Images of Páris Alexander in archaic and classical Greek poetry: a commented poetic anthology

Abstract

Paris is famous for seducing the most beautiful woman of the world, Helen, something highlighted in his Judgement, when he decided which goddess - Hera, Athena or Aphrodite -should win the beauty contest. Surviving texts present a multiple and contradictory image: he can escape from a duel and from war, but also kill the enemy's greatest warrior alongside Apollo; sometimes he is the target of god's will, at others a catalyst of misfortune. This project will study this character in three elevated poetic genres from the Archaic (VII-V B.C.) and Classical (V-IV B.C.) periods: epic, luric and tragedy. By exploring Paris in different poets and compositions, it will be possible to trace his representations in the course of time, space and poetics, focusing not only on his erotic aspects, but also his athletic and rhetorical virtues, as exemplified in Euripides' Alexandros, or his battle prowess, as in the tradition of Achilles' death. (AU)