Menelaus in the Archaic Period

Abstract

The figure of Menelaus has remained notably overlooked in scholarship on the major heroes and heroines of Homeric epic. This book studies the Homeric character through a multidisciplinary approach to his depiction in archaic Greek poetry, art, and cult, providing a detailed analysis of ancient literary, visual, and material evidence. It first examines the portrayal of Menelaus in the Homeric poems as a unique ‘personality’ with an integral role to play in each narrative, as depicted through typical patterns of speech and action and through intertextual allusion. The book then explores his representation both in other poetry of the archaic period and also archaic art and local Sparta cult. Ultimately, Menelaus emerges as a unique and likeable character whose relationship with Helen was a popular theme in both epic poetry and vase painting, but one whose portrayal evinced a significant narrative range, with an array of continuities and differences in how he was represented by the Greeks, not only within the archaic period but also in comparison to classical Athens.