Menelaus

For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Act Three.

Before the palace of Menelaus in Sparta.

Helena enters with the chorus of captive Trojan women.

Panthalis, leader of the chorus.

I, much admired and much reviled, I, Helena, come from the strand where we have disembarked but now.

Still giddy from the restless rocking of the waves of ocean, which from Phrygian uplands hitherwards on high opposing backs, Poseidon's favor won and Euro's strength have borne us to our native bay.

Below there, with the bravest of his warriors, now King Menelaus feels the joy of his return.

But thou, bid me welcome back, thou lofty house, which tenderest my father on the gentle slope, returning from the hill of Pallas builded up, and when I here with Clytemnestra sister-like, with Castor and with Pollux gaily sporting grew, before all Sparta's houses nobly was adorned.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Act 3.

Before the palace of Menelaus in Sparta.

Helena enters with the chorus of captive Trojan women.

Pantheles, leader of the chorus.

I, much admired and much reviled, I, Helena, come from the strand Where we have disembarked but now, Still giddy from the restless rocking Of the waves of ocean, which from Phrygian uplands Hitherwards on high opposing backs, Poseidon's favor won, and Euro's strength Have borne us to our native bay.

Below there, with the bravest of his warriors, Now King Menelaus feels the joy of his return.

return.But thou, bid me welcome back, thou lofty house Which tenderest my father on the gentle slope Returning from the hill of Pallas builded up; And when I here with Clytemnestra sister-like, With Castor and with Pollux gaily sporting grew, Before all Sparta's houses nobly was adorned.

Ye valves of yon dark iron portals, ye I hail! Once, through your festive and inviting opening, It happened that to me, from many singled out, The coming of the bridegroom, Menelaus, shone.

But she's still buying time for her son because she has her own wants and needs as an individual human being that are tested in the movie, especially by Antinous' cunning and aesthetic that She needs time for her son to grow up and take over and be a man about it, not just a boy, or her husband to come back home.

either works to protect the institution to protect the culture the former behaviors habits and rituals like one of the example would be how Telemachus treated the beggar and you know really believed in in that hospitality if he didn't actually believe that and do that if he didn't believe it in his mind and do it in his actions he wouldn't have had that conversation with the original beggar in the beginning of the movie where Antinous and Polybus are given a hard time I think that beggar was Zeus and and and Zeus essentially tells him to go on a journey to meet Menelaus which starts his hero's journey because he has to he he goes without his mother's permission so it's interesting she's protecting him at the same time she doesn't hold it against him when he goes and strikes out on his own I think it's a beautiful reflection of the the power of the mother to protect and also accept creation to protect the child but also accept the adventure accept the child's maturation it's very hard for the mother so she isn't the Oedipal mother the overbearing mother that won't let the child leave and and then spites him for leaving it's she she she accepts his adventure and you know is hopeful that it works out But the institution needs time, the organization needs time.

It needs the right successor to take it into the future.

But it takes a lot to maintain things and keep it going.

It's only here where we get battle scenes reminiscent of what filled the pages of the Iliad.

This similarity is important because it helps clarify and remind us that in the Iliad, the political order, the polis, the city-state of Troy, was destroyed because it committed itself to the violation of Menelaus' marriage.

Here, as a counterpoint in the Odyssey, the polis, the political order, is restored with the restoration of the marriage of Odysseus and Penelope.

There are also important distinctions that we should make between the battle scenes that we saw in the Iliad and those that we get at the conclusion of the Odyssey.

So he was fighting in the Trojan War.

And that started when Helen, who was the wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta, I don't know if I should say ran away with Paris or was bewitched to run away with Paris.

And Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon then waged war on Troy, enlisting the support of other Greek dominions such as Odysseus'.

And on his return, Odysseus faces many monsters, creatures, temptations, the wrath of the gods.

And when he finally returns home, he finds his house besieged by men who want to marry his wife Penelope, who proves herself to be more than a match for Odysseus'.

And I think the problem, you know, in this sort of patriarchal culture where a son sort of lives or dies by the reputation of his father, you know, if your father dies a nobody, you're a nobody, basically.

And I think this is the problem that Telemachus, you know, can't be anyone at this point.

And so he goes to Pylos to speak to Nestor and he goes to Menelaus to speak to, sorry, he goes to Sparta to speak to Menelaus.

[laughs]

I f- I feel like, I feel like Peleus, the sea god, and I'm like, "I'm just here enjoying my seals," and you, Menelaus, come along and grab me.

And I'm like, "No! Don't! You're making me read Bridge to Terabithia."

[laughs]

And her place was taken by this kind of phantom.

And this Euripides play, Helen, goes with that because Menelaus, on his way back from Troy, gets to Egypt and his phantom Helen flies away and he sees the real Helen.

Right, right.

And that's actually based on another Greek historian.