Wonder Woman of the Week: Helen of Troy
- Jan 12, 2022
- 2 min read
Historians have debated for millennia the historical accuracy of Ancient Greek accounts- especially when it comes to the mythical Trojan War of the Mycenaean Era. While most historians accept there was a Troy of the era destroyed by war and fire, the details depicted in Greek stories like the Iliad are largely denounced as myth. There may be however real historical basis for the love story that ended Troy- and half of that love story is this week's Wonder Woman. According to the story, Menelaus- warlord of Sparta and brother to the Mycenaean king of kings Agamemnon earned the right to marry the woman Helen after intense political debate before a Trojan prince began a love affair that delivered Helen across the Aegean and started an international conflict. Evidence clearly shows a conflict occurred- resulting in the destruction of Troy- but there may also be evidence Helen may have really existed.
Most historians assumed the love aspect of the destruction of Troy was simply fiction, but recent analysis of Hittite law may actually prove Helen of Troy could have existed- and also provides a different reason for her to have left her husband. A few generations before the fall of the city attributed to the mythical Troy, Mycenaean colonists settled the Ionian Coast (Western Anatolia). After a war against Hittites for the right to live in the region, those colonists adopted Hittite cultural practices- including the Hittite legal system. While the Mycenaeans (and lots of cultures today) had a rigid patriarchy in which women had little to no legal rights, the Hittites were an oasis in the Bronze Age Mediterranean for elevating women to near equal legal status as men. Women could call for a divorce, work the same jobs (including as soldiers) as men, earn the same wages, and enjoy equal responsibilities as men in the home. It would have been common for royal Mycenaean women to know about this Hittite feminism, and likely would have been incredibly tempted to leave their husbands for a live overseas with more civil rights for women.
If Helen of Troy really did exist, her departure from Mycenae was likely not for romantic reasons. Instead, the powerless queen likely left to take both a demotion to princess and an increase in civil rights. Unfortunately, Helen's harrowing journey to find a better life ended in tragedy. Unfortunately, there's little reliable information about the events of the fall of the city recognized by most historians as the Troy of Greek myth, but what is known is it involved both fire and war as evident of burn marks on the ruins and arrow points found throughout the remains. It's impossible to know for sure if Helen was real, but what is known is Troy was a beacon of hope for Bronze Age women in search of a new life where they could find equality and respect in both the work place and the home. It's possible Helen was a metaphor for women across the Aegean who risked everything to find a new life and new freedom- something the definitely mythical Wonder Woman would no doubt stand for.
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