A Thousand Ships

A recurring motif across the vignettes is the cruelty, barbarity, and/or self-absorption of the Greeks, men and women, mortal and immortal.

Haynes portrays the Greek warriors as weak and arrogant men who have no honor and believe in nothing. They are all “equally bad,” as Chryseis says, and have no redeeming qualities (78). Achilles delights in viciously murdering as many men as possible. Agamemnon is selfish, slovenly, and cruel, sacrificing his own daughter to ensure Artemis’s favor and good sailing winds. Menelaus is a drunken bore who razes a city because his wife runs away from him. Odysseus preys on the vulnerable and victimized to ensure his own goals are achieved. All the heroes who have been sung about in ancient epic are ruthless exploiters and butchers, acting only in pursuit of their own ends, which are to inflict as much cruelty, pain, and destruction as possible. The bard is an “idiot” who celebrates war without understanding its true toll (41).

Greek women and goddesses overall tend to be portrayed as either flighty or cruel. Athene, Hera, and Aphrodite fight pettily over the golden apple that has no value other than what it reflects about the one who possesses it.