs. You thought Romeo and Juliet was a shit show. Well, hold onto your socks chaps, we’re in for a wild ride that lasts 10 years and costs countless of lives. Okay, so I got side tracked. Apologies. So, Paris was to choose who was the most beautiful out of Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, they each offered him gifts. Hera offered to make him King of Europe and Asia, Athena offered him wisdom and skill in warfare and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world, which, at the time was Helen of Sparta. Naturally, the man chose Aphrodite and in doing so was told that he had a divine right to Helen of Sparta. Thus, he whizzes over to Sparta nabs Helen, who, is married to Menelaus and whisks her away to Troy. Menelaus gets mad. Really mad. And launches - what is commonly known as - a thousand ships to attack Troy and take back Helen. Queue massive shit show to end all shit shows. So, the Spartans were loosing, badly. So they decided to leave a ‘gift’ in the form of a horse. Little did the Trojan’s know… it all ends in absolute carnage.

So what’s happening in Women of Troy, well, nothing good I’m afraid. Greek Tragedy does have a tendency to have a lot of bad things happen. So this is obviously from the viewpoint of the conquered women who have had their children ripped from their arms, their husbands killed and they now face a life of enslavement. The women are waiting their fates by the ruined walls of Troy, Hecuba, the dethroned Queen of Troy, can only watch and weep in anger as hundreds of Trojan women are being raped and catered off as concubines to their Greek enslavers. She hears of horrible news: Andromache, the former wife of Hector, tells of her three year old son being thrown from the battlements for fear of avenging the death of his father. Andromache cannot perform the traditional burial rites because her boat is to set sail so Hecuba performs the rites with the little dignity she has left. Cassandra is in a fit of wild hysterics, for she sees her fate, she sees that her captor Agamemnon will die at the hands of his wife on his arrival home, and so will she. However, Cassandra bears a curse. She rejected the gift of foresight from Apollo- offended, Apollo gave her the gift anyway but, her sight would never be believed. And no believed her when she said that Troy would fall. Thus, she willingly goes forth to her fate. Oh, and I almost forgot- they all hate Helen, with a cold hearted vengeance. It is after all her fault, she is the face that launched a thousand ships, she is the face that brought them 10 long years of war. She is the prize, she, that most beautiful woman in the world. She. She. She is the source of all their sorrows, the reason why their husbands are dead, their dignity lying in blood soaked tatters. Oh no, Paris had nothing to do with it. Not. At. All. 

So, let us dissect the relevance and importance of this piece. It is a harrowing read. It can be read in a day but be warned. It is not a fun play. It is not nice. It confronts some topics such as violence, murder, infanticide and rape head on. Euripides was ahead of his time when he wrote this play. And yet, during his day- it only won second place at a dramatic festival. He was robbed. This play is relevant, even 2435 years later. The issue of the conquered beneath the conquerers matters. The treatment of women matters. However, the blaming of Helen I cannot condone. Regardless of whether you think that she went willingly with Paris or otherwise, she was unknowingly promised to him by divine will. Or just a goddess with a serious narcissistic complex, who knows. But Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships, may have been the loaded gun. But she didn’t pull the trigger and now the Women of Troy have to pay for the folly of others with themselves.