PUBLISHED IN ISSUE 2 | FALL 2022
Illiadic Alternatives: A Comparative Analysis of Iliadic Figures in Homeric Epic Poetry and Contemporary Revisionist Retellings
Rheanna Caron
Lone Star College - Montgomery
Rheanna ‘Rae’ Caron joined the Lone Star Honors College Montgomery as a Chancellor’s Fellow Scholar after graduating from College Park High School in 2020. Over the course of the last four semesters, Rae has presented at three Honors Day Undergraduate Research Conferences and two Regional Great Plains Honors Council Conferences. This past March, they presented their Boe Award winning project, Iliadic Alternatives: A Comparative Analysis of Iliadic Figures in Homeric Epic Poetry and Contemporary Revisionist Retellings, at GPHC. After graduating from Lone Star, Rae will transfer into an environmental science program at Texas A&M or Rice University to prepare for a career as a National Park Ranger.
To determine the effects of reimagining culturally relevant stories to fit the sensibilities of modern audiences, this research investigates gender dynamics and the societal value placed on individual heroism by comparing characterizations in Homer’s Iliad with two contemporary retellings. Sociologists Lilah Canavero and Gayle Rubin outline Homeric Greece’s gendered constructions while Dean Hammer’s studies on Aegean warrior culture describe the effects of societal expectation on epic characters. Building upon these works, analysis stems from an investigation of characterizations across versions of the Iliad, identifying the manner in which contemporary writers recontextualize the portrayal of literary heroes and defamiliarize audiences with the flaws in current and past societal systems. The reversal of character perspectives provides interrogation of the traits most valued by society and how they relate to the various systems of power in place. Further research may include examining other culturally relevant stories that have been contemporarily reimagined.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
When someone speaks the name Troy, images jump to mind of heroes fighting valiantly outside the walls, warriors clashing and dying for a great cause, a shining hero in a chariot among the battlefield. When people ask why the war was fought, others respond, “they were fighting over Helen.” Readers know about Achilles, a glowing hero wronged by his commander despite his valiant deeds. They know of Patroclus, the steadfast fallen companion of Achilles. They know of Agamemnon and Odysseus, Paris and Hector, all great warriors in their own rights, but the names of the conquered, the names of people who lost their lives and homes and families to the war, are rarely spoken. Over time, the perspectives of the marginalized groups of history, those considered less-than or subservient to others, were left unaddressed and unrecorded, their voices drowned out by those society deemed more important. In the modern age, however, storytellers bring light to the tales of those left out of history through revisionist literature and the practice of writing back, a storytelling framework that reinvents well-known stories or re-records historical events in the form of fiction. This form of revisionist literature brings in the perspectives of those forgotten by time and erased by history, redefining some of the most well-known and culturally relevant stories. In the last two decades, dozens of Greek myth retellings have emerged, reinventing the stories of heroes on the scale of Perseus, Odysseus, and even deities themselves like Hades and Persephone. Often, these versions boast stark differences from the originals and incorporate various contemporary societal values and social dynamics in their framework, but few examples of this shifting perspective are quite as telling as those involving Aristos Achaion: the demi-god Achilles.
This research compares characterizations in The Iliad and two modern retellings to investigate period specific gender dynamics and the Homeric figure’s relationship with Aegean warrior culture, inspect the standpoints from which the modern writer recontextualizes heroic criteria, and investigate the current focus on writing back to incorporate new perspectives into culturally relevant stories. A critical literature review establishes the lens through which to inspect the gender dynamics in Homeric literature through the works of sociologists Gayle Rubin and Joan Scott. Scholars Lilah Grace Canavero and Dean Hammer apply gender constructs and the concept of Aegean warrior culture to Iliadic literature specifically. Lastly, context on the subject of writing back and revisionist literature stems from the work of Ashish K. Gupta and Ritushree Sengupta, who contribute to analysis of the manner in which myths are continually recontextualized and provide a solid, applicable definition of writing back and revisionist literature as a whole. Through the analysis of The Iliad and its contemporary retellings, The Song of Achilles and The Silence of the Girls, this research brings to light the contrasting characterizations of Homeric figures as presented through a modern feminist lens, and demonstrates how modern writers reimagine classic characters for contemporary audiences. The drastic difference between portrayals of either the idealized hero or the detested villain speaks to the modern inspection of antiquated tropes, as well as the societal systems into which these tropes fell, and works to defamiliarize the problematic elements of culturally formative literature in order to reevaluate what criteria defines a true literary hero.
CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW
In order to approach a comparative literary analysis involving gender dynamics and societal standards surrounding them, one must first possess an understanding of gender itself; where it gets its roots, why it stands as such a powerhouse in dictating social order, and how it plays into relations between different sections of society. Noted sociologist Joan Scott defines gender as "a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes'' (Meyerowitz 1355). Scott implicitly delineates gender as a social phenomenon despite having basis in biological sex, and largely affects gender relations by serving as a means to signify relationships of power. In Archaic Aegean culture, women were seen as so inferior as to be perceived as property; items to be traded and squabbled over, attributed the same value as metal goods or chariot horses. Scott’s definition contextualizes the concept of gender across western society in general, but leaves room for more specificity on the subject of gender dynamics in Greece. The work of Gayle Rubin fills this gap, a seminal researcher in the field of gender studies and a strong proponent for perceptions of sex and gender as purely social constructs. Rubin describes a system of power exchange titled the Sex/Gender system, which reflects the societal value placed on men and their historical and cultural power over women in Western society. In the context of this research, Rubin’s standpoint on the Sex/Gender system and its functions based on gender perceptions defines the manner in which men come into powerful positions inherently, leading to the perception of women as lesser and inferior. This dynamic puts into perspective Ancient Greece’s system as one of stark power imbalances and perceptions of people based on the roles they were expected to play in society.
Lilah Grace Canavero, in her book Women of Substance in Homeric Epic: Objects, Gender, Agency, ascribes this Sex/Gender system in the context of Ancient Greece, where women were treated most often as property and struggled to find identity outside of their male counterparts. This struggle to manufacture an identity apart from prominent men in power exists as a theme across versions of The Iliad, both the original text and its modern counterparts, which ties the analysis of this dynamic into the specific context of this research. Canavero describes the system in place as one of “a male-controlled network of exchange,” which benefits men who trade women’s agency and livelihoods amongst one another as a means of gaining power and honor for themselves (Canavero 232). Dowries, bride-prices, and ramsons appear as means to quantify women’s value, creating the standard of women in Homeric literature acting as commodities for men, to be bought and exchanged at will. The ransoms paid in exchange for women in The Iliad, specifically when referring to Chrysies and Brisies, the two women who were blamed as the second largest sources of conflict among the Greek army, describe the severity of the issue, as women were both objectified and made out to be the causes of conflict among men. The quantifying of women as objects of value, the scapegoating they endured, and the struggle to find one’s own autonomy and identity in a society that views them as commodities takes a primary role as thematic elements in contemporary versions of The Iliad, contributing to the ever-changing narrative of gender dynamics and how expectations and perspectives change in tandem with shifting societal values.
Further analysis delves into the concept and tradition of Aegean warrior culture and investigates how the expectation that honor be placed as paramount even in comparison with one’s life itself, thus interrogating the entrapments of this society in how it pertains to Achilles specifically. While the roles of women have been heavily inspected in the context of Ancient Greece, this research also takes into account the impact of this dynamic on male Homeric heroes, and the expectations of the culture to which they belonged. Despite the focus on male-female dynamics in modern versions of The Iliad, there stands in just as prominent a light the different perspectives on the relationships between men, specifically men of great mythological and historical importance. Of particular relevance is the manner in which the male-centric warrior culture of ancient Greece impacted relations among fighters, regional kings, and generals in the Greek army, a theme explored not only in The Iliad itself, but in more contemporary versions as well. Dean Hammer’s work on autonomy and the impact of warrior culture on Achilles puts into perspective the expectation that Greek heroes adhere to a strict warrior culture, and all of the complications to one’s sense of identity that this dynamic entailed. Adherence to the honor-bound culture of warriors despite disillusionment constitutes a significant portion of Hammer’s analysis. In the case of Achilles refusing to fight after the capture of Brisies, he finds himself capable only of attributing his anger to his honor being sullied by Agamemnon’s actions rather than a response to an outright affront to his own personal character. As heroes strove to make themselves known, they were forced to subscribe to the warrior ethos of the time. In a culture so steeped in the belief of glory for men through battle and a valiant death, there existed very few routes available to permit a mindset outside of the broad societal standard of the time. This inability to step outside of the warrior culture that so prioritized honor, glory, and prowess over all else speaks to the societal expectations of men, specifically as soldiers in the context of the Trojan war. Hammer’s analysis of The Iliad and the portrayal of Achilles as an outsider among men in the sense of his lineage, his attitudes, and his status as a warrior removed from all others creates a terse relationship between himself and the other generals in the battle for Troy, a theme explored at length in the more modern interpretations of Iliadic culture and characters.
The term writing back applies when modern literature reimagines long-standing and culturally relevant stories with an aim to empower the identities of demographics that previously went unrepresented. This term and works that ascribe to this technique fall under the category of revisionist literature as defined by Ashish K. Gupta and Ritushree Sengupta in Art and Aesthetics of Modern Mythopoeia. Despite focusing specifically on Indian post-colonial literature that brings to light the perspectives of marginalized groups, Gupta and Sengupta provide a definition of revisionist literature which specifically pertains to this research, defining it as “alternative retellings of traditionally accepted cultural and literary texts [that] contribute towards giving a voice to the marginal voiceless other” (Gupta & Sengupta 6). This definition incorporates the concept of writing back into the context of this research, as the growing popularity of reimagining prevalent stories correlates with the modern feminist movements. In the case of Greek mythos specifically, heroes are often reimagined to fit a more contemporary standard by either overlooking their flaws or emphasizing their positive traits. Art and Aesthetics provides a route to inspect the literature investigated by this study, urging readers to inspect revisionist literature with an aim to determine the cultural changes that the alternate tellings represent. Specifically, Gupta and Sengupta outline what exactly qualifies contemporary literature as revisionist. This title applies to both The Song of Achilles and The Silence of the Girls, as the contemporary versions of The Iliad both focus on the perspectives of characters whose viewpoints remained unaddressed in previous versions of the tale.
THE ILIAD: WARRIOR ENTRAPMENTS AND POWER IMBALANCES
The Iliad, as one of the most well-known pieces of Greek literature and epic poetry, builds the foundations of heroism as firmly as the walls of Troy themselves. This foundation shaped the expectation of literary heroes in western society as a result of its cultural relevance. Serving as a testament to Aegean warrior culture and providing a distinct baseline through which to analyze later renditions of its famous characters, the story of the Trojan war depicts what Greek values pertained to and were represented by heroes of the time. Similarly, The Iliad provides insight into the gender dynamics of Homeric Greece through its portrayal of Brisies.
Briseis stands as one of the main sources of information on the gender dynamics of Homeric Greece not through her characterization, but her lack thereof. From a gendered perspective, The Iliad provides very few direct references to the state of gender relations at the time, but what the poem lacks in explicit description it provides in general context. In The Iliad, Brisies is a character significant in her nothingness. Her characterization is minimal, her physical description nonexistent, and her speaking lines overall inconsequential in surmising her character, opinions, perspective, or personality. In and of herself, Briseis is a hollow character in comparison to richly depicted characters like Achilles, but her emptiness tells of societal perspectives. Briseis receives no recognition in her introductory scene, merely depicted as a prize to be won and squabbled over like any other spoil of war. Not until later does her name appear, and it becomes relevant only because she has become the focus of conflict for men. Due to her womanhood and presentation as an object of longing, Brisies does not receive the same deference as given to her male counterparts. Although she possesses epithets, Homer describes her only in terms of her beauty, which speaks of the aesthetic value ascribed to women in Greece. She receives the titles “Briseis of the Fair Cheek,” and “Lovely Briseis,” but does not receive a moniker based on her personality or traits, as a man would. In comparison to epithets such as Worthy Achilles” and “Mighty Agamemnon,” Briseis’ titles encapsulate the perceptions of women in Homeric Greece, and how their voices were drowned out in favor of their aesthetic value. Briseis serves similarly as a scapegoat, exemplifying how women often found themselves blamed for the conflicts of men. Despite having no agency, they are placed in the limelight as the reason why negative repercussions happen to men, as Briseis was the perceived reason why the Greeks suffered heavy losses after her separation from Achilles caused him to leave the battlefield. In modern literature that writes back these perceptions form alternative perspectives, however, the case becomes less straightforward. Readers hear the voices of Briseis and the silenced women of Greece and Troy most notably in revisionist work The Silence of the Girls, providing a deeply contrasting view of womanhood and agency in comparison to the original epic poem.
The expectations of women differed drastically from those of men due to perceived societal value and the sex/gender system of the time, which dictated that men adhere to the strict code of Aegean warrior culture. As an aspect of this culture, honor reigned as paramount, and few characters represent this facet more aptly than Achilles. Deeply submerged in the culture of honor, valor, and battle prowess as one’s defining traits, the soldier-prince falls victim to the expectations of society despite striving to free himself of them, as Hammer dictates in his works on the impact of warrior culture on Iliadic figures. The depiction of the ever-present pressures placed on Greek soldiers by Aegean warrior culture shows clearly in The Iliad and can be determined by contrasting the expectations of his culture with Achilles’ personal desires when he recedes completely from the battle. Homer does not decry his withdrawal from the war and the subsequent losses taken by the Greek army in The Iliad. In fact, Achilles, even after this action that some would view as cowardice or outright arrogance, continues to receive the epithets of “Blameless” and “Faultless” and “Worthy,” which speaks of the expectation that Achilles value his honor and take any infringement of it seriously enough that he would actively do harm to his allies in order to defend it. The fact that Homer does not condemn his withdrawal from the war despite his absence directly causing significant losses to the Greek army brings to light the concrete structures and expectations of Aegean warrior culture, as well as the demand that heroes adhere strictly to it. According to Homer, as depicted through Achilles’ actions, attitudes, and his change in morality, any sacrifice is worth preserving one’s honor, even at great cost of life.
As the characterization of Achilles becomes clear in relation to how Aegean warrior culture contributes to his moral downfall, so too does the image of the Greek perception of heroism. Heroes personify individual honor through their actions, and prioritize these principles as a central focus of their life. A societal obsession surrounded one’s legacy, and the concept of one’s deeds outlasting the physical lifetime was central to the Greek identity (Redfield 10). Achilles serves as a prime example of this in his initial commitment to the war despite his mother Thetis’ words of warning that if he were to engage in the battle, he would not return home to Phthia. Regardless of the knowledge that the war at Troy will bring about his end, Achilles chooses to sacrifice his life for the sake of his legacy, and his name being known forevermore after his death. This decision reflects the Greek cultural desire for honor and a solidified legacy, and displays as well Achilles’ propensity towards self-destructive tendencies.
Aristos Achaion, the best of the Greeks, undergoes a moral downfall during the events of the Trojan war, and after his receding from the war effort, his obsession with honor only grows. Through his interactions with Patroclus and Odysseus in act III, after his rejection of Agamemnon’s offer of truce in exchange for his rejoining the battle, Achilles demonstrates the hold that his obsession has taken on him, as he becomes more and more willing to sacrifice the lives and the encampment of the Greeks. His refusal to reenter the battle despite increasing urgency and frequent pleas from his allies turns Achilles’ heroic pride into rampant and stubbornly-rooted hubris in the eyes of his compatriots, but the perspective of the narrator never strays. He receives the titles of “Blameless Achilles,” “Honorable Achilles,” even as his inaction dooms the lives of his allies. Homer never condemns this willingness to sacrifice, but the consequences are felt sharply at the death of Patroclus. Achilles’ fixation on his honor progresses so far as to allow his lifelong friend to endanger, and eventually lose, his life. His reaction to his companion’s demise is similarly rooted in warrior culture, as his mourning becomes overshadowed by his desire to avenge Patroclus by desecrating Hector’s body after his death. Achilles’s entrapment in this code of honor breaks as he drags Hector behind his chariot and leads to some of the most pathos-inducing scenes in the Epic, in which the toxicity and self-focused nature of warrior culture itself, rather than the stringent code of honor presented by it, dictates how Achilles deals with the aftermath of loss. He forgoes the rites usually attributed to warriors who fell in battle in favor of demonstrating his wrath through the systemic dishonoring of his foe, but falls back into the code of honor after his encounter with Priam, Hector’s father, showing the significance of the cultural expectations of honorable conduct. Even for his greatest foe, the pleas of Hector’s father bring Achilles back to the code that previously dictated his actions and behaviors. Achilles’ characterization and overall depiction as a stubborn but well-meaning soldier with a fixation on his honor and legacy are indicative of the expectations of a warrior society, and despite his shortcomings, The Iliad praises Achilles as the most valiant and mighty of all the Greeks. Overall, the problematic elements of the culture to which these characters belong, most notably structures enabling such vast gender inequality and behaviors that would closely correlate with the modern concept of toxic masculinity, happen to be erased or accepted as products of their time. However, modern retellings call these systems frequently into question.
THE SONG OF ACHILLES: RECREATING A HERO FOR THE MODERN IDEAL
Madeline Miller’s 2011 novel The Song of Achilles writes back the story of the Trojan war through the eyes of Patroclus, bringing in a new perspective as well as shifting the focus of the original work. The novel focuses heavily on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus before and during the war, and in doing so re-characterizes these existing figures. This recreation of The Iliad demonstrates aptly the differences in societal values between the ancient Greek perspective and the modern lens. While gender dynamics do not occupy as significant a portion in the storytelling as they do in The Silence of the Girls, the development and dimension attributed to Briseis, as well as the added aspect of her search for identity outside of Achilles that mirrors Patroclus’ own struggle to establish himself, speak to the difference in perspective of female characters and their agency between the ancient and the modern lens.
While Achilles as a character receives a differently nuanced portrayal, The Song of Achilles continues to demonstrate his entrapment in and adherence to Aegean warrior culture through his actions and dialogues regarding his honor. Achilles, while seeming petulant and unremorseful in the original rendition, shows sympathy with the Greek soldiers who died due to his absence, although his refusal to fight remains steadfast. In one of the many instances where Patroclus strives to sway Achilles against leaving the battlefield, Patroclus asks what he will do if Agamemnon does not apologize for taking Briseis. In response, the warrior remarks, “if he will not beg… he will die. They will all die” (Miller 298). Achilles’ wrathful pride and strong-willed nature adheres stringently to the expectation that he should not sacrifice his honor for any reason, even to prevent the deaths of his allies, “not until [Agamemnon] gives back the honor that he has taken from [him]” (Miller 310). This continuity remains across time, perpetuating ever onwards as one of Achilles’ most defining character traits. However, Miller adds Patroclus as a narrator who does not refrain from criticizing this hubris. Whereas in The Iliad Patroclus stands unwaveringly alongside Achilles, when readers see the story through his eyes, another layer of perspective criticizes Achilles in his stubbornness. At the warrior’s refusal to aid the Greeks as they suffer heavy losses, Patroclus’ inner dialogue declares, “he would be hated now. No one would remember his glory, or his honesty, or his beauty; all his gold would be turned to ashes and ruin,” and he beseeches Achilles, “you are destroying yourself. You will not be loved for this, you will be hated, and cursed” (Miller 322-323). His warnings and pleas go unheard, so submerged in the demands of an honor-based society is Achilles that his resolve remains unshaken even at the prospect of his legacy potentially being cast in the shadow of his inaction. This contradictory outlook on the Greek value of honor and legacy speaks to the depths of Achilles’ enthrallment in warrior culture. It carries across the centuries, leaving a lasting mark across the image of the hero. Similarly, the contrast between Patroclus’ steadfast and unquestioning nature in The Iliad in comparison to his more opinionated portrayal in The Song of Achilles emphasizes the importance of the new dimension given to his character. His own viewpoint adds to the established story, attesting to the power of writing back in his depiction as a character who stands on his own even in relation to the grander figure of Achilles.
Present in later renditions where previously absent is the definitive and strained relationship between Achilles and Brisies, a dynamic rife with tension when viewed from a modern perspective, as well as a testament to the power of writing back to add nuance to previously unaddressed characters. Whereas in The Iliad Briseis is a hollow figure, used only as a bargaining chip and a scapegoat for the men of the war, later renditions provide her with a voice beyond what she was originally given. This unique perspective on Briseis appears in her new, more nuanced dynamics with Patroclus and Achilles. By no stretch of the imagination would one think to call the original dynamic between Briseis and Achilles particularly cordial, but contemporary versions of The Iliad emphasize this strained relationship, centralizing it to the story. Briseis grows particularly close to Patroclus in The Song of Achilles, spending time with him working to make medicine for wounded Greek soldiers. As the two become closer, Patroclus feels as though Briseis has become like family to him, incorporating into the close-knit circle alongside himself and Achilles. As she shares stories to the tune of Achilles’ lyre, Patroclus declares inwardly, “she was one of us now… a member of our circle, for life” (Miller 252). This connection between Patroclus and Briseis exists only in the modern renditions of the story, but the continuity in this regard bears inspection. The bond that grows between the two stems from a search for identity aside from Achilles in his fame, and leads to some contention with the hero as time progresses. Shortly before her capture by Agamemnon, Briseis reveals to Patroclus that she harbors romantic feelings for him, and that if he so wished, she would marry him. Patroclus gently rebuffs her but ponders the possibility of a relationship with Briseis, concluding that it only would have occurred if Achilles hadn’t been part of his life. This inability to separate himself from Achilles indicates the struggle to find his identity away from the shining son of Peleus, a thematic continuity that exists too in The Silence of the Girls. When Patroclus broaches the topic with Achilles later, tension arises between the pair, implying that Achilles has begun to view Briseis as a threat to their established relationship. Despite frequent reassurances, Patroclus hears “a tautness in his voice that [he] had not heard before,” and as Achilles grapples with his jealousy of Briseis and his want to appease Patroclus, the latter realizes that “jealousy was strange to [Achilles], a foreign thing. He was hurt, but… he was trying to be fair” (Miller 269-270). While the tension between Achilles and Briseis takes place through the eyes and over the subject of Patroclus in The Song of Achilles, this stress becomes central to the story in The Silence of the Girls, notably because the narrator is Briseis herself. However, there existed no previous evidence of ill will between Briseis and her master in the original tale. The expectation in ancient Greece demanded that men conquer women, but the addition of more complex dynamics that take into account the thoughts, feelings, and desires of Briseis intimates revisionist literature’s ability to give voice to characters who had once been silenced by virtue of societal norms.
Achilles is far from exempt in the revisionist trend of recharacterizing and adding new dimension to pre-established characters, and his generally more good-hearted characterization- alongside significant cognitive dissonance on the part of the narrator- serves to separate him from the atrocities of war in an effort to rewrite Achilles as not only a warrior but a victim of fate and a tragic hero. One must acknowledge when examining the recharacterization of an established figure the perspective through which they are portrayed. Patroclus as the narrator sees Achilles in an overwhelmingly positive light as a result of both the character’s individual bias and the purpose of the story itself. Patroclus grew up with Achilles and spent every day with him, which allowed them to become incomparably close and irrevocably in love, which impacted the lens through which the readers see the hero. Through Patroclus’ eyes, Achilles is a shining golden figure, the epitome of grace, kindness, and nobility. Even after joining the war, the warrior retains his innocence through Miller’s intentional removal of Patroclus from the scenes of battle. In recharacterizing Patroclus as a healer in opposition to his original role as a fighter, Miller creates two primary devices through which she separates Achilles’ character from his actions: intentional cognitive dissonance from the perspective of the narrator and some erasure of the atrocities of war through Patroclus’ separation from battle. While The Song of Achilles does not focus directly on the more horrible aspects of war, Miller does not go so far as to deny atrocity. Instead, she shifts the focus. Patroclus in this rendition of The Iliad is averse to fighting, and so chooses to refrain from battle, working instead in healing. The removal of Patroclus entirely from battle allows the character and readers to gloss over the atrocities of war, creating a cognitive dissonance that depicts the recharacterization of Patroclus as a necessity in the recharacterization of Achilles and contributes to the overall ignorance of the specific impact of war. Because Patroclus separates from battle, he does not see the lives Achilles takes or the people he conquers, allowing Patroclus- and by extension, the readers- to keep Achilles himself untarnished by the atrocities of war. Miller displays a more open and earnest side of Achilles, a facet of his character not included in his original characterization. This falls under the story’s purpose as a romance and forms the lens through which the story is told. Because it is Patroclus, because he loves Achilles, the story focuses on the loveable aspects of the hero, separating his actions from his character just as Patroclus removes himself from the sites of Achilles’ worst deeds.
Overall, Achilles’ character receives a glowing review in The Song of Achilles, portrayed as a victim of war and an honor-bound society even as his morality declines. This new version of the character speaks to the modern-day standards of a hero, one meant to be honorable in the eyes of the contemporary viewer. In order to do so, Miller needed to disconnect Achilles from the atrocities committed by warring parties in ancient Greece in order to avoid villainizing him to the modern audience. Omitting the enslavement and murder of enemies and replacing it with moments in which Achilles acts kindly works to soften his character despite his battle-hardened demeanor and steadfast resilience. The idealization of Achilles in accordance to modern standards and ideals at the cost of erasing parts of the original story and subverting his original characterization displays how writing back contributes to the changing image of characters, ideals, and what makes a specific character a hero in accordance with the societal standards to which they adhere.
THE SILENCE THE GIRLS: WRITING BACK TO GIVE AGENCY
The Silence of the Girls, written by Pat Barker in 2018, came about partially as a rebuttal to The Song of Achilles and its omission of the more horrible aspects of the Trojan War. Told from the perspective of Briseis as she recounts her time as a slave in the Greek war encampment, The Silence of the Girls features the lives of women as conquered prizes, prominently displaying the difference in perception of warriors between the original tale and modernized versions of it. The Silence of the Girls draws attention to instances of toxic masculinity and villainizes the effects of such male-centric societal expectations, creating a critical inspection of Aegean warrior culture and its impact on women. Similarly, it offers an outside perspective on warrior culture by one who does not participate, but is irreparably affected and irreversibly changed by it.
Brisies gains dimension and agency in The Silence of the Girls, contributing to revisionist literature’s efforts to write back existing stories to provide voice to characters previously silenced or dismissed as unimportant. Readers are introduced very differently to Briseis in this version; the first scene provides far more characterization for her than the entirety of The Iliad itself. She gains a real identity from the very first page, but this gift to her character delivers itself in a way that induces surprise and revulsion from readers who may once have approved of the Greeks. Beginning with the sack of Lyrnessus, Briseis’ home, the story takes the point of view of the women as they watch their city fall to the invading Greeks, and the massacre of their sons, brothers, and husbands. The vivid descriptions of fear and horror that ensue are far cries from the original portrayal of Greek conquerings and victories as great triumphs, and the visceral opening scenes paint the Greeks, as well as their soon to be slaves, in a starkly different light, casting shadows onto the once shining reputations of the soldiers who took Troy. By describing the terror of the women of Lyrnessus as it fell and describing in vivid detail as Briseis’ brothers and husband die at the hand of Achilles and the Greek army, Barker turns audiences who may have once hoped for Greek victory against their heroes. From an outside perspective uninvolved in the battle itself, the Greeks create a horror show of bloodshed and losses. After Lyrnessus’ defenders fall, Briseis reflects, “I watched [soldiers] strip houses and temples of wealth that generations of my people had worked hard to create, and they were so good at it, so practised. It was exactly like seeing a swarm of locust settle onto a harvest field; you know they’re not going to leave even one ear of corn behind” (Barker 14). In describing the Greeks as a plague, a scourge upon innocent people who maim and kill and strip people of their homes and families, Barker casts shadows onto the lofty images of renowned Greek warriors, and gives insight from a new perspective that villainizes the traits so venerated by men within the warrior culture of the time.
The portrayals of Greek warriors in The Silence of the Girls reflects the modern societal system under which it was written, and works to draw contrast between expectations of archaic society and the modern day. While The Iliad praises the prioritization of personal honor, Briseis as a victim of this system alters the perspective, turning these venerated warriors into the villains of her story. Briseis, unlike other narrators, holds a perception of Achilles that remains negative as the story progresses, standing in contrast to the previous glowing reviews of the hero. Briseis describes him in the opening lines of the book in a dismissive manner, refuting the mass of epithets given to the warrior. “Great Achilles. Brilliant Achilles, shining Achilles, godlike Achilles.. how the epithets pile up. We never called him any of those things; we called him the butcher” (Barker 3). To Briseis, Achilles is no tragic hero or unwilling but honorbound participant in the battles of others, he is a wrathful, petulant, immature child given far too much authority. His immaturity shows in multiple scenes throughout the book, but comes to a head during one of the quiet moments in the story. Briseis sees Achilles calling for his mother in the sea, and is struck with the image of a small child crying out; “he spoke again, words bubbling from his mouth like the last breath of a drowning man... He seemed to be arguing with the sea, arguing or pleading... The only word I thought I understood was ‘Mummy... Mummy, Mummy,’ like a small child crying to be picked up” (Barker 28). Achilles had never previously been cast in this light as a child seeking attention, and the striking effect undermines the image of the heroic warrior. The contrast between the moments that paint Achilles as a pitiable figure and those that depict him as a crass, heartless warrior who kills and abducts indiscriminately create a dissonance that can be seen only through the perspective of a character so disenfranchised that this new side of him becomes reality. Even the manner in which Achilles fights lends itself to a negative interpretation in The Silence of the Girls, especially when taken in contrast to The Song of Achilles. Barker uses violent, graphic and visceral diction to describe Achilles in battle through Briseis’ eyes. He hacks through ranks, moving like a whirlwind as he tears through the defenders of Briseis’ home and the defenders of Troy. When compared to Patroclus describing Achilles in an elegant manner when he fights, all graceful movements and fluid strikes, the imagery of a ruthless warrior tearing through the battlefield turns from a lofty representation of the idealized warrior to that of a brutish figure, unworthy of the praise and epithets awarded to him for his actions. Overall, Briseis sees Achilles in a wholly negative light, and he possesses very few redeeming qualities, retaining his characterization as a crass and stubborn man with too much power and too little emotional regulation.
CONCLUSION
The change in portrayals of Achilles as the perfect hero–a tragic victim of a flawed system or a raving villain–speaks to the aim of contemporary authors to recreate heroes in a manner that speaks to modern audiences. Achilles’ characterization in The Song of Achilles reflects the modern preference for heroes who not only show valor and might, but adhere to a more stringent and modern moral code despite their flaws, mistakes, or shortcomings. Miller’s effort to ascribe to Achilles the modern standard of a hero fundamentally changes the character, juxtaposing the expectations of early western society with those of the contemporary western world. This contrast comes at the cost of glossing over and omitting aspects of the original Achilles, turning his ferocity into dutiful diligence and his hubris into something more resembling righteous unrest. In contrast, Barker removes Achilles from the modern paradigm of heroism, reflecting authorial intent to point out problematic elements in venerating figures for one aspect of their being while simultaneously ignoring those which audiences may find distasteful. Where The Song of Achilles omits the more heinous acts of war, retells the once-bloody tale in the form of a love story, and brings in a narrative that focuses on the emotional tolls of war on the people who commit it, The Silence of the Girls fixates on the aftermath of conflict and the tolls wreaked upon innocents as a result.
The realities pointed out by Barker in The Silence of the Girls, especially when taken in contrast with the idealization presented by Miller in The Song of Achilles, urges readers to acknowledge the darker sides to their literary heroes, and in doing so turn a critical eye onto the systems in place that allow for such veneration to occur despite the issues surrounding individual figures. The facile, all-or-nothing perception of heroes as either entirely good or entirely evil creates a dichotomy that completely excludes characters that fall outside of these two distinct roles, and polarizes characters within it. Heroes of Greece, while mighty and valiant when viewed through the eyes of the people who venerated them and told their lasting stories, are products of a system that not only allowed, but promoted systematic oppression and misogyny. The expectation that dictated that hundreds were to die for one man’s personal honor and that women become property were not originally problematic, but rather accepted as products of the time, their existence not even worth acknowledging due to their normalization and cultural relevance. Especially in western society, which has been so fundamentally impacted by Greek culture and literature in regards to literary traditions and perceptions of heroes, an inspection of heroic figures serves to encourage readers to inspect their heroes- both literary and historical- through critical lenses, and to take into account other viewpoints before declaring one character or another as a hero to be venerated through the ages. The cultural relevance of The Iliad comes into play as well, as one of the most frequently studied examples of Greek poetry contains problematic elements which modern revisionist authors strive to point out, notably by writing new versions of the story which cater to audiences most likely to read the original.
The intent of modern revisionist literature to problematize previous systems, be it the toxic culture of warriors or a power dynamic so skewed that women are viewed as property, reflects societal progressions, works to contrast the systems in place long ago with the current social orders, and encourages a deeper inspection of societal systems and the way audiences interact with literature. These comparisons bring to light the effect of adherence to a culture so intently focused around concepts of masculinity and honor that it oppresses women for not fitting within that standard, and blames them for the conflicts of men despite a complete lack of agency in the matter. Works of this type may exist as an attempt to point out societal similarities rather than differences, and prompt interrogation into why these archaic systems retain defining narrative power in the modern world, or as a way to encourage a new framework for inspecting the larger, cultural narrative present in modern literature as opposed to its predecessors.
The Iliad is far from the only instance of this effort, and in order to continue investigating the retelling of Ancient Greek stories to fit modern lenses, further research would include inspecting retellings of The Odyssey, which boasts similar contemporary editions to The Iliad in the form of Madeline Miller’s Circe and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, or retellings of classic mythos, as in the case of the tale of Hades and Persephone, which exists as a story well known in the modern era for its litany of retellings to make the tale fit modern societal standards. The inspection of revisionist stories to reflect and comment on changes to social orders and the systems that govern dynamics between social groups speaks to the constant restructuring of social orders, as well as the addition of new opinions, perspectives, and identities to the larger-scale societal conversation. Revisionist literature urges inspections, for if problematic elements of culture remain normalized, one may never discover the defects inherent to society, and may in fact erase aspects of culturally vital figures in a manner that does a disservice to those negatively impacted by the systems they represented. As Barker remarks, possibly in reference to Miller’s act of omission, “[future audiences] won’t want the brutal reality of conquest and slavery. They won’t want to be told about the massacres of men and boys, the enslavement of women and girls. They won’t want to know we were living in a rape camp. No, they’ll go for something altogether softer. A love story, perhaps?” (Barker 291). Here the irony is not lost, as the love between Helen and Paris initiated the Trojan war itself. Even when retold as a love story, the battle for Troy still wrought havoc and destruction on the lives of countless innocents, as well as spelled doom for even its most mighty combatants. Love stories can be just as harmful as skewed expectations of heroes in their own way, as each shapes the characters that we remember in the modern world despite their own antiquity.
WORKS CITED
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