The Role Of Violence In Edith Hamilton's Mythology

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No city today is more famous than Troy; all because of a war caused by three jealous women. In Edith Hamilton’s Mythology an account is given on the brutality of the Troy Tale. After the Judgement of Paris and kidnapping of Helen, a brutal war was fought for ten years before the Greeks were victorious. There was many different kinds of violence in the Troy Tale. The three that were most prominent were, physical, mental/emotional and religious violence. Physical violence was everywhere during the Trojan war. Helen’s husband, Menelaus, the king of Sparta, was known for brutality and violent nature. In ancient times, violence was extremely common, especially in battle. In this quote from Hamilton’s Mythology Hector, a Trojan war hero, kills many quickly. “His glancing helm was everywhere and one gallant warrior after another fell beneath his terrible bronze spear.” Another form of sheer brutality was human sacrifice. The Greeks were unable to depart from their home until Agamemnon’s daughter, Iphigenia, was killed as offering to Artemis. “He sent home for her, writing his wife that he had arranged a great marriage for her, to Achilles, who had already shown himself the best and greatest of all chieftains. But, when she came to the wedding was was carried to the altar to be killed.” Also, during the fall of Troy…show more content…
Many gods used trickery to kill off mortals. Such as, Ajax; Atheana struck him mad. “He thought the flocks and herds of the Greeks were the army and rushed to kill them, believing that he was slaying this chieftain now that...” Ajax regained his reason and saw what he had done, killing himself to escape the embarrassment of his actions. Also, the traumatic killings and violence would greatly impact future generations. After Troy had fell and women and their children were the only ones left, the children were killed brutally in front of their mothers as shown in the following
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