Ipheginia at Aulis by Euripides: The Lust for Beauty and Pride

The Lust for Beauty and Pride

The ownership of beauty and pride is like an addiction influencing the actions of the poor victims who desire those properties. However, it was three goddesses who had the most longing for those properties. It was those desires that caused the infamous Trojan War, with many of its most important players mirroring the goddesses’ yearnings. In Euripides' Ipheginia at Aulis1, the idea of possession over pride and lust for beauty drives characters to do great things with dire consequences. The quest to obtaining or maintaining these qualities not only caused an entire nation to devote themselves to a war, but is also the causation of this exact war, as seen in The Judgement of Paris2.

Living in a society that is bound by rules and morals, children are taught to fit into a mould when growing up. As much as people try to break that mould, the qualities that a person possesses will always be categorized and defined as good and bad, desirable or undesirable. Those ideals has been built into the culture of humanity itself. In every iconic myth, Shakespeare play, Jane Austen novel, or even the latest blockbuster, there are 'eternal' traits that the protagonists all have or at the very least yearn for. If a women has beauty, she can do no wrong. If a hero has pride, he will always be remembered as great. These are qualities that drives men to accomplish the great and achieve the impossible. However, these qualities can also corrupt men. It can send a person on the never ending search to obtain more beauty and pride, eventually causing that individual to make questionable decisions that can lead to a very dreadful aftermath. The cause and catalyzer of the infamous Trojan War can very well be comprehended as an example of this happening.

 In The Judgement of Paris, the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera are competing over an apple that is “For the Most Beautiful”. During this beauty contest that Hermes directed, Paris was the judge. Paris was overwhelmed by all of the goddesses because they were all so beautiful, so each goddess offered Paris a ‘gift’ if he choose her as the winner. This shows how important the title of ‘most beautiful’ is to the goddesses, as they tried to appease a mere mortal. It also shows that each of them valued their pride greatly as they did not want to lose and are willing to pay a price to win. Hera offered to make Paris the master of all of Asia, Athena promised that Paris will never lose a battle, while Aphrodite offered Paris the beautiful Helen as his loving wife. Even though Paris knew Helen was married, he choose Aphrodite’s gift, giving her the apple. This decision showed how Paris was blinded by his lust for beauty, which will eventually put Troy and Greece in a state of war, because Helen’s husband Menelaus was outraged by Helen’s ‘abduction’. While Menelaus’ anger is understandable, his decision to wage war against Troy is quite exaggerated, even with Tyndareus’ treaty3 intact. This can be interpreted as Menelaus’ loss of foresight also due to his lust for beauty. When he lost the beautiful Helen, he is willing to do anything and everything to get her back. In Iphigenia at Aulis, the Greek army is at the shore of Aulis, ready to ship to Troy. However, the wind is against their favor. In order to appease the goddess Artemis, a virgin shall be sacrificed. Agamemnon, the commander in chief and Menelaus’ brother offers to sacrifice her daughter by tricking her to come to the camp thinking she will be married off to the great warrior Achilles. Agamemnon changes his mind several times about his decision and argues with his brother in the process, eventually deciding to sacrifice Iphigenia in fear of a rebellion amongst the soldiers. Agamemnon choosing to sacrifice his own daughter must have been a painful experience. However, he still choose not to save her daughter at the end because he placed his own pride above his loved ones. If he decided against the sacrifice, his pride would have been lost along with the support of his men. Iphigenia on the other hand, was first excited by the wedding, saddened when she found out the truth, and eventually, bravely sacrificed herself voluntarily for the common good of the Greeks. Iphigenia’s action was selfless and respectful, fit for a true princess. However, her action can also be interpreted as an attempt for her to create pride and glory for herself with the sacrifice of her own life. After all, she does say “I am willing to die – and to die gloriously4”.

The lust for another’s or one self’s beauty is able to cloud an individual’s head, preventing them from seeing the difference between right and wrong. Even one decision made during a time of immoral judgement based on the desire for beauty can result in a horrid outcome. This mistake is not only committed by men, but also the already beauteous goddesses of Olympus. The uncontrollable reassurance of vanity is a feeling that doesn’t understand foresight, it only promises a short moment of glory. However, when individuals, even goddesses, are given that sweet reward of beauty which blocks logic, the deadly weakness for vanity can be passed on to another man. In the case of The Judgement of Paris2, it was passed on to two men. Both of whom, blinded by the pursuit for beauty, started a monumental war.

The beauty contest between the three goddesses is already the idea of pursuing vanity itself. With the beautiful Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera, it would be a difficult win for any of them, as all three are equally beautiful. Even Zeus says he loves them all equally5. It is quite evident that all three thinks they have the same chance of winning, because otherwise, the most confident goddess would not have felt the need to persuade the judge. However, it seems that the goddesses doesn’t actually care who is truly the ‘fairest of them all’. What they actually deem most important is that the judge reassures one of them that she is the fairest. After all, beauty is deemed in the eye of the beholder. All three goddesses wants to be named the most beautiful, regardless of what Paris perceives as beauty. In the real world, there is really no true beauty because everyone’s definition of beauty differs. Even though this is the case, every girl, women, or goddess in this case wants to be considered physically beautiful. This is perhaps because being ‘beautiful’, gives an individual the short-lived thrill of feeling satisfied, fulfilled, and wanted. That thrill is the lust and desire to own beauty for one’s self. Even though short-lived, that glorious feeling is treasured. Yet because the feeling is so short-lived, someone who has tasted the sweetness of being ‘beautiful’ will try to do whatever it takes to be ‘beautiful’ again, even goddesses. In those delusional moments, every decision made, are to regain ‘beauty’, which is what makes the addiction to vanity so dangerous. Without foresight and logic, deals are struck even when they can cause catastrophes.  Just like when Aphrodite promised Helen to Paris without any thought, unknowingly causing the Trojan War.