The Trojan Women

In his epic poem, The Illiad, Homer describes the heroic deeds of both the Greek and the Trojan warriors. Euripides, however, takes a different vantage point to the fall of Troy in his play, The Trojan Women. Instead of painting war in the colors of valor and heroism, Euripides paints war in the colors of sorrow and loss by focusing on the fate of the women of Troy after the fall of their city. The horrors of war and the tragedy suffered by non-combatants are a counterbalance to the popular view of the war.

The story chronicles the fate of Hecuba, queen of Troy, widow of king Priam and mother of Paris and Hector. Hecuba, along with her daughters, Cassandra and Polyxena, along with the other Trojan women have been raffled off to the Greek generals. Hecuba is to be given to Odysseus, Cassandra belongs to Agamemnon, and Polyxena, fated to guard the grave of Achilles, commits suicide and lies dead on his tomb. Andromache, Hector’s widow, has been given to Neoptolemus, Achilles’ son, and her infant son, Astyanax, by command of Odysseus, is thrown down from the city walls and killed. Hecuba tries to commit suicide but is stopped and forced to return to Ithaca with Odysseus.

Helen, who had left her husband Menelaus to marry Paris, is captured and brought to the Greeks. Menelaus is furious with her and almost has her stoned to death. Helen tries to lie, saying that she was taken by force and had tried to escape many times but failed. Hecuba is outraged by Helen’s feeble attempt to escape punishment and tells Menelaus the truth that Helen came to Troy willingly and never once regretted her decision. The play ends with the women boarding the Greek ships as Troy burns to the ground.

Euripides effectively shows that war is not as glorious as the Greeks believe. Many innocent non-combatants suffer and the conquered are frequently mistreated. I feel it is good to balance the heroism and valor of soldiers in war with the suffering and pain caused by those warriors. We need both Homer and Euripides in order to have a more complete view of the Trojan war. Both remind us to look at both sides of war today so that we do not become too enamored with it.