Helen Of Troy Existed?

In that genre, this was the face that lauched a few starships:

81 posted on 10/18/2005 3:11:54 PM PDT by mikrofon (Elaan of Troyius)

The supposed Dark Age of Greece is illusory. It's important to note I think that while there is some Linear B material (archaic Greek) from Pylos (excavated by Carl Blegen) and some other mainland sites, probably other written material (perhaps on non-durable items like papyrus or parchment) was destroyed with the palaces. Pollen cores show that the period of the supposed Dark Age saw some of the heaviest (ever) cultivation of olive trees. :')

82 posted on 10/18/2005 10:43:44 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)

While there are always some who live a long time, longer than anyone they themselves know, the idea that men used to outlive their wives by many years isn't that remarkable. In the 19th century, one of my great-great-grandfathers was married three times (five kids by the first one, a second wife who died after about a year, perhaps from childbirth, and a third wife, my ancestor, who added another thirteen children) died an old man in the flu epidemic of 1873, which also claimed his third wife.

83 posted on 10/18/2005 10:48:30 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)

In the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, Crete ruled the Mediterranean.

I have noticed that even myths seem to follow ancient history fairly well.

84 posted on 10/19/2005 6:01:21 AM PDT by Shanda

LOL! She was just a b!tch with magic tears. I was thinking of the one with the midget who didn't have the mind-control abilities of the other Greek gods on the planet. (Maybe they were Roman. I'm getting old)

85 posted on 10/19/2005 6:22:01 AM PDT by waverna

The episode was Plato's Stepchildren, I think. They were a band of inter-stellar travellers who admired the world of classical Greece and dedicated themselves to blah, blah, blah...

The psychokinetic power came from the diet on the planet where they settled. The cruel king's name was Parmen. His wife was hot, but a bit into S&M. The little guy, Alexander, was played by the same actor who played archvillian Megalito Lovelace on the Wild Wild West.

One of the songs Alexander was made to sing included lyrics from Aristophanes' The Frogs.

And I never tried to be a Star Trek geek. It just came natural.

86 posted on 10/19/2005 6:33:50 AM PDT by swain_forkbeard (Rationality may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.)

Sometimes people look at statistics and draw the wrong conclusions. If there is high infant mortality, and high mortality in childbirth, the average life expectancy of females goes way down. It is mistaken, however, to conclude that a woman who had survived these perils would soon die just because she had exceeded the mean average lifespan.

87 posted on 10/19/2005 6:40:48 AM PDT by swain_forkbeard (Rationality may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.)

To: swain_forkbeard

I'm having difficulty understanding how people have so much riding on the idea that women must have lived longer than 28 or 30. Some did, but it wasn't typical.

In the Odyssey, the hero finally returns from the ten year Trojan War, but only ten years after the others had; his wife was alive and well, and had a bunch of Mycenaean ne'er do wells trying to drill her. She was from the aristocracy, and historically the aristocracy generally have an easier time of it and longer lifespans.

I don't buy the idea that Helen of Troy was some sort of shaved-head dominatrix. That sounds like some sort of cryptofeminist anachronism. Spartan women during the classical Greek period did indeed have their heads shaved in a rite of passage involving marriage.

Classical Spartan society was separated by gender, and the boys were all sodomized compulsorily from a young age. When it came time to marry (which was also expected by the society), the bride was shaved, dressed in a boy's cloak, and left in a dark room; the husband arrived, did his deed, and then returned to sleep with the rest of the men.

According to the Spartans themselves, that weirdo fetishistic society arose *after* the overthrow of the descendants of Menelaus.

88 posted on 10/19/2005 7:02:42 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)

To: swain_forkbeard

His wife was hot, but a bit into S&M.

Oh yeah, Barbara Babcock.

89 posted on 10/19/2005 7:03:20 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)

the face that launched a thousand, well, something...

90 posted on 10/19/2005 7:18:37 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)

I always figured she had to be real to lunch on a thousand ships. People don't go around making up stuff like that up. She was probably trying to set a new record.

parsy, the logical.

91 posted on 10/19/2005 7:24:09 AM PDT by parsifal

Actually, Helen of Troy is rated at 1 Helen, an unachievable level (sort of like absolute 0 on the Kelvin scale). Other women are measured at fractions of a Helen. The highest possible rating is 999 miliHelens (mH) or .999 Helens.

Helen Thomas would likey be rated at negative milihelens - ships would be launched to get rid of her or keep her away.

Bo Derek is good, but does not rate a full Helen under any circumstances.

92 posted on 10/19/2005 7:39:11 AM PDT by Little Ray (I'm a reactionary, hirsute, gun-owning, knuckle dragging, Christian Neanderthal and proud of it!)

To: swain_forkbeard

Ah yes, I remember it well. Spock singing 'Bitter Dregs' not to mention the big interracial kiss, the Tweedle-Dum Tweedle Dee song...

93 posted on 10/19/2005 9:33:49 AM PDT by waverna

Yep, Helen Thomas would not launch even a water wing full of holes.

Helen Thomas could easily launch a thousand ships. It is the direction of travel that would change.

She might rate a thousand ships and an equal number of swimmers, content to drown if they didn't escape.

94 posted on 10/20/2005 7:09:51 PM PDT by Mr Rogers

I was just trying to think of a modern actress who would qualify as perfect in face and form and simply couldn't think of one.

There are plenty of beautiful ones but none are really perfect.

95 posted on 10/20/2005 7:18:07 PM PDT by yarddog

Ah yes! Liat from Bali Hai!

..and her mother had a drink named after her!

BTW The Illiad was written in the 3rd Century BC, 800 years after the Trojan War! It would be more than 2000 years before Schliemann went looking for Troy. He found it!!!! A strong reason for Classical Training.

96 posted on 10/20/2005 7:18:46 PM PDT by Young Werther

97 posted on 10/21/2005 1:10:54 PM PDT by apro

To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

quote -"But more beautiful than Hellen was Penelope, the wife of Odysseus. When she walked among the suitors their knees became weak and they each desired to lay with her."-quote

Three most beautiful women in Greek mythology were Helen, Aphrodite and Persephone. Penelope was known as the most loyal.

98 posted on 10/21/2005 1:20:36 PM PDT by apro

Don't you mean Athena instead of Persephone? She was the other who was offered The Golden Apple of The Sun.

99 posted on 10/21/2005 2:37:43 PM PDT by NathanR (Mexico: So far from God; So close to the USA.)

Certainly Virgil thought she existed.

"Arma virorumque cano,"

"Arms and the man I sing,"

The opening line of the Illiad.

100 posted on 10/21/2005 2:41:00 PM PDT by LibKill (Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin)

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