Author(s): Lutece DuBravac
Mentor(s): Mike Pope
Institution BYU
The canine references throughout the Iliad symbolically mark Helen of Troy as a lower class person, similar to the traditional concept of dogs as displayed in Homeric poetry. This downgrade of status acts not only to signal Helen as a sexual and societal deviant, but also to provide commentary on the Trojan War itself, since she is the face of the war- if her beauty is useless, so is the purpose of the war. I based my argument on the line in Iliad 6.344, in which Helen of Troy compares herself to a dog: δᾶερ ἐμεῖο κυνὸς κακομηχάνου ὀκρυοέσσης “O brother of me[sic] that I am a dog, a contriver of mischief and abhorred…” trans. Loeb classical library, emphasis added by me. The use of canine language in the Iliad to describe Helen connects her to anthropophagy, dishonorable death, and promiscuity. Helen is the most beautiful woman in the world, and yet she also occupies the role of a common dog—a creature that will eat the dead if set loose, a spoil of war, and an inappropriately sexual being. She is, throughout the Iliad, not only the most celebrated of women, but also the least celebrated, marked by her downgrade in status through the language and allusions used in the poem. Homer shows that not only is Helen an ignoble woman, despite her actual status as a princess, but he also criticizes the entire Trojan war through his use of language by portraying Helen as an unprofitable spoil of war.