Stealing Helen: The Myth of the Abducted Wife in Comparative Perspective

449 Pages·2015·21.27 MB·English

by  Lowell Edmunds

Stealing Helen

Stealing Helen
The Myth of the Abducted Wife
in Comparative Perspective
Lowell Edmunds
Princeton UniverSity PreSS
Princeton and oxford
Copyright © 2016 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton,
New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street,
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press.princeton.edu
Jacket art: Eugene Ansen Hofmann (1862–1955), A Caucasian Abduc-
tion (oil on canvas) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images /
Bridgeman Images
The tale of Tristran and Isolt (T31) is reprinted from The Saga of
Tristram and Ísönd, translated by Paul Schach, by permission of the
University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1973 by the University of
Nebraska Press.
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Edmunds, Lowell, author.
Stealing Helen : the myth of the abducted wife in compara-
tive perspective / Lowell Edmunds.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0 - 691-1 6512-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Helen
of Troy (Greek mythology) in literature. 2. Abduction in
literature. I. Title.
PN57.H4E36 2016
809’.93353—dc23
2014042379
British Library Cataloging-i n- Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Linux Libertine and Minion
Printed on acid-f ree paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
contentS
List of Figures ix
Preface xi
Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1

1 “tHe abdUction of tHe bea UtifUl Wife”
aS international tale 20
§1 Typology in Folklore Studies 20
§2 The Concept of Type 22
§3 The Motif 22
§4 The Emic and the Etic 26
§5 From the Emic to the Etic: A Yupik Folktale 29
§6 The Deconstructive Point of View 30
§7 Variant and Version 32
§8 The Ontological Point of View 33
§9 The Historical Basis of an Ontology of the Type 36
§10 How Old Are Folktales? 37
§10.1 P roverb and Fable: Oral Wisdom
Literature in Antiquity 41
§11 Morphology and Structuralism 44
§12  Typological Status of “The Abduction of the Beautiful
Wife” 47
§13 Motifs of “The Abduction of the Beautiful Wife” 49
§13.1 Birth or Origin 49
§13.1.1 Swan Maiden 51
§13.2 Childhood and Marriage 52
§13.3 Perilous Beauty of the Wife 52
§13.4 Abductor 53
§13.5 Abduction 54
§13.6 Recovery 55
§13.7 Fate of the Abductor 56
§13.8 Reunion of Husband and Wife 57
§13.8.1 Orpheus 57
§14 The Syntagma 59
§15 Methodological Reflections 62
v
2 dioScUri 66
§1 Introduction 66
§2 The Abduction of Helen by Theseus and Peirithoüs 70
§3 Indo-E uropean Cognates 76
§4 The Caucasus 78
§5 The Baltic Egg 81
§6 Cults of Helen and the Dioscuri 85
§7 The Name Helen and the Nature of Names 87
§8 An Indo-E uropean “Abduction” 91
§8.1 Th e Abduction in Indo-E uropean Epic 95
§8.2 Th e Three Functions of Georges
Dumézil and Trojan Myth 99
§9 Th e Indo-E uropean “Abduction” and the
Question of Origins 100
§10 Conclusion 101
3 Helen MytH 103
§1 Parentage, Birth, Siblings 105
§2 Childhood 109
§3 Wooing of Helen and Marriage to Menelaus 110
§4 Motherhood 118
§5 Paris 121
§6 Abduction 126
§6.1 The Abduction in Art 129
§7 Consequences in Sparta of Helen’s Abduction 136
§8 Stay in Egypt and Eidōlon 136
§9 Helen at Troy 142
§10 Recovery of Helen by Menelaus 143
§10.1 The Trojan Horse 144
§10.2 Helen’s Role in Her Recovery 145
§10.3 M enelaus’s Unhappy and Happy
Reunions with Helen 146
§10.4 Helen Bares Her Breasts? 148
§10.5 Himation 150
§10.6 To the Ships, with His Hand on Her Wrist 152
§10.7 Reflections on the Reunions 154
§11 Return of Menelaus and Helen to Sparta 155
§12 After the Return 157
§13 Death of Helen 157
§14 Comparison of Myth of Helen with “Abduction” Type 159
vi contents
4 HyPoStaSeS of Helen 162
§1 The Cult at Platanistas 164
§2 Helen Dendritis 169
§3 Cult at Therapnē 174
§3.1 H erodotus’s Designation of Helen:
“the goddess” (ἡ θεός, 6.61.3) 185
§4 Conclusion on Cults 186
§5 The Cults and the Indo-E uropean Goddess 187
§6 Helen as Fictional 188
§7 The Discovery of a Real Helen 189
§7.1 Self Ancient and Modern 191
§7.2 The Discovery of the Personality of Helen 193
§8 Conclusion 195
5 Helen in tHe fiftH centUry and after 197
§1 Helen in the Fifth Century 198
§1.1 Herodotus 198
§1.2 Thucydides 199
§1.3 Pindar 201
§1.4 Helen in Spartan Charter Myth 202
§1.5 Consequences of Social Memory 204
§1.6 Figure of Reference 207
§1.7 Helen as Figure of Song 210
§2 Helen from the Fourth Century to Goethe 213
§2.1 Pythagorean Helen 213
§2.2 Simon Magus 215
§2.3 Faust 219
§3 Roman Reception of the Helen Myth and
the First Fictional Helen 229
§3.1 The Origin of Fiction in Antiquity 230
§3.2 The Fictive and the Fictional 231
§3.3 A Fictive Helen: Ovid, Heroides 16–1 7 232
§4 A nother Fictive Helen (Lucian, True History 2) and
a Fictive Hermione (Colluthus) 234
Conclusion 236
Appendix 1 Examples of “The Abduction of the Beautiful Wife” 247
Appendix 2 Inventory of Art Objects 303
Notes 313
References 369
Index Locorum 407
General Index 420
contents vii

figUreS
 1 Chart showing Thompson’s classificatory scheme for Motif-I ndex 25
 2 Chart comparing Boeckh and Lévi-S trauss 28
 3 Chart comparing “Abduction,” Swan Maiden, and Orpheus stories 62
 4 Theseus carries off Helen 71
 5 The recovery of Helen on the Chest of Cypselus (a reconstruction) 72
 6 Genealogy showing the Dioscuri and two pairs of cousins 75
 7 Genealogy showing the offspring of Leda 76
 8 Leda and the egg 105
 9 Nemesis points at Helen 108
10 Stele with a man and a woman on both sides. Menelaus and Helen? 112
11 Shield band showing woman with hand on warrior’s wrist 113
12 Shield band showing warrior with hand on woman’s wrist 114
13 Each of two women proffers a wreath to a warrior threatening one
of them 115
14 Ivory comb: the Judgment of Paris 124
15 Paris flees as Hermes leads the goddesses to the Judgment 125
16 Crater: man and woman boarding a ship 129
17 Ivory relief: man and woman boarding a ship 130
18 Fragment of tripod-s tand: man and woman on a ship underway 131
19 Gold seal ring (end 16th c. B.C.E.): man and woman board a ship 132
20 Gold seal ring (16th–1 5th c. B.C.E.): ship-b oarding scene 133
21 Aeneas companion of Paris when he goes to Sparta for Helen 135
22 Menelaus threatens Helen 148
23 Menelaus with his hand on Helen’s wrist as she flees 149
24 Helen with breasts bared 151
25 Menelaus with his hand on Helen’s wrist as she makes veil-g esture 152
26 The angry Menelaus and Helen’s veil-g esture (Side B of the same
vase as fig. 32) 153
27 Map of Sparta 165
28 A satyr pushes a girl in a swing 173
29 Bronze aryballos found at Therapnē 175
30 Meat-h ook inscribed with Helen’s name found at Therapnē 182
31 Map showing places in East Attica associated with Helen 207
32 Youths wearing fillets and Dionysus (Side A of the same vase as fig. 26) 209
ix