One of my favorite quotes from book three of The Iliad was, “Don't provoke me - wretched
headstrong girl! Or in my immortal rage I may just toss you over Hate you as I adore you now - with a vengeance”
(480-492). Aphrodite is usually characterized as “the goddess of love, beauty,
and procreation” and serves as a point of comparison for female beauty as a
whole. However, here you see something other than what most people view her as.
You see rage unravel as Aphrodite tries to disguise herself in front of Helen
and persuade her to go to Paris, however Helen refuses. Helen then realizes the
goddess’ rage and is gripped by fear, quickly keeping her mouth shut and
following as the goddess says. This to me seemed a little different than what I
pictured Aphrodite to really be like. She represents love, which is characterized
as gentle, however in this particular scene she is pushy and demanding. This is
something different coming from the goddess of love, which I liked very much
and was one scene that truly stood out to me. In any book, I love seeing women,
whether it be something small as this scene, be strong-minded and pushy which
is different than what most women are seen as –that being “shy” or “sensitive.”
I like this part! Like you said, we have never seen Aphrodite in such rage, and in this part we got to see the other side of her that we do not normally see. I got the interpretation of, yes I am the love goddess, I am a gentle and caring person, but do not mess with me because I will not let myself get told nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you point to this "side" or "facet" of Aphrodite, and I can understand your surprise. Our ideas of Aphrodite/Venus are somewhat altered by what we would LIKE to think about love. If we're thinking of a goddess of love, however, it would seem only right to include the other side of the coin - love can be jealous, bitter, and vengeful, especially when scorned.
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