The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-07-10
THE lLlAD'S WEAKNESS.
homsrs Version o. tAe Lsssnd e'
Ne.en 81 10y.


Why d!i no, tie TrOjans restore
Hclcn 10 Meuelars and 10y 80 doing
avoid all the fatal consequences VI the
Siege u Troyf THIS question has
probably been asked by every reader
Of HOmers celebrated epic without
finding satisfactory answer Why,
Indeed should the entire population OF
Priam have preferred the destruction
Of their city aud their lives rather than
By restoring Helen 10 disturb the love
pleasures OF one OF the many Trojan
princes such stupidity or reCk lessness
Oh the part of the Trojans scems In.
credible, aud Il must De supposed that
for some good reason not mentioned by
Homer they could not help acting the
way they did.
In fact. Hero1otus. countrymnn
OF lIomer's. In his version Of the Helen
legend. which he claims 20 have recciv.
ed from the Egyptious gives Il plausi-
bic explanation Il that obscure point.
According To this account Paris. after
carrying of Helen from Sparta. sailei
with her homrw.el but on his way
across the i.g'al sea- he was driven
10y violent winds ~ the CNuopic mouth
OF the Nile ON that shore stood Il
temple dedicated 10 IlercIlos, which
had the right of sanctuary Some OF
the attendants fcl to the temple and.
/ with view to ujurr Paris, they ac-
/ cused him to the Egyptians. narrating
/ all the circumstances " the outrage OF
/ Helen and the wrong done to Meme
/ laus.
/ As soon as Thuuis. the warden OF
| that mouth ~ the river. received the
/ intelligence he sent message to Pro
teuS. in Memphis. To this effect: "A
stranger Is arrived from Greece. lie
Is by rnce Teucrian and has done a
wicked deed I'm the country from which
he Is come Having heguiled the wife
Of the man whose guest he was, he
carried her away with him and much
treasure also. Are we to let him de-
part as he came or shall we seize what
he has hrousht?"
Proteus IN answer ordered that IN,
man who dealt so wickcdly with hi,
friend should be- seized and brought
before him. His order was carried
out, and Proteus asked Paris who h,
was, whence he came and how he got
possession Of Helen. In his reply
Paris became confused and diverget
from the truth: whcreupon the slaves
interposed. confuted his statement,
and told the whole history Of the crime
At last Protcus pronounced this judg
ment:
did I not regard II as n matter oi
the utmost consequence that no strnn
ger driven to my country should evcI
be put 10 death would have avenged
the Greek by Staying thee. Thou has
est Of men. nfter accepting hospitality
20 do So wicked Il deed. Now, then. a.
want TO put no stranger TO death,
suffer thee 10 depart. but the woman
and the treasures must stay here III
tho Greek stranger comes in person an,
takes them back 10 him. For thysel
and thy companions | command the,
To be gone from my land within m,
space Of three days, and | warn the,
that otherwise at the end OF that tim,
you will be- treated as enemies"
According 20 this account therefore
the Trojans could not restore Heller
for the simple reason that she was no
In their possession. for she was II
Egypt, whore Menelaus received ne
back unharmel II seems that Homer
too was acquainted with this origina
story since he tells that Paris cam
with Helen TO Sidon. In Phoenlcii
Gllad vi. col. also that Menelaus he
fore return'Tr 20 Troy stayed witt
, Helen IA Egypt odyssey iv, 22S-23O
, Had ly, 3Gl. But Homer probahl,
thought the lTerodotlan version les
adapted for epic poetry than the on
he followed New York Tribune.