Comparing Hecabe And Helen In The Iliad

The Trojan War is arguably the most famous Greek event. Homer wrote about the event in the Iliad, and Euripides wrote about the aftermath of the war in his play, Women of Troy. The works share multiple characters, including Hecabe, queen of the fallen city of Troy, and Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships. Both characters discuss the gods at some point throughout both texts, with varying beliefs. Similarly, each woman displays her cleverness, or lack thereof, in both texts. In addition, the Iliad and Women of Troy both describe the two women manipulating other people, albeit in very different ways. The differences and similarities between Hecabe and Helen are apparent in both works, as evidenced by their religiousness, their manipulation

The differences in the purpose and methods of manipulations between the two women are shown in both the Iliad and Women of Troy. The two former queens employ different manipulation strategies to accomplish their goal, however these tactics are not always successful. For instance, in the Iliad, when Hecabe is speaking to Hector, she tries to convince him to stay home, where he will be safe. She appeals to his exhaustion: “In a tired man, wine will bring back his strength to its bigness, in a man tired as you are tired, defending your neighbours,” (lines 260-262). Hecabe’s statement attempts to persuade Hector to stay at home, for the sake of his safety. Her attempt failed, showing that she cannot manipulate her son. Similarly, Hecabe manipulates Menelaus, king of Sparta, in Women of Troy. She ensures that he knows about Helen’s plans of deceit and her false love for him. Before the guards bring Helen in, Hecabe warns Menelaus saying, “I applaud you, Menelaus, if you will kill your wife; but avoid seeing her, or she will take prisoner your tender heart,” (page 139). While Hecabe agrees with and advocates for Helen’s death sentence, she is also cautious and relays her thoughts to Menelaus, effectively manipulating him to be careful around Helen. Helen uses different tactics to manipulate Hector when she speaks to him in the Iliad. When Hector comes to Paris to scold him for not joining in the battle he is responsible for, Helen attempts to remind Hector that the war is not Paris’ fault. However, she also deflects the blame away from herself when she says, “... how I wish that on that day when my mother first bore me the foul whirlwind of the storm had caught me away and swept me to the mountain…” (lines 345-347). Helen’s statement that she wishes she had never been born is her way of unsuccessfully manipulating Hector into feeling sorry for her. Helen also uses a similar tactic when