Honoring the Amazons
In the heroes' relations with the Amazons, Achilles mourns, Hercules reaches an agreement with Hippolyte (before Hera steps in), and Bellerophon fights, as he has been ordered, but Theseus' relationship with the Amazons shows little honor or respect (in a modern sense). Granted, there are extenuating circumstances, an attack by the Amazons and a threat, but in the first place, it's a provoked attack and in the second, relegation to second fiddle in the harem had not been part of the bargain.
Importance of Kleos
Of course, Theseus isn't playing by modern standards. For the [www.usask.ca/classics/CourseNotes/] shame culture in which he operates, it isn't fairness, but public acknowledgement of his superiority that matters [for the importance of this public acknowledgement, see Kleos in Epic Terms]. By ancient standards, Theseus may have been playing fair, although Plutarch writes: "There are also other traditions of the marriages of Theseus, neither honorable in their occasions nor fortunate in their events, which yet were never represented in the Greek plays."
"Theseus joined Hercules in his expedition against the Amazons and carried off Antiope, or, as some say, Melanippe, but Simonides calls her Hippolyte. [Provokation.] Wherefore the Amazons marched against Athens [Provoked attack], and having taken up a position about the Areopagus, they were vanquished by the Athenians under Theseus. And though he had a son Hippolytus by the Amazon, Theseus afterwards received from Deucalion in marriage Phaedra, daughter of Minos [Relegation to second place]; and when her marriage was being celebrated, the Amazon that had before been married to him appeared in arms with her Amazons, and threatened to kill the assembled guests. But they hastily closed the doors and killed her. However, some say that she was slain in battle by Theseus."
- Apollodorus Epitome I.16
Plutarch's Theseus
A reader's response:
"Now, that's completely and utterly unfair. First off the attack wasn't provoked, marriage for love/lust and marriage for political motivations are two entirely different things. If, first off, you are willing to be part of a "harem" (as you put it) then you can't complain when your husband has a new favorite. Secondly, if she was really "carried off" it wasn't against her will. Theseus was a hero and powerful, but so were the amazons. No amazon would ever let a man carry her off, she'd die first. It goes against their nature. You can see that in the ninth labor of Heracles, had it been any amazon that was being taken their would've been a war party, the amazons didn't need much provocation to fight, especially fighting men.
I find your use of the term "shame culture" amusing, when in Amazon's 1, you describe how women were capable and efficient, and capable of either wielding or holding the keys to political power. Well, holding the keys is having the power to give those keys away, and that's power indeed, so how can his culture be a shame culture? The only shameful thing about the Greeks really, was their love for little boys (and that's bad).[
See my article on Shame Culture, listed below]
Further, Theseus was acting in a modern fashion. [When I said modern I was referring to our period, not ancient standards of modernity] It was the height of being modern and fashionable... in BC Athens anyways. While he may not have made her wife number 1 that's hardly any reason to have and threaten death. He was king, and by law he was allowed to have multiple wives, indeed it was often necessary. I.E. if you make your neighbor's daughter your wife, he will be more kindly disposed towards you and your nation. That's a trading partner and way to avoid war, not to mention a potential stake in his throne.
Now, maybe the amazon (I choose not to name her because there are three possible names and I've no idea which is really the correct one, though I bank on Hippolyte) didn't understand feudal politics, but I doubt it. The amazons had rulers and had existed for sometime, no doubt they had some idea of how the world works. No doubt, had Hippolyte not liked the "shame" society she was in, she would have had Theseus make some changes while she was still the favorite (that whole holding the keys thing again). So I'm just really not sure where you get that (the site you listed has changed its layout so I can't find what you're speaking about).
Now if you want to talk about treating women harshly, don't point the finger at Theseus. If he truly was a devout Greek, he no doubt would have done what he did. He had Zeus for a father, and I quote John McCrea here, "Now Zeus was a womanizer/always on the play", and with an example like that, your god and your father running around promiscuously, what can the son be expected to do? At least he was marrying her as well, unlike Zeus who would rut with any woman (and probably a few boys, this being Greece and all).Justin Rod
