[PDF] MODELS OF MASCULINITIES IN TROY: ACHILLES HECTOR AND

View - Download MODELS OF MASCULINITIES IN TROY: ACHILLES HECTOR AND

Previous PDF

Next PDF

MODELS OF MASCULINITIES IN TROY:

ACHILLES, HECTOR AND THEIR FEMALE PARTNERS

Celina Proch and Michael Kleu

Introduction - What Does it Mean to Be a Man?

Films, as reconstructions and interpretations of reality, provide insigh?ts into social constructions of reality.

They are one of the visual forms in

which and with which a contemporary society is portrayed.

Popular and

successful Hollywood cinema productions have therefore proven to be an abundant resource for analyzing gender relations. Films set in the ancie?nt world are no exception. In fact, while they usually employ storylines pa?ssed down over many centuries, they often turn out to be especially interesti?ng in the ancient and modern values, moral conceptions, and societal norms ? they adopt and implement. Our particular focus here is Wolfgang Petersen's Troy,? which is "inspired by" Homer's Iliad and focuses on two male characters - the Greek Achilles, introduced via a text insertion at the beginning of the ??lm as th?e mighti est warrior of all times, and his Trojan counterpart Hector, the heir to

King Priam's throne.

The intention of this study is to analyze the depic tion of masculinity in the ??lm by examining both the representation of Achilles and Hector and the extent to which the narrative structures and? soziologiefl, in Jutta Allmendinger et al., eds.,

Entstaatlichung und soziale Sicherheit. Ver

handlungen des 31. Kongresses der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziolog ie (Opladen: Leske und Budrich, 2004) 112. Norman K. Denzin, "Reading Film - Filme und Videos als sozialwisse?nschaftliches Erfahrungsmaterial", in Uwe Flick, Ernst von Kardor?f und Ines Steinke, eds., Qualitative

Forschung. Ein Handbuch

. (Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rohwolt, 2000) 416-428. For reference, we are using the 2007 director's cut. For Troy in ???lm, see Anja Wieber, "Vor Troja nichts Neues? Moderne Kinogeschichten zu Homers Ilias," in Martin Lindner,

Drehbuch Geschichte: Die antike Welt im Film

(Münster: LIT, 2005) 137-162; Martin M.

Winkler, ed.,

Troy: from Homer's

Iliad to Hollywood Epic (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007); Wolfgang Ko??er and Florian Scha?fenrath, "Petersens epische Technik: Troja und seine

Homerische Vorlage," in Stefan Neuhaus, ed.,

Literatur im Film: Beispiele einer Medienbezie

hung Most ??lm adaptions focus on Helen and the conquest of Troy, so Achilles is usually

Der Neue Pauly

, suppl.

5 (2008) 13. The same applies to Hector.

""_ This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the license. "RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

the staged manliness contain references to values and standards in the real world. In our title we have deliberately chosen to employ the term "masculin?i ties" in its plural form following the assumption of a diversity of m?asculinities that form the basis of Raewyn Connell's in??uential sociologica?l research widely promulgated in her 1995 book of that title.

Connell's conclusions

provide the groundwork for our typology of the forms of masculinity. But? before we commence with the analysis of manhood in Troy 's Achilles and Hector, we have to delineate several aspects of gender. We de??ne gender as a social and cultural construction. Di?ferent designs of gender ca?n be found in diverse cultures and historical epochs. The disparity between them is determined by not only the cultural and historical environment but also the local social context in which an individual dwells. Within a school, neighborhood, or work place, one can identify di?ferent const?ructs of masculinity as well as various patterns of behavior and ways of dealing with the male body. This spectrum of masculinities is shown to the audience of Troy in the form of personi??ed characters. The ??lmmakers present a var?iety of mas culinity types which portray the genre's binary oppositions - good? and evil. According to Connell's model of social gender structure, masculinity? is always conceived in relation to various masculinities as well as in r?ela tion to women, whereby the relations are characterized by a di?ferenc?e in access to power. This hierarchy is topped by the so-called hegemonic ? masculinity. At the bottom of the hierarchy is where one ??nds wom?en; in between the two are the other forms of masculinity. The latter are char acterized by subordination, complicity, or marginalization. Hegemonic masculinities are the most important pillars of patriarchy, perpetuat ing the existing social system by persistently reproducing the relations? of power. Marginalized masculinities have access to fewer resources of power than the hegemonic. Characteristically included in this lower cat Originally published in 1995 by Allen & Unwin, now in a second editi on: Raewyn Connell, Masculinities (Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2005). We have employed the German translation by Christian Stahl: Robert W. Co?nnell, Der (Opladen: Leske und Budrich,

1999).

Following predominantly Martin Lindner, Rom und seine Kaiser im Historien??lm (Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Antike, 2007) 98-103, 180f., and 214, we? employ the term "??lm makers," because in addition to the director Wolfgang Petersen, the p?roducers, scriptwrit ers, artistic designers, and not at least the actors have an in??u?ence on the ??nal presentation of the movie as well. "RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

egory are homosexuals and heterosexuals with female attributes. But masculinities can also be marginalized if their status is lowered becaus?e of their ethnicity, class membership, or social status. Complicity as a ?form of manhood covers those masculinities that do not match the hegemonic ones but nonetheless bene??t from their status and thereby partici?pate in the patriarchal dividend. These variations of classi??cation make ?clear that Connell's model is a dynamic one in which it is not always possible t?o separate the attributes clearly. And, lastly, the relations of power can be changed at any time, and the occurrence of an attribute can express itse?lf di?ferently from individual to individual. In Troy the diversity of masculinities is illustrated by means of di?ferent social and hierarchic positions - kings and armies, leaders and subor?di nates. Even within the army there are warriors with a particular prestig?e. In the Thessalian army, for example, Boagrius immediately captures the audi? ence's attention by his impressive body height and muscle mass. Accor?ding to Connell, there was and still is no ??eld more important for the? construc tion of masculinities in the Western world than the military. ? Watching a ??lm about the Trojan War, the audience ??nds itself taken i?nto an ancient- type world of particularly masculine dominance, and here Achilles and Hector quite obviously represent hegemonic masculinities. Both are mili tary leaders, highly appreciated by their soldiers, each of them playing? the role of the mightiest warrior in their respective armies. To a lesser extent Achilles and Hector also ful??ll the criteria f?or com plicity. Hector supports his father Priam in order to keep alive the lat?ter's hegemony from which he bene??ts directly as the heir to the throne and successor to the position of paterfamilias . Achilles condemns Agamem non, but he needs to ??ght in the king's war in order to win th?e immortal glory he longs for so badly. Although reluctant to serve under Agamem non, early on in the ??lm we see that he is willing to accept this? relation- dependence. In Troy one can identify Paris as a representative of this type of masculinity ?because of his traditionally female characteristics. For example, his actions are motivated by emo tions and he acts cowardly in battle. Robert W. Connell, "Arms and the Men: Using the New Research on M?asculinity to Understand Violence and Promote Peace in the Contemporary World," ?in Ingeborg

Breines, Raewyn Connell, and Ingrid Eide, eds.,

Male Roles, Masculinities and Violence: A

Culture of Peace Perspective

(Paris: UNESCO, 2000) 21-31. Connell describes military leaders as prime examples for hegemonic masculinity. Cf.

Connell, Der gemachte Mann, 98.

At the same time Agamemnon is dependent on Achilles without whom he ?cannot win the war. But ultimately Agamemnon and not Achilles is the commander-in-chief of the Greeks. "RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

Insofar as subordination is concerned, there is a signi??cant di?fer ence between Achilles and Hector. Hector obeys his father's commands ? because he bene??ts from the latter's reign, and he also repres?ents the ideal son who honors his father's word, even if he might entirely disagree with him. Achilles does not obey Agamemnon, and he makes it clear that he does not consider Agamemnon to be his king. He listens only to people? he trusts - like Odysseus. Their circumstances di?fer somewhat: He?ctor subordinates himself to some kind of ideal king, while Achilles refuses ?to obey a demonstrably poor ruler.

In this regard, subordination is not a

useful criterion for analyzing the di?ferent representations of manli?ness illustrated by Achilles and Hector. Achilles and Hector therefore both represent a hegemonic masculinity combined with some elements of complicity. On the other hand, although Achilles and Hector both conform to Connell's typology in these ways,? their characters di?fer considerably from one another's. We will d?iscuss this aspect of their characterization insofar as it pertains to their relatio?ns with their female partners, but only after we have focused our analysis on se?veral physical aspects of the performances by the actors portraying our heroes?.

Stars, Gendered Bodies and the Female Gaze

the Corporeality of the Heroes Gender is understood not as a characteristic but as a social experience ? of interacting individuals. According to Judith Butler, this is particularly relevant to the performative construction of gender.

The body ful??lls

social actions and serves thereby as a production site of gender-de???ning behaviors. Since we are engaged in examining the construction of mas culinities in Troy , ??rst we have to elaborate on the physical construction of manhood. Gender is de??ned in most ??lm productions by re?sorting to standardized visual images. The gender identity is recognizable as a pro? cedural and emblematic system. Achilles' and Hector's body representa The ideal son motif corresponds with Hector™s image in the Iliad

1999) 85-98.

It is not by chance that King Priam brings Achilles to his senses an?d that the latter tells him: "You are a much better king than the one leading this army?." Judith Butler, "Leibliche Einschreibungen, performative Subversionen," in Das

Unbehagen der Geschlechter

(trans. Kathrina Menke; Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1991)

190-208.

"RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

tion is based mainly on the choice of the actors. Since teenagers are on?e of the main target groups for a blockbuster ??lm, the casting process? tends to focus on the idols of younger demographic groups.

By casting Brad Pitt,

the ??lmmakers chose de??nitively one of the most successful? male darlings of the public, an established sex symbol. Because every image involves special audience expectations concerning physical appearance, the actor ? who would portray Achilles embarked upon a course of intensive mus cle training so he could embody the viewers' ideal of what the mighti?est

Greek ??ghter in the Trojan War would look like.

Pitt's enormous success

as an actor proves that the concept of masculinity he represents has an ? important signi??cance to the social discourse in our contemporary world. By casting Eric Bana for the role of Hector, the ??lmmakers chose a less popular actor. Nevertheless, his body constitution meets the demands of ? the target group regarding a hero. The ??lm displays the bodies of Achilles and Hector as trained and? tai lored for ??ghting, especially when compared to those of Agamemnon? and his brother Menelaus. Agamemnon, who appears on the battle??eld on?ly rarely, appears to have a strong body, as does his brother, but they are? clearly more barrel-chested and corpulent than well-de??ned and mu?scu lar. And they clearly have more body hair than the younger warriors. In ? contrast to these negative characters, Achilles und Hector represent the? current ideal of male beauty. Drawing upon classical feminist ??lm theory, Laura Mulvey writes a?bout the male gaze, which determines "three di?ferent looks" associated with ? cinema: those of the camera, the audience, and the actors as they look upon each other. In Troy we can speak also of a female equivalent: the female-heterosexual audience looks at a stage-managed spectacle cre ated especially for her. However, the heterosexual-male audience is not ? neglected either. The audience's inner Narcissus is satis??ed b?y identifying with the cinematic male heroes. The male protagonist Achilles, who is

Wieber, fiVor Troja nichts Neues?fl 157 and 161.

Susanne Weingarten,

stars (Marburg: Schüren, 2003). In ??lms set in the ancient world,? the male protagonists are by tradition muscular. Cf. Anja Wieber-Scariot, "Film," in

Der Neue Pauly

13 (1999), Supp.

1133-1141, esp. 1137. Kim Shahabudin, "From Greek Myth to Hollywoo?d Story, Explana

tory Narrative in Troy," in Winkler, Troy, 109-110: "While stories in the press continued to refer to Homer's poem and Schliemann's excavations, the main focus? of publicity prior to release was on the ??lm's exposure of Brad Pitt's body." Laura Mulvey, "Visuelle Lust und narratives Kino," 30-46 in? Gertrud Nabakovski, Helke Sander, and Peter Gorsen: Frauen in der Kunst (Band I, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp,

1980).

"RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

genre-typical, becomes the object of viewing pleasure. In several close-?ups the male and female watchers can enjoy Brad Pitt's muscular, well-de???ned body. But in several notable themes Achilles is presented in a manner usually employed in the traditional fragmentary portrayal of women. In a love scene with Briseis that we discuss below, the audience's atten?tion is directed to Achilles' body, shown in a feminized way as a male pin?- up. Traditionally the beautiful body is the female's sphere. In Troy female characters are usually clothed - except for Helen and two nameless pl?ay mates of Achilles. In contrast, it is Achilles' male body that is used in ways usually reserved for big-screen females. In many scenes the audience sees Achilles in his tent, which would normally provide the traditional ? domestic sphere of the female. We can watch him changing his clothes and washing himself, and at one point he is totally naked. When he does ? not wear his armor, the clothing he wears over his shoulders sports a lo?w neckline that clearly corresponds to traditional cinematic female style,? contrasted by his modern looking boots - Achilles is never shown in sandals - and unshaved armpit hair.

In its subtext

Troy gives plenty of possibilities for a homosexual, oppo sitional ("counter-hegemonic") reading.

But because homoeroticism and

explicit exhibition of the male body as an erotic object are still prosc?ribed in our contemporary society, the ??lmmakers fully distract the aud?ience from the erotically motivated view - which the audience does not even? admit to itself. Abiding by a veritable production code, by which we mean the self-censorship by ??lmmakers fearful of pressure from socially conservative special interest groups, the audience is repeatedly reminded of Achilles' heterosexuality, which they are accustomed to reading as? the norm in a blockbuster ??lm. For example, although the ???lm depicts Achilles and Patroclus as handsome and athletic young men, the audi ence is immediately and clearly told that they are cousins. In this way ? Here the lmmakers defy genre conventions. Usually the stagin g of women is con nected with eroticization. Anja Wieber-Scariot: fiFilm,fl 1137.

Cf. Wieber: fiVor Troja nichts Neues?fl 159.

See Stuart Hall, fiEncoding/decoding,fl in Centre for Contempora ry Cultural Stud ies, ed., Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972-79 (London: Hutchinson, 1980) 128-38. In his work Hall describes di?ferent ki?nds of decoding media messages: the dominant, the negotiated, and the oppositional reading. Th?e latter describes readers, whose social situation places them in a directly oppositional r?elation to the domi nant code. He or she understands the preferred reading but does not shar?e the told code and therefore rejects the dominant reading. In Anja Wieber's point of view, homoerotic motivated curiosity is? nowadays not a taboo anymore for the ??lm industry. Cf. Wieber, "Antike am laufenden Meter: Mehr als ein Jahrhundert Filmgeschichte," in Mischa Meier and Simona Slanicka, eds?.,

Antike und Mittel-

alter im Film: Konstruktion - Dokumentation - Projektion "RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

the ??lmmakers employ a strategy for stating heteronormativity and? avoid any suspicion of establishing a homoerotic relationship between them. Similarly, when the audience views Achilles' bare back, the ??l?mmakers make sure that Briseis is included in the shot. This is a strategically ?func tional move designed to engage the male spectator. By arranging a mixed-? gender ensemble to legitimate his visual reception of male nudity they free him from suspecting that Achilles is homosexual. Another strategy of legitimization that avails the audience of a free view of the masculi?ne body is the athletic staging. Although the audience sees Achilles' bo?dy in a number of battle scenes, here the male body is not only beautiful but ? functional: the muscles are used as battle weapons, as tools for winning? a contest, and not as attributes of attractiveness. The visual representation and display of Achilles in

Troy is remarkable

in alternating throughout the ??lm between a male and a female del?inea tion. Within the domestic sphere of his tent he performs in a feminized and erotic way, while in battle his body resembles an extremely violent ? war machine. The ??lmmakers illustrate the Homeric epithet "swi?ft-footed" by conferring upon him a ??ghting style characterized by speed and? ath letic grace and balance.

We see this ??ghting style for the ??rst time in

his initial action sequence - the combat with Boagrius. Although the hero has overslept after an apparently exhausting night with the two afore mentioned naked women, he quickly dispatches this visually intimidat ing warrior. With quick steps Achilles runs towards him, jumps up high in the air, and kills him with a single stab of his sword. This graceful? act of killing is presented in one of the few slow-motion scenes of the movie, presumably to warrant special attention from the audience. Later, at the? action climax of the ??lm, the performance of Achilles' body st?ands out during the staging of his death. Unlike the other victims of the war, Achil les remains apparently unharmed until the very end, and his death scene ? continues to emphasize the aesthetical depiction of his attractive, albe?it expiring, body. Cf. Koer and Schafenrath: fiPetersens epische Technik, fl 319, footnote 16; Shahabu din, From Greek Myth to Hollywood Story, 113; Wieber, "Vor Troja nichts Neues?" 160-161. While the nature of their relationship remains open in the Iliad , some of the later ancient traditions regard them as a couple. See Krass in this volume. Steve Neale, "Masculinity as Spectacle: Re??ections on Men ?and Mainstream Cinema," in Steven Coham and Ina Rae Hark, eds., Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in Hol lywood Cinema (London: Routledge, 1994) 9-20; also Guido Zurstiege, "Fit und ??ott - und ein wenig sexy in schwarz-weiß, die strukturelle Ambivalenz werbliche?r Medienangebote," in Christina Holtz-Bacha, ed., (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2008) 107-123. Cf. Ko??er and Scha?fenrath, "Petersens epische Technik,?" 320-324. "RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

The Hero and His Relationships: Achilles the Lonely Hero The ??rst time we see Achilles on the screen he is naked and asleep between two undressed women. This tableau is signi??cant for his c?har acterization, for it characterizes him as a heterosexual, white man - two of Connell's attributes of hegemonic masculinity. The audience assume?s that for Achilles women must be merely objects of sexual desires. This i?s underlined by his sleeping with two women instead of only one, a sign of his virility. If Achilles had been introduced lying in bed with only ?one woman, the audience might have interpreted this to mean that he had a stable relationship. But by being shown together with two women, the assumption instead is that Achilles is the personi??cation of a si?ngle man who refuses to integrate into society. His marital status represents his? resistance to social norms, his refusal to assume adult responsibilities? and commit to a family, the latter sphere usually the realm of women. The only two things Achilles seems to be interested in are immortal fame and? his cousin Patroclus. He follows his own set of values, and this results frequently in irresponsible behavior. For example, because he oversleeps he arrives late for the battle against the Thessalians. Notable as well ?is that Achilles is the only Greek wearing turquoise clothes, the lone exception being his mother Thetis, who is actually a goddess. This color is in oth?er scenes almost exclusively reserved for the Trojans, and it clearly portr?ays a positive ambience. After the warlike Achilles leads the Greek army in successfully establish ing a beachhead along the Trojan coastline, his priorities start to chan?ge. His soldiers, the Myrmidons, ??nd Briseis hiding in Apollo's plundered tem ple and bring her to Achilles' tent. Briseis is the niece of the Troj?an king Priam and the cousin of his sons Hector and Paris, and she was introduce?d in the ??lm when her cousins returned from their diplomatic missio?n to Sparta. This is a scene of pageantry, and she is introduced prominently ? when ??rst Paris, then Hector, and ??nally King Priam addres?s and call her by name, thereby signalizing the signi??cance of her character. The broth ers are pleasantly surprised to see and hear that Briseis has become a s?er Shahabudin, fiFrom Greek Myth to Hollywood Story,fl 116: fiThe main theme of Troy, however, is not Achilles' rage as in the Iliad but his glory." The positive presentation of the Trojans corresponds to the rather n?egative char acterization of the Greeks that focuses on Agamemnon and some of the sol?diers. Other Greeks like Odysseus, Nestor, Patroclus, or Ajax are shown positively an?d are sometimes even likeable. Menelaus only becomes a revengeful cuckold when Helena ru?ns away with Paris. Before, he is a king who wishes peace with the Trojans. "RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

vant of Apollo. King Priam immediately clari??es for the audience ?that "the young men of Troy were devastated when Briseis chose the virgin robes."? On this occasion all Trojans wear turquoise clothes (see above). Only ?Bri seis is dressed in a white robe and veil, which underscores her virginit?y. In the darkness of Achilles' tent, which re??ects his introverted character, she wears the same robe now while sitting on the ground, bound to a pole?, her lips bleeding. Briseis attracts Achilles' attention only after his adjutant Eudorus points out that she was put there for his "amusement." Taking a closer look at her while undressing himself, he asks for her name. Briseis now glances at Achilles for the ??rst time. Instead of telling him? her name she condemns the murdering of the priests and calls him a killer. The ground-view camera shows her to us seated in the foreground as Achilles ? stands upright in the background. The opposing camera angle originates from the perspective of Achilles' eye: Briseis sits in front of a bag? over??ow ing with plundered gold objects to remind the audience of her captivity. Neither her tough and brave behavior, nor Achilles' nudity, which con? trasts with her virgin robes, correspond at all to this novel tableau. A minute later, Achilles, now wearing a wrap-around loincloth, moves much closer to Briseis. He moves so close to the camera behind her that ? his view angle becomes much steeper. This perspective of him looking down on her is used to frame a dialogue that would seem to take the opposite frame, for after touching and smelling her hair he assumes that? she must be of royal blood because of the haughty manner in which she speaks - as one in high position speaks to subordinates. He asks for her name; in fact, he asks for her name twice, which emphasizes that for him? she is not just booty but a human being. She refuses to give him an answ?er until Achilles cuts her bonds and crouches down next to her. Now eye-to-? eye with him, Briseis ??nally introduces herself. In response to h?is asking her if she is afraid, she now looks up at him slightly and answers with ?the question, "Should I be?". Her anxious voice and her wounded lip point up the real balance of power between them. After a brief interruption by? Eudorus, they resume the conversation on eye-level again. Briseis: What do you want in Troy? You didn't come for the Spartan qu?een. Achilles: I want what every man wants; I just want it more. Briseis slightly averts her gaze from him. Calling her "girl," he ?tells her that she is the only person from Troy that does not have to fear him.

Cf. Alena Allen, fiBriseis in Homer, Ovid and

Troy ," in Winkler, Troy , 148 and 156.

Cf. Allen, "Briseis in Homer," 157.

"RZQORDGHGIURP%ULOOFRPˆˆ˛˛$0

YLDIUHHDFFHVV

The interruption by Eudorus was to summon Achilles to Agamemnon's tent, where a few minutes later Achilles is engaged in a verbal ???ght with the king. The argument climaxes when Agamemnon shocks Achilles by having two of his soldiers drag Briseis into the scene. She has a bleed ing nose and is crying. The camera focuses now on the appalled face of Achilles. Everything would seem to be leading to a violent resolution, but

Briseis abruptly speaks out:

Stop! Too many men have died today. If killing is your only talent, that?'s your curse. I don't want anyone dying for me. It is remarkable that she, as a captive, in??uences the course of ?action by terminating the ??ght. It is even more impressive that Achilles, w?ho was just going to kill his compatriots, listens to Briseis.

Agamemnon, amused,

remarks: "Mighty Achilles, silenced by a slave girl." As a result ?she stays in Agamemnon's tent, and Achilles, deeply o?fended, refuses to partic?ipate in any subsequent battles. After a military defeat, Agamemnon, without having touched her, turns Briseis over to his soldiers. When one of them tries to brand her with a hot iron, she ??ghts back by slapping hi?m. At the very last minute Achilles appears, kills two of the o?fending Gre?eks, and carries Briseis, who has fainted, to his tent. Achilles, who admires? her courage, tries to wash her face with a wet cloth but she interferes twic?e by beating him. He throws the cloth into her face, she throws it back at hi?m; after he gives up trying to clean her, she takes the cloth herself. Whil?e he looks down at her and she looks up at him, she asks if he likes provokin?g her. Instead of providing an answer he just smiles what might be consid ered a positive response. The scene ends with Briseis' comment on Ach?il les' opinion about the gods: I thought you are a dumb brute. I could have forgiven a dumb brute. She does not agree with what he said but she has now understood that Achilles is more profound than she ??rst supposed.

As in the scene

before, Briseis is visually portrayed as a victim, but this visual repre?senta tion is not consistent with her tough and self-con??dent behavior.? This is precisely what makes her so interesting for Achilles, who does not even ?

In Homer™

Iliad (1.193-222) it is the goddess Athena who prevents Achilles from ki?ll ing Agamemnon. Cf. Allen, "Briseis in Homer," 158; Jon Solomon, "?Viewing Troy: Authenticquotesdbs_dbs17.pdfusesText_23

[PDF] truck driver retention statistics

[PDF] truck driver turnover rate 2018

[PDF] truck driver turnover rate 2020

[PDF] truck weight class chart

[PDF] trucking companies turnover rate

[PDF] true 1920s fashion

[PDF] true false quiz java

[PDF] true meaning of life

[PDF] true story behind a walk to remember

[PDF] true value annual report 2019

[PDF] trump budget proposal 2020

[PDF] trump tax bracket 2019

[PDF] truncated fourier series matlab

[PDF] trust font

[PDF] trust wallet review