ET CETERA ANTIQUA

📝 Classical Civilisation essay, Year 11. Dated: 19 September 2024. Mark: 8/8 — full marks. Teacher feedback: “A brilliant first I-mark GCSE essay, Millie, well done! Your conclusion could be even more nuanced if you considered different versions of Helen’s story.”

Source A depicts the creation of Pandora. In the source, Pandora is standing still, facing the viewer, surrounded by all the gods who are dressing her. I think this source shows that Pandora isn’t to blame, because she is standing completely still, allowing the gods to clothe her. She is lifeless; it is the gods’ fault that evil was released into the world, because they made her that way.

Hesiod’s version of the story further emphasises this point. In this version, Zeus says (about men) “I shall give them a curse”, and Hesiod describes Pandora’s creation, including when Hermes “put lies and crafty words and a thievish nature into her heart.” This shows that Pandora is not to blame because the gods created her specifically to open the jar; she didn’t have any choice.

Source B shows that Helen did have a choice in whether to follow Paris or not. She says “I wish I had chosen death rather than following your son”, which shows that she did have a choice. This suggests that Helen could be to blame because she could have known that her father had made all her suitors sign an oath to go to war against anyone who threatens the marriage. If she had known this, she would have been to blame.

However, in Euripides’ Helen, the Trojan War is definitely not her fault. She says “I am Helen and I will speak of the evil things I have suffered. It could be Zeus’ fault: ‘for [Zeus] brought war upon the land… so he might lighten Mother Earth of her huge crowd of mortals.’” This suggests that Zeus made the Trojan War happen because he wanted to depopulate the Earth. It could also be partly the Greeks’ fault: she says “I was set out as a prize for the Greeks”, which suggests that Menelaus didn’t go to war because of her, but for her name — a prize.

In conclusion, I don’t think Pandora was to blame at all because the gods made her with the sole purpose of opening the jar. I think Helen is partly to blame because she chose to follow Paris, but I don’t think the actual war was her fault. With Helen, the blame might also depend largely on which version of the story we are looking at.