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bundy · 05-21-2004, 03:07 AM

Another thing which is proved by these passages, and especially by the one about Sidon, is that Homer was not the author fo the Cypria; for in that peom it is stated that Paris reached Troy with Helen three days after he left Sparta, having had a good voyage with a fair wind and a calm sea, whereas we learn from the Iliad that he was forced to take her far out of his way - but i must take my leave of Homer and the Cypria.

I asked the priests if the Greek story of what happened at Troy held any truth in it, and they gave my in reply some information which they claimed to have had direct from Menelaus himself. This was, that after the abduction of Helen, the Greeks sent a strong force to the Troad in support of Menelaus' cuase, and as soon as the men had landed and established themselves on Trojan soil, ambassadors, of whom Menelaus was one, were dispatched to Troy. They were received within the walls of the town, and demanded the restoration of Helen with the treasure which Paris had stolen, and also satisfaction for the injuries they had received. The Trojans, however, gave them the answer which they always stuck to afterwards - sometimes even swearing to the truth of it: namely, that Helen nor the treasure was in their possession, but both were in Egypt, and there was no justice in trying to force them to give satisfaction for property which was being detained by the Egyptian king Proteus. The Greeks, supposing this to be a merely frivolous answer, laid seige to the town, and persisted until it fell; but no Helen was found, and they were still told the same story, until at last they believed it and sent Menelous to visit Proteus in Egypt. He sailed up the river to Memphis, and when he had fiven a true account of all that had happened, he was most hospitably entertained and Helen, having suffered no evils, was restored to him with all the rest of his property. Nevertheless, in spite of his generous treatment, Menelaus proved himself no friend of Egypt; for when he wished to leave, but was delayed for a long time by contrary winds, he took two Egyptian children and offered them in sacrifice. The discovery of this foul act turned the friendship of the Egyptians to hatred; he was pursued, but managed to escape with his ships to Libya. Where he went afterwards the Egyptians could not say. They told me that they learned of some of these events by inquiry, but spoke with certain knowledge of those which had taken place in their own country.

This, then, is the version the Egyptian priests gave me of the story of Helen, and i am inclined to accept it for the following reason: had Helen really been in Troy, she would have been handed over to the Greeks with or without Paris' consent; for i cannot believe that either Priam or any other kinsman of his was mad enough to be willing to risk his own and his children's lives and the safety of the city, simply to let Paris continue to live with Helen. If, moreover, that had been their feeling when the troubles began, surely later on, when the Trojans had suffered heavy losses in every battle they fought, and there was never an engagement (if we may believe the epic poems) in which Priam himself did not lost two fo his sons, or three, or even more: surely, i repeat surely, in such circumstances as these, there can be little doubt that, even if Helen had been the wife of Priam the king, he would have given her back to the Greeks, if to do so offered a chance of relief from the suffering which the war had caused. Again Paris was not heir to the throne, and so could not have been acting as regent for his aged father, for it was Hector, his elder brother and a better man than he, who was to have succeeded on Priam's death, and it was not likely that Hector would put up with his brother's lawless behaviour, especially as it was the cause of much distress both to himself and to every other Trojan besides. The fact is, they did not give Helen up because they had not got her; what they told the Greeks was the truth, and i do not hesitate to declare that the refusal of the Greeks to believe it came of divine volition in order that their utter destruction might plainly prove to mankind that great offences meet this great punishments at the hands of God. This, then, is my own interpretation.

05-21-2004, 03:07 AM	#82 (permalink)
bundy . Location: Tokyo	Another thing which is proved by these passages, and especially by the one about Sidon, is that Homer was not the author fo the Cypria; for in that peom it is stated that Paris reached Troy with Helen three days after he left Sparta, having had a good voyage with a fair wind and a calm sea, whereas we learn from the Iliad that he was forced to take her far out of his way - but i must take my leave of Homer and the Cypria. I asked the priests if the Greek story of what happened at Troy held any truth in it, and they gave my in reply some information which they claimed to have had direct from Menelaus himself. This was, that after the abduction of Helen, the Greeks sent a strong force to the Troad in support of Menelaus' cuase, and as soon as the men had landed and established themselves on Trojan soil, ambassadors, of whom Menelaus was one, were dispatched to Troy. They were received within the walls of the town, and demanded the restoration of Helen with the treasure which Paris had stolen, and also satisfaction for the injuries they had received. The Trojans, however, gave them the answer which they always stuck to afterwards - sometimes even swearing to the truth of it: namely, that Helen nor the treasure was in their possession, but both were in Egypt, and there was no justice in trying to force them to give satisfaction for property which was being detained by the Egyptian king Proteus. The Greeks, supposing this to be a merely frivolous answer, laid seige to the town, and persisted until it fell; but no Helen was found, and they were still told the same story, until at last they believed it and sent Menelous to visit Proteus in Egypt. He sailed up the river to Memphis, and when he had fiven a true account of all that had happened, he was most hospitably entertained and Helen, having suffered no evils, was restored to him with all the rest of his property. Nevertheless, in spite of his generous treatment, Menelaus proved himself no friend of Egypt; for when he wished to leave, but was delayed for a long time by contrary winds, he took two Egyptian children and offered them in sacrifice. The discovery of this foul act turned the friendship of the Egyptians to hatred; he was pursued, but managed to escape with his ships to Libya. Where he went afterwards the Egyptians could not say. They told me that they learned of some of these events by inquiry, but spoke with certain knowledge of those which had taken place in their own country. This, then, is the version the Egyptian priests gave me of the story of Helen, and i am inclined to accept it for the following reason: had Helen really been in Troy, she would have been handed over to the Greeks with or without Paris' consent; for i cannot believe that either Priam or any other kinsman of his was mad enough to be willing to risk his own and his children's lives and the safety of the city, simply to let Paris continue to live with Helen. If, moreover, that had been their feeling when the troubles began, surely later on, when the Trojans had suffered heavy losses in every battle they fought, and there was never an engagement (if we may believe the epic poems) in which Priam himself did not lost two fo his sons, or three, or even more: surely, i repeat surely, in such circumstances as these, there can be little doubt that, even if Helen had been the wife of Priam the king, he would have given her back to the Greeks, if to do so offered a chance of relief from the suffering which the war had caused. Again Paris was not heir to the throne, and so could not have been acting as regent for his aged father, for it was Hector, his elder brother and a better man than he, who was to have succeeded on Priam's death, and it was not likely that Hector would put up with his brother's lawless behaviour, especially as it was the cause of much distress both to himself and to every other Trojan besides. The fact is, they did not give Helen up because they had not got her; what they told the Greeks was the truth, and i do not hesitate to declare that the refusal of the Greeks to believe it came of divine volition in order that their utter destruction might plainly prove to mankind that great offences meet this great punishments at the hands of God. This, then, is my own interpretation. __________________ Ohayo!!!