Posted on 10/18/2005 11:08:43 AM PDT by blam
Helen of Troy Existed?
By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
Was a Queen of Sparta Helen of Troy?
Oct. 17, 2005— Helen of Troy, described in the epic poem The Iliad, was based on a real woman, according to a new book that weaves history, archaeology and myth to recreate the famous ancient Greek beauty's life.
According to the new theory proposed by Bettany Hughes, Helen's mythological character was inspired by a wealthy Bronze Age leader from the southern mainland of Greece.
Hughes, a former Oxford University scholar who has conducted research in the Balkans, Greece, and Asia Minor, was unavailable for comment.
In her book "Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore," however, she wrote, "I believe that all three incarnations — princess, goddess and whore — find their root in a Bronze Age Helen, that the template for Helen of Troy was provided by one of the rich Spartan queens who lived and died on the Greek mainland in the 13th century B.C.; a woman who slept at night and woke at dawn, a flesh-and-blood icon, an aristocrat responsible for orgia — secretive, mysterious fertility rites — a woman so blessed, so honoured, so powerful, she appeared to walk with the gods. A mortal who, down the centuries, has become larger than life."
Based upon the writings of Homer, Sappho, the historian Herodotus, and others, Hughes thinks Helen's palace was located on a Spartan hill called Therapne near the River Eurotas. Three skeletons — one of a 30-year-old woman and two belonging to children — were excavated at the site, along with evidence of structures that had been destroyed by fire, according to Hughes.
It is unclear what happened at the site, but Hughes thinks Helen's life was short, since the average lifespan for Mycenaean females was 28 years.
"Women were mothers at twelve, grandmothers at twenty-four, dead before they were thirty," she wrote.
Homer described Helen as fair and shimmering. Hughes wrote that the shimmer came from linen clothing soaked in perfumed olive oil, which was customary for well-heeled women of the time.
While Greeks generally have dark hair, frescoes dating to Helen's era around 3,500 years ago reveal at least one woman with "tawny red hair and blue eyes."
Hughes speculated that Helen had such hair and would have been viewed as special, "entrusted with particular religious authority."
I think it's in the Oddyssey, where Telemachos pays her a visit while he is out looking for Dad. Of course, she was a little on the shady side of thirty by then.
Oddyssey = Odyssey
Germanic people didn't make it that far until the Middle Ages, and even then they did not settle in Greece in large numbers.
Many Slavs, Turkic groups and Bulgars did settle in Greece, however.
The Greeks of the classical period may have been more "Germanic" (a meaningless word at that time, maybe "Northern" might be better) than the peoples who took their place.
Greece is an ethnic melting pot, unified by the Orthodox faith and its liturgical language.
Just as the Turks are a melting pot--and practrically the same mix-- unified by religion and language.
BTW, if I recall correctly, according to the Iliad, Achilles had red hair.
Infant/child mortality rates were high, and that persisted into (at least) the 19th century. Women did indeed become mothers as soon as possible.
Military service until age 50 doesn't pertain to the life expectancy of ancient Greek women, since women didn't serve in the military.
Cicero: "there is good reason to think that the basic facts about the Trojan War described in the Iliad and the Odyssey are historical"
wholeheartedly agree.
Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore
PRNewswire | Sep. 14, 2005 | Melanie Pope of Renault Communications
Posted on 10/09/2005 8:29:26 PM PDT
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1499699/posts
Hughes should find a different line of work.
Also the Spartan (Doric) women were known to be the most beautiful in Greece which I always thought of as a waste. It may have been partly due to their eugenics practices.
The Linear B Tablets and Mycenaean Social, Political, and Economic Organization
Dartmouth College | 1996 | faculty
Posted on 11/28/2004 7:29:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1290075/posts
The oily bird catches the worm.
Clive Cussler has quoted a book I want to read, "Where Troy once stood," arguing that Troy was Cambridge, England.
The book is out of print. Some information is on the Net. The basic premise is that the Asian location does not fit any descriptors in the Iliad.
Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?
The northern people moved south because it got 'real' cold in the north and they were starving. All the 'Dark Ages' were worldwide events as recorded in the tree-rings. Read the article below for some insight on the subject.
The Dark Ages: Were They Darker Than We Imagined?
"The twelfth century BC is associated with the "Greek Dark Ages", the end of the Hittite civilisation in the Near East, the end of Bronze Age Israel, and the end of the Bronze Age Shang dynasty in China. Ancient Chinese history has the notion of "mandate from heaven", where the rulers were essentially subject to the whims of the sky above. Strange sights in the sky would not be seen as good news for Chinese Emperors. Indeed, around this time, Chinese records speak of : "
I really do think Crete is the cradle of civilization or at least Greek civilization.
Those crazy English also thought a new Jerusalem was going to arise in England.
Of course.
I am indebted to a Phd friend for recounting the following.
Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world and was responsible for the launching of 1,000 ships to save her honor and bring her home.
The result was what has come to be known as the milihelen system. A woman's beauty can be expressed in millihelens. Just how many ships would be launches to save her?
Helen was of course 1,000. Her name sake the reporter Helen Thomas would rate about a mere 5 or perhaps 7. Bo Derrick would also rate 1,000 since a modern 10 is but a refinement of the ancient system.
Poor Ann Coulter, formerly rated at about 875 mhlns, her rating has dropped as a result of poor political writing. In the future, Deanna Troy LCDR SFC will also rate about 980 mhlns that rates 10 on the current les complex scale.
It is no coincidence that Scliemann found Troy very near where it was said to be.
He also located Troy (Hissarlik) by using a description in the Iliad.
And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold: Bring me my arrows of desire: Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire. I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land
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