The myth of Polyxena from antiquity to the renaissance

The fact that Ovid gave Polyxena a more masculine death is not surprising if one recalls that she is described as “fortis et infelix et plus quam femina virgo.” Ov. Met. 13.451. “strong and unfortunate and a maiden who is more than a woman.” Traces of her manliness are perhaps already present in Euripides, who describes her disrobing as “ìáóôïýò ô? ?äåéîå óôÝñíá è? ?ò ?ãÜëìáôïò / êÜëëéóôá,” Eur. Hec.560-61. “showing breast and bosom beautiful like a statue”

Scodel proposes to see in this comparison with a statue a commodification of Polyxena, virgins are often perceived as luxury goods, their sacrifices portrayed as “abuse of valuable property”;

Scodel, R. (1996). Äüìùí ?ãáëìá: Virgin Sacrifice and Aesthetic Object. Transactions of the American Philological Association, 126. P. 120 with the first term ìáóôüò traditionally used of females and the second óôÝñíïí of males. Loraux 1991, 57-58. Her masculinity is also picked up by Seneca in The Trojan Women. Here the messenger twice refers to her “animis fortis” Sen. Tro. 1446, 51. “courageous soul” and then calls her “audax virago.” Sen. Tro. 1453. “brave manly woman” Therefore, Polyxena can be used as an exemplum of bravery and noble behaviour not only for women but also for men. For instance, this is done by Philo of Alexandria in Quod omnis probus liber sit. Friesen, C. J. P. (2016). Dying like a Woman Euripides' Polyxena as Exemplum between Philo and Clement of Alexandria. Greek, Roman and Byzantine studies 56. P. 630 Similarly, Lucian when comparing amateur philosophers to effeminate actors failing at the portrayal of masculine characters writes “?í ï?ä? ?í ? ?ëÝíç ðïô? ? ÐïëõîÝíç ?íÜó÷ïéíôï ðÝñá ôï? ìåôñßïõ á?ôá?ò ðñïóåïéêüôá,” Lucian. (1921). Works. (A. M. Harmon, Ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Luc. Pisc. 31. “not even Helen or Polyxena would hold him as resembling themselves more than tolerably.” Note also another casual parallel between Helen and Polyxena. therefore alluding, as Courtney J.P. Friesen points out, to both Polyxena's and Helen's manliness. Friesen 2016, 636

Chastity

Polyxena's masculine courage notwithstanding, her chastity is just as central to the myth and legacy For example, Friesen point out to the description from Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis where “the narrator borrowed a gesture from Polyxena in Euripides' Hecuba” when portraying the martyr's death. Friesen 2016, 623. . Euripides and, following him, Ovid both draw attention to the fact that she cherishes her maidenhood even at the brink of death. So, for example, in Euripides Talchybius says: “? ä? êá? èí?óêïõó? ?ìùò / ðïëë?í ðñüíïéáí å?÷åí å?ó÷Þìùí ðåóå?í, / êñýðôïõó? ? êñýðôåéí ?ììáô? ?ñóÝíùí ÷ñåþí.” Eur. Hec. 568-70 “and dying she, having much forethought, fell honourably, covering what must be covered from the eyes of men”.

Also, in Pollianus' epigram “?ä? ?ò, ðÝðëïéï ?áãÝíôïò, ô?í á?ä? ãõìí?í óþöñïíé êñýðôå ÷åñß” (look how, as the peplos is torn, she covers her naked shame with prudent hand) Anth. Gr. 16.150 Interestingly, the Polyxena of Quintus of Smyrna also falls forward “? ì?í ðñçí?ò ÷áìÜäéò ðÝóå,” Q.S.14.316. “she fell face-downward on the ground” yet the narrator does not see in this a sign of her chastity. What is more, the texts that emphasise her maidenhood are the very texts that introduce the motif of her tearing her garments. A possible explanation is offered by Scodel, who believes that the juxtaposing of sexual self-exposure to “the voyeuristic gaze” of the Greeks and the ensuing modest concealment “evokes the tension inherent in the use of virgins in ritual,” the actual tension of displaying women in rituals as opposed to hiding in everyday life. Scodel 1996, 125

Another problem connected to the use of virgins in sacrifice is the ambiguity of their status at the ceremony's conclusion. In Euripides the sacrificed Polyxena is described by her mother as “íýìöçí ô? ?íõìöïí ðáñèÝíïí ô? ?ðÜñèåíïí.” Eur. Hec. 612. “a bride and not a bride, a maiden and not a maiden.” Loraux claims that this oxymoron as well as Macaria's “ôÜä? ?íô? ðáßäùí ?óôß ìïé êåéìÞëéá / êá? ðáñèåíåßáò” Eur. Heraclid. 591-92. “these [funeral honours] are my treasures instead of children and virginity” demonstrate that in Euripidean tragedies the sacrifice of a virgin becomes “an anomalous and displaced way of transforming virginity into womanhood.” Loraux 1991, 41 Furthermore, Sophia Papaionnou argues that one can read Polyxena's sacrifice in Ovid as rape due to such phrasing as “rapta sinu matris” Ov. Met. 13.450 and the fact that Neoptolemus “`penetrates' Polyxena's body both figuratively <…> and literally”, first with the eyes and then with the sword. Papaioannou 2007, 239

4. Love and marriage

4.1 Sacrifice as marriage

While Hecuba's words cited above might obscure Polyxena's status, the maiden herself clearly sees her role as “?íõìöïò ?íõìÝíáéïò.” Eur.Hec.416 “without the nuptial song, unwedded” So, unlike his version of Iphigenia's story, where a certain link between sacrifice and marriage is seen, in relating the death of Polyxena, Euripides does not use this topos. Nonetheless, it is very characteristic of Polyxena's myth. For example, this wedding motif is evoked by Lycophron “ó? ä? ?ì? ðñ?ò íõìöå?á êá? ãáìçëßïõò / ?îåé èõçë?” Lycophr. 323-24. “will bring you to the cruel bridal and nuptial sacrifice” and by Statyllius Flaccus “ðÝíèéìïí ?ìÝíáéïí.” Anth. Gr. 9.117. “wretched wedding” Furthermore, the mention of Polyxena's sacrifice in Catullus 64 is sometimes also read, due to the poem's context, as containing an allusion to Polyxena's marriage. Skinner, M. B. (1976). Iphigenia and Polyxena: A Lucretian Allusion in Catullus. Pacific Coast Philology, 11, P. 54. Finally, the motif is also clearly manifest in Seneca's The Trojan Women. Here it first appears in Calchas's instruction: “sed quo iugari Thessalae cultu solent / Ionidesve vel Mycenaeae nurus / Pyrrhus parenti coniugem tradat suo: / sic rite dabitur,” Sen. Tro. 362-64. “but in attire that is used to marry Thessalian or Ionian or Mycenaean women, Pyrrhus shall lead the bride to the father, so it will be rightfully done” and is later evoked by Helen, when she finally tells that Polyxena is not to marry Neoptolemus but to be sacrificed to Achilles “campo maritus ut sit Elysio.” Sen. Tro. 944. “so that there is a marriage in Elysian fields”

4.2 Achilles' love

It seems very probable that this convention of portraying the sacrifice as marriage has triggered the appearance of the love motif in later narratives. For example, King argues that while one cannot say that Seneca was already working with an existing tradition that depicted Achilles love for Polyxena, he did, however, “make the wedding imagery so personal and concrete that the shift to a love story is made very easy.” King 1987, 191. Robert Förster asserts that a love motif might have already been present in Cypria as that would explain why Polyxena, wounded by Odysseus and Diomedes, was buried by Neoptolemus: to show reverence to the father who loved her. Förster 1883, 477

The first clear mention of Achilles's feelings towards Polyxena appears in Hyginus's Fabulae, given as a side-note in the description of Polyxena “propter quam Achilles cum eam peteret et ad colloquium venisset ab Alexandro et Deiphobo est occisus.” Hyginus 1872, 99. “because of whom [Polyxena] Achilles, when he sought her and went to speak with her, was killed by Alexander and Deiphobus” From this Achilles and Polyxena's story unfolds backwards with later authors also describing their first meeting as well as the growth of Achilles's and sometimes Polyxena's feelings. In fact, one can see traces of this retrospective development of their story in Philostratus's On Heroes. First, the author mentions Achilles's death, then his negotiations about the marriage with Priam and only then the first meeting, which took place when Priam came to ask Achilles for Hector's body. Philostratus. (1871) Flavii Philostrati Opera, Vol 2. (C.L. Kayser, Ed.). Leipzig: Teubner. P. 204 In Dictys Cretensis's narrative Polyxena is also present when Priam tries to recover Hector's body, Dictys. 64. however, this is already not their first meeting. According to Dictys, the first time Achilles sees her is during a truce with Troy. He comes to watch religious ceremonies dedicated to Apollo and notices Polyxena who is one of the priestesses along with Cassandra. Having described their appearance as “novo ac barbaro redimitae ornatu effusis hinc atque inde crinibus,” ibid 52 “garlanded with novel and barbarous ribbons with hair thence let loose” Dictys states that Achilles, struck by her beauty, is enamoured with Polyxena. ibid “pulchritudine virginis capitur” In Dares the setting and the circumstance are more concrete: Achilles sees Polyxena at Hector's tomb during the ceremonies on the one-year anniversary of his funeral. Dares, 32-33.

All authors emphasize, on the one hand, the intensity of Achilles's feelings Dares, 36 “valde amabat” (“loved exceedingly”). and, on the other hand, his courteous treatment of Polyxena and Priam. Philostratus, 204 “?óùöñüíåé ?ð? äéêáéïóýíçò êá? ô? ?ñùôéêÜ,” he shown moderation due to his justice even in love” He does not take Polyxena when she offers herself as his slave for Hector's body but wants to arrange marriage. In Dictys's version Achilles tries to arrange this marriage via Hector when he is still alive, Dictys, 53. while in Dares it is Hecuba with whom he communicates about Polyxena. Dares, 33-34. Finally, Achilles is slain by Paris at the temple of Apollo, with Dares naming Hecuba as the orchestrator of the plot. Dictys, 76; Dares, 41. As Philostratus describes the feelings of Achilles and Polyxena as mutual (“?ñá ä? êá? ? ÐïëõîÝíç ôï? ¢÷éëëÝùò” Philostratus, 204 “and Polyxena loved Achilles”), Polyxena's death in his version also diverges significantly from the canon: “äñáìå?í ?ð? ô? ó?ìá ?í íõêô? îßöåé ôå á?ô?í ?ðéêë?íáé ðïëë? å?ðï?óáí ?ëååéí? êá? ãáìéêÜ.” ibid “run to his grave at night and lent towards the sword, saying many words of pity and marriage.” Thus, while Dares and Dictys simply devote little attention to the sacrifice, Philostratus completely reimagines Polyxena's story.

The analysis of the motifs that constituted Polyxena's myth in antiquity shows that there were multiple competing traditions of the myth, even though modern scholarship prefers to foreground the version of Euripides (and, therefore, Ovid and Seneca) as the default one. Even Polyxena's sacrifice, which might be expected to lie at the core of her myth, was likely absent from the myth's portrayal in at least some texts of the Epic Cycle. Likewise, the motif of her courage, so central for her depiction in Hecuba and The Metamorphoses was challenged in the narrative of Quintus of Smyrna, who portrayed Polyxena as struggling with her captors. When it comes to her mindfulness of honor and chastity, these motifs are already controversial in what is seen as the conventional representation of her story. Drawing on the research of King and Förster, it was also demonstrated that Achilles's love towards Polyxena, likely first introduced in the literature rewriting the Homeric tradition, originates from the topos of interpreting the sacrifice of a virgin as her wedding.

In addition to this, the various motivations behind the sacrifice have also been examined. In critical literature Polyxena's sacrifice is often seen as a repetition of Iphigenia's. Although true to an extent, as I have shown in this chapter, there are other motivations behind the introduction of the sacrifice. Within the texts themselves, it is usually explained by the notion of ãÝñáò, of delivering to Achilles his share of the booty. Such texts as Quintus's Posthomerica as well as the accounts of Dares and Dictys emphasize the role of Neoptolemus in the sacrifice, with the latter two authors interpreting Polyxena's death as Neoptolemus's revenge for the death of his father. Finally, I have shown, drawing on Girard's theory of ritual substitution, that Polyxena might be said to take Helen's place at the sacrificial altar, allowing the Greeks to purify themselves from excessive violence.

Chapter 2. The Middle Ages

While the interest shown towards Polyxena's story in the Middle Ages was no lesser than that in antiquity, new elements came to constitute the core of her myth. Adhering to the motif-based approach proposed in the previous chapter, this chapter explores how the motif of love between Achilles and Polyxena became central to the interpretation of her myth and how this, in turn, influenced the depiction of the sacrifice. In this chapter, I focus on the figure of Polyxena and the reception of her myth in medieval England, while also drawing examples from other contemporary European traditions. As in the first chapter, before turning to the motifs I briefly examine the sources' history to show the connection between some of the texts, while also trying to demonstrate how the reception of Polyxena's myth depends on the type of text that encompasses the myth. After this I proceed to discuss the development of the motifs of Polyxena's outstanding beauty and Achilles's love for her, the changes in the description of the sacrifice, and the motivation behind them.

Polyxena's myth in the Middle Ages

General tendencies

The trait that the vast majority of medieval texts dedicated to the Trojan war share is the indebtedness to two authors: Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis. It is not that, for example, Ovid's Metamorphoses were unavailable to the medieval reader, but that his narrative was often denounced for having departed from the truth. So, for example, Guido de Columnis in the 13th century Historia destructionis Troiae . Historia destructionis Troiae was completed by 1287 as stated by the author himself

Guido. (1936). Historia destructionis Troiae (N. E. Griffin, Ed.). Cambridge (Mass.): The Mediaeval academy of America. P. 276. writes that he tried to correct “defectum magnorum auctorum, Virgilii, Ouidii, et Homeri, qui in exprimenda veritate Troyani casus nimium defecerunt <…>” ibid “mistakes of great authors, Virgil, Ovid, and Homer, who prove much too deficient in portraying the truth of the fall of Troy.” By contrast, the texts of Dares and Dictys were held in high esteem, with faith of their truthfulness “unbounded and entire” throughout the Middle Ages. Griffin, N.E. (1907). Dares and Dictys; an introduction to the study of medieval versions of the story of Troy. Baltimore: J.H. Furst company. Pp. 16-17. This, in turn, significantly influenced the medieval perception of Polyxena's role in the history of the Trojan war. As was shown in the previous chapter, it was in Dares's and Dictys's accounts that the sacrifice moved to the periphery of Polyxena's myth with central stage given to her part in the downfall of Achilles. In the Middle Ages, therefore, the focus was likewise on the proposed marriage. At the same time, unlike Dares and Dictys, who significantly downplay the violence of the sacrifice, many medieval narratives provide the reader with gory details of how Polyxena was slain.

To analyze the reception of the Polyxena's myth it is productive to distinguish between the different types of texts that make use of her story. Firstly, throughout the Middle Ages her myth is found in various historical accounts such as chronicles. For example, the myth appears in the sixth-century ×ñïíïãñáößá by John Malalas, who at multiple times acknowledges his reliance on Dictys's record. Despite giving a detailed description of Polyxena's appearance and her role in Achilles's downfall, his text includes only a casual mention of the sacrifice in Odysseus's speech. Dindorf, L.A. (Ed.). (1831). Chronographia Ioannis Malalae. Bonn: Impensis Ed. Weberi. Malalas 157-159 A similar pattern of emphasising the love story over the sacrifice can be seen in George Cedrenus's twelfth century Óýíïøéò ?óôïñé?í, which does mention the love story, but completely ignores the circumstances of Polyxena's death. Bekker, I. (Ed.). (1838). Compendium Historiarum Georgii Cedrenii. Bonn: Impensis Ed. Weberi. Cedrenus 127-130. Finally, in the English chronicle tradition, Ranulf Hidgen's thirteenth century Latin chronicle Polychronicon, mentions the love story between Achilles and Polyxena, referring to the sacrifice in the factual manner akin to Dares's account.

The second group of texts that worked with Polyxena's myth in the Middle Ages incorporates various commentaries and allegorical readings. The most significant of these include John Tzetzes's scholion on Lycophron's Alexandra and Servius's commentary on Vergil's Aeneid. Both authors summarise the core elements of Polyxena's myth such as Achilles's love and the sacrifice, indicating that alternative versions of the myth are known, with Tzetzes's commentary specifying these two different traditions - Euripides and Philostratus Tzetzes himself does not side with either of the authors. In the Posthomerica he once again recalls both Euripides and Philostratus, without, however, mentioning the actual difference between their takes on Polyxena. The scene of Polyxena's death, moreover, concludes with the ambiguous “êÜôèáíå ä' á?ôå êüñç ? ï?ôùò å?ôå ?êåßíùò” Jacobs, F. (Ed.). (1793). Ioannis Tzetzae Antehomerica, Homerica et posthomerica. Leipzig: Libraria Weidmannia. Posthomerica l. 508. “the girl died this way or that way.”. A mention of Polyxena also appears in Bernardus Silvestris's Commentum super sex libros Eneidos Vergilii, which, like Fulgentius's Mythologiae (discussed in section 2.2), completely ignores the sacrifice, focusing solely on Achilles's downfall and Polyxena's rather passive role in it. Thus, although both medieval chronicles and commentaries allude to Polyxena's myth, emphasising the love motif, they do not provide sufficient material to discuss how her myth functioned in the Middle Ages.

The third group of texts which, by contrast, both introduce new motifs into Polyxena's myth and elaborate on the old ones, consists of poetical renderings of Dares's and Dictys's narratives both in Latin and the vernacular. These include Joseph of Exeter's De Bello Trojano, Konrad von Würzburg's Trojanischer Krieg, Albert von Stade's Trolius and Benoît de Saint-Maure's Le Roman de Troie to name but a few examples. Dunger H. (1869). Die Sage vom trojanischen Kriege in den Bearbeitungen des Mittelalters und ihre antiken Quellen. Dresden: Teubner. The last of these, the 12th century French narrative of the Trojan war might be considered “the best point of departure for an investigation of the Troy Cycle in the Middle Ages,” since it was among the first and most influential medieval “literary treatments” of the Trojan war. Wager, C. H. (Ed.). (1899). The Seege of Troye. New York: Macmillan. Pp. xvii-xviii

For discussion of precise dating see Aristide Joly's Benoît de Sainte-More et Le roman de Troie: ou les métamorphoses d'Homère et de l'épopée, 1870. In the Middle Ages, however, Benoît's narrative was overshadowed by its translation into Latin Historia destructionis Troiae by Guido de Columnis, which, in turn, gave rise to multiple translations and adaptations in Italian, Spanish and English. Simpson, J. (1998). The Other Book of Troy: Guido delle Colonne's Historia destructionis Troiae in Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century England. Speculum, 73 (2). P. 406; Solomon, J. (2007). The Vacillations of the Trojan Myth: Popularization & Classicization, Variation & Codification. International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 14 (3/4). Pp. 512-513. Thus, Guido's and, to a lesser extent, Benoît's texts acted as mediators between ancient and medieval authors. It should be noted that in the Middle Ages one can also find the depiction of the Trojan War outside the Dares-Dictys tradition, for instance, in such texts as Der Göttweiger Trojanerkrieg, Trojumanna Saga, Trojanska prièa and the Excidium Troie. Atwood, E.B. (1937). The “Excidium Troie” and Medieval Troy Literature. Modern Philology, 35 (2), 115-128.

The myth's reception in medieval England

The English narratives of the Trojan war all at least partially rely on the Dares-Dictys tradition. The author of The Seege of Troye (first part of the 14th century) seems to have worked directly with Benoît's narrative without the mediation of Guido's Latin translation, Wager 1936, xlvi probably also drawing from Excidium Troiae . Atwood, E.B. (1941). The youth of Paris in “The Seege of Troye”. Studies in English, 21. P.21. By contrast, The Laud Troy Book (end of 14th-beginning of 15th century) Dorothy Kempe argues for the years 1378-83. Kempe, D. (1901). Middle English Tale of Troy. Englische Studien, 29. P. 5.

Others believe that it could have been written as late at the first quarter of the 15^th century, Simpson 1998, 404-405., The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy (end of the 14th century) On possible authorship see Thorlac Turville-Petre “The Author of “The Destruction of Troy””, 1988. and John Lydgate's Troy Book (1412-20) were introduced to Dares's and Dictys's accounts by Guido. Simpson 1998, 404-405. William Caxton's The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (1472-73) is also indebted to Historia destructionis Troiae as the original Raoul Lefevre's Le Recoeil des histoires de Troie (1464) consisted of two books, with the third being a translation from Guido, added somewhat later but already available to Caxton. Marquez, M.F. (1991). Aspects of Vocabulary Building in Caxton's Recuyell of the Historyes of troy. English Studies, 72 (4). P. 328. The most notable Trojan narrative in medieval England is, of course, Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde; it is, however, of secondary importance for the analysis of Polyxena's myth, since there Polyxena is only mentioned twice, both times in a comparison with Cressida.

Polyxena's myth reimagined

Polyxena's beauty

As was shown in the previous chapter, Polyxena was already characterized as beautiful in antiquity, with her appearance providing the main link between her and Helen. However, it is in the Middle Ages that this motif of Polyxena's striking beauty started to flourish. Following Dares's depiction of Polyxena as exceeding everyone in beauty, she is always described by medieval authors as the most beautiful girl of Troy. For example, Caxton, who gives drier and briefer portraits of Greeks and Trojans than his predecessors, still does not fail to mention that Polyxena was “the verray Raye of beawte <…> the fairest mayde that was in her tyme.” Caxton, W. (1894). The recuyell of the historyes of Troye. (H.O. Sommer, Ed.). London: David Nutt. P. 544. When it comes to her actual appearance, only certain traits given by Dares are picked up in the Middle Ages. The most striking element of his description - her legs and feet - is absent from many narratives. Thus, while in Joseph of Exeter's narrative one finds “pede fulta brevi” Atopeus, S. (Ed.). (1825). Josephi Iscani de bello Trojano libri sex. London: A.J. Valpy. Joseph 4.93. “supported by a small foot” and in Benoît there is, perhaps, a trace of this tradition in “les cheveus lons, / qu'il li passöent les talons,” Benoi?t. (1998). Le roman de Troie extraits du manuscrit Milan, BibliotheÌque ambrosienne, D 55 (E. Baumgartner & F. Vielliard, Eds.). Paris: Librairie Geìneìrale Franc?aise. Ll. 5547-48. “the hair long, running down to her heels”. in the works of later authors working with Benoît-Guido translations this detail completely disappears. Likewise, Le Roman de Troie's static description of Polyxena's physique, in which the narrator lists her various facial features and body parts akin to Dares, is not part of a widespread tradition. Most authors, if they do give this list of portraits, state that it is impossible and futile to try to describe Polyxena's beauty. Such an introductory remark is, for instance, found in Guido's narrative: “cuius speciem particularibus explicare sermonibus labor esset inutilis.” Guido, 87. “whose appearance in exact words it is futile labour to describe.” He likely follows Benoît, who writes “vos porreit l'en [biautié] parler en vain: / ne porreit mie estre descrite/ ne par mei ne par autre dite,” ibid Ll. 5542-4. “it would be in vain to speak to you of her beauty, it would be not for me to describe, not for me, not for others to tell” only unlike Benoît, who contradicts himself, Guido does not follow this remark by the description of Polyxena's appearance.

The disappearance of the static portrait is accompanied by the emergence of another motif: focalization of the first meeting and, thus, Polyxena's beauty through Achilles. Instead of learning about Polyxena's looks from the narrator, the reader sees her to an extent through Achilles's eyes, since Guido and those reworking his text into English do finally describe Polyxena's appearance when she is seen and admired by Achilles at the temple of Apollo during the anniversary of Hector's death. In addition to making the description less static, this placement of the portrait enhances another motif present in antiquity: Polyxena's beauty is intrinsically linked with grief and death. One can recall how in Seneca's The Trojan Women she seemed more beautiful right before the sacrifice: “sed tamen fulgent genae / magisque solito splendet extremus décor.” Sen. Tro. 1138-39. “but still her cheeks glisten and more than usually shines her last beauty.” In texts that feature the love motif, however, her beauty needs to appear earlier in the narrative to enamour Achilles. In case of Benoît, as has been mentioned above, Polyxena's portrait has already been given before the scene with Achilles, so during the actual meeting the narrator only reminds the readers of her “grant biautié,” Benoît L.17552. without paying attention to her affected state. By contrast, Guido and the English authors, describing Polyxena as seen by Achilles at Hector's grave, embrace her mourning look, her dishevelled hair etc. Thus, one reads in The Seege of Troye: “here lovely fax shyned as selke, / here lovesome face, whytte as mylke; / she todrewe here ruyche gere / she rent her vice, and tare her here <…>” Seege Ll. 1337-38. “her lovely hair shined as silk, her loveable face, white as milk / she tore her rich apparel / she rent her face, and tore her hair.” Moreover, in some narratives it is almost the beauty of her grief that attracts Achilles. So, for example, in Caxton: “And how well that Polyxena maad so grete sorowe / yet she loste no thynge of her beawte / but semed and shewid her self so fayre in alle her members and so well colowred that nature formed neuer none more fayrer.” Caxton 620-621. Her beauty and her sorrow are linked, with the latter amplifying the former.

At the same time, while also exhibiting the link between sorrow and beauty, some narratives stress that although Polyxena showed great emotion, her visage was unaffected. For example, Joseph of Exeter in De Bello Trojano, describing the mourning at the anniversary of Hector's death, contrasts Polyxena with other Trojan women: “cumque aliis in pallorem candore sepulto / febricitent vultus, sola ore Polyxena floret / sospite, et in faciem nil audent nubila mentis” Joseph 6.82-83. “when the faces of others fever into paleness, burying their brightness, only Polyxena blossoms with unchanged face, and the clouds of her mind do not venture onto her face”; “al hir wo ne al hir pyne / made hir not hur fayrnes tyne, / the teres that so fro hur ran / made hir nother blo ne wan; <…>” Wülfing, J.E. (Ed.). (1903). The Laud Troy Book. London: Trübner & co. Laud. 11999-2002. “all her woe and all her pain did not make her lose her fairness, / the tears that from her [eyes] made her neither hurt nor pale.” Furthermore, this theme of Polyxena's face not being altered by strong emotions does not have to solely compliment her beauty. Thus, Christine de Pisan in Livre de la Cité des Dames evokes the same image “en receptvant la mort sans changier visaige” (Curnow, M. C. (1975). The Livre La Cité des dames of Christine de Pisan: A critical edition. (Doctoral Dissertation). Nashville. “faced death without changing in face” P. 955. to demonstrate her courage. This, in turn, is reminiscent of Ovid's Polyxena, who does not shed a single tear, O. Met.13.474-5. an image, that as later analysis will show, did not become part of the medieval tradition.

Love, lust and loss of honour

Just like the motif of Polyxena's beauty, the motif of Achilles's love for her was considerably elaborated in the Middle Ages. First, following Dares (but not Dictys), medieval authors completely dismissed Agamemnon and Achilles's disputes about the booty from the Iliad, and likewise, except for the author of The Seege of Troye, they never alluded to his stay on Scyros, thus making Polyxena Achilles's only love interest. In the Middle Ages his love is usually presented in a negative light; as King points out, the medieval authors such as Guido see “amorousness as Achilles's principal flaw.” King 1987, 217. His flaw is sometimes transferred onto Polyxena, as Fulgentius (and after him the Third Vatican Mythographer), commenting on the etymology of Polyxena's name, writes: “Polixene enim Graece multorum peregrina dicitur, seu quod amor peregrinari faciat mentes ab ingenio suo, siue quod aput multos libido ut peregrinabunda vagetur.” Helm R. (1898). Fabii Placniadis Fulgentii V.C. Opera. Leipzig: Teubner. Mythologiae 3.7. “For Polyxena in Greek is said to be a foreigner to many, either because love makes minds roam from their nature, or because lust roams as a wanderer among many”

Offering an interpretation of the name akin to that of Fulgentius, one could say that the name provides yet another link between Helen and Polyxena, because one could say that Helen is “a stranger to many men”, or to be more precise to the Greek meaning of the word, she is indeed “entertaining many guests.” In Fulgentius's Mythologiae Polyxena is “a mere personification of his [Achilles] susceptibility, the weak female part,” King 1987, 202 whose sacrifice the mythographer does not mention. John Gower's Confessio amantis in this aspect is less judgemental of Polyxena, stating that she “ <…> deide gulteles / For love, and yit was loveles. ” Gower, J. (1857). Confessio amantis (R.Pauli, Ed.). London: Bell and Daldy Fleet Street. 8.2595-6 Yet she is still represented as passive, nothing is said of her feelings towards Achilles.

The medieval narratives of the Trojan war do allow Polyxena a more active role in the love story with Achilles. In Historia destructionis Troiae when Polyxena learns that Achilles has betrayed his word by returning to the battlefield after the defeat of the Myrmidons, one reads that “dolet etiam Polixena, cui iam placuerat Achillem ipsum in maritum habere.” Guido, 203. “Polyxena also grieved, as it already pleased her to have Achilles as husband.” The English reworkings of Guido also mention and sometimes elaborate Polyxena's reaction to Achilles's betrayal. On the one hand, in The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy Polyxena' s sadness and purity is emphasised: “Polyxena the pert hade pyne in hir though, / ffor ho purpost plainly in hir pure hert / hym to husband haue hade.” Panton, G., & Donaldson, D. (Eds.). (1969). The "gest hystoriale" of the destruction of Troy: An alliterative romance. London: Trübner & co. Gest. 10240-42. “the lovely Polyxena had pain in her thought, for she was plainly inclined in her pure heart / to have him as husband.” The Laud Troy Book, one the other hand, takes Guido's remark into a different direction: “And that mayden Pollexene / ther-of was offte blo & grene / hit angerd hir sore & displeased / <…> sche chaunged chere & eke corage, / for sche wolde fayn the mariage.” Laud 14345-47, 53-54. “And the maiden Polyxena thereof was often sad and pale? / it angered her sorely and displeased <…> she changed in face & also heart, for she would gladly have the marriage.” Instead of grief here Polyxena experiences anger at the news of Achilles's betrayal. Yet another take on Polyxena's emotions is found in Lydgate's Troy Book: “whereof ful trist was this Polycene, / that was inclined, with hire yen clere, / by the counseil of hir moder dere / to haue be wedded to this Achilles, / to fyn only there shuld haue ben a pes / atween Grekis and hem of Troye toun.” Bergen, H. (Ed.). (1908). Lydgate's Troy Book in 2 Vol. London: Trübner & co. Lydgate 2614-19. “whereof this Polyxena was full of sorrow, / she was inclined with her eyes clear, / by the counsel of her dear mother, / to be wedded to Achilles, / since only then there would have been peace between / Greeks and them of the town of Troy.” Unlike her counterparts in other narratives, of whose reasons in procuring the marriage the reader does not learn, Lydgate's Polyxena sees herself as the city's saviour who desires the marriage out of the sense of duty towards the Trojans.

This idea that Polyxena's marriage is arranged for the greater good is fully elaborated by Choricius some nine centuries before Lydgate. In the tenth oration, first published by Förster in an article on Polyxena, Polydamus, speaking on behalf of the Trojan council, tries to persuade Priam to consent to Achilles's marriage proposal. Especially striking in his argumentation is the comparison of Agamemnon with Priam, and, thus, Iphigenia with Polyxena: “ó? ì?í ã?ñ ?ð?ñ ô?ò ðáôñßäïò ðñ?ò ãÜìïí ?êíå?ò ?êäï?íáé ô?í ðá?äá, ?ãáìÝìíùí ä? ô?í á?ôï? ðñ?ò óöáã?í ?îÝäùêåí ?í Á?ëßäé, ï? êéíäýíïõ ô?í ï?êßáí ?ëåõèåñ?í, ï? ã?ñ ?íþ÷ëïõí ðïëÝìéïé ôá?ò ÌõêÞíáéò, ?ð?ñ ä? ìé?ò ãõíáéê?ò ?âñéóèåßóçò ?ãáíáêô?í <...> ? ä? ô?ò ï?êåßáò ðáéä?ò ô?í ?ôÝñïõ ãõíá?êá ðåñ? ðëåßïíïò å?÷åí ?íá èÝìåíïò ?ñïí ÷áñßóáóèáé ôï?ò ?ìïöýëïéò.” Förster 1882, 218-219. “you hesitate to give your child in marriage for your country, while Agamemnon sacrificed his in Aulis, not freeing his home from danger, as no enemies troubled Mycenae, but being irritated at the insult to one woman <…> he put the other's wife much above his child, with the sole objective of gratifying his people.” Priam, accused of caring for his daughter more than for his countrymen, is asked to sacrifice Polyxena by giving her to Achilles. Thus, although there is no indication that Lydgate knew of Choricius's oration, one might still use it to interpret the reason behind the grief of Lydgate's Polyxena: she grieves at being denied the opportunity to sacrifice herself in the name of peace.

It would be tempting to say that in the Middle Ages the motif of Polyxena's sacrifice as a ritual marriage (Lycophron, Seneca) was reversed, with the actual marriage seen as a sacrifice, however, there is no evidence for this except Lydgate's text. One can argue, however, that another ancient element of Polyxena's myth is reversed in medieval narratives: if in antiquity Polyxena was Achilles's ãÝñáò or honor prize, in medieval tradition she is the reason he loses his honour and glory. One recalls, for example, how Achilles's ghost in Ovid accuses the Greeks that they want to leave his grave “sine honore” O.Met.13.446: only by getting the rightful share of the booty, Polyxena, will Achilles receive his military honour. By contrast, the semi-personified Love in Le Roman de Troie foretelling Achilles's future proclaims: “tu n'i as honneur ne pris,” Benoît 20760. “you will have neither honour, nor prize.” Similarly, in the Laud Troy Book the narrator comments on the love-struck Achilles: “Wel stronge he was In loue bounden, / that maketh a man to morne & pyne, / and makes hem offte his worschipe tyne, / hit makes men leue her honour, / and makes hem take gret dishnour.” Laud 12800-4. “so strongly he was bound in love, / that makes a man mourn and pine,/ and makes him often lose his good name, / it makes a man leave his honour / and makes him take great dishonour.” Thus, although Polyxena is still slain on Achilles's grave in the medieval tradition, the motivation behind the sacrifice is no longer to present Achilles with his ãÝñáò. In fact, one could argue that even with the sacrifice still an important part of Polyxena's myth, there is another linguistic reversal. In John Lydgate's Temple of Glas on finds the following lines: “And hov Achilles was for Policene / I-slain unwarli within Troie toune” (And how Achilles was for Polyxena / imprudently slain within the town of Troy)

Schick, J. (Ed.). (1891). Lydagte's Temple of Glas. London: Paul, Trench, Tru?bner & co. Ll. 93-94. In classical tradition Polyxena was, of course, the one slain for Achilles, while here, in medieval tradition they almost switch roles.

The sacrifice

Motivation

In antiquity, as the discussion in the previous chapter illustrates, in addition to appeasing Achilles's ghost by awarding him Polyxena, the sacrifice was necessitated by the absence of favourable winds, by Neoptolemus's personal vendetta as well by the Greeks' general hostility towards Helen, Polyxena's match in terms of beauty. It could be expected that, with the disappearance of the ghost and his demand for ãÝñáò, the main reason to slay Polyxena would be the revenge initiated either by Neoptolemus himself or by the Greek army. This is, indeed, the case in Excidium Troiae, where Polyxena is directly involved in the ruse against Achilles. In this narrative, remarkable for its divergence from the tradition, she gets to marry Achilles and, following the instructions from her parents, “cepit Achillem per amplexus et blandimenta provocare ut ei locum occultum ubi a ferro adiri poterat ostenderet.” Atwood, E.B., Whitaker, V.K. (Eds.). (1944). Excidium Troiae. Cambridge, Mass: The Medieval Academy of America. P. 12. “she embraced Achilles and by flattery inciting him to show the secret place where he could be reached by sword.” This, of course, is enough to justify Neoptolemus's wish to punish her.

Out of all English medieval narratives, however, only in The Seege of Troye is Neoptolemus's revenge the sole reason for the sacrifice. In other narratives Polyxena would have been spared but for Calchas's intervention: “All the folke were vnfayn, & of fyn will / to haue reft hir the rynke, for ruth that thai had. / Hit hade doutles ben done, and hire deth voidid, / Had not Calcas the cursit carpit before, that neuer tho lordis to hor londis lyuely shuld wyn, / Till ho duly were ded & dressit in pesis.” ” Gest. 12107-12. “All the people were sorry and greatly desired to have snatched her from the knight, for the pity that they had. It would have doubtless been done and her death would have been avoided, / had not the cursed Calchas said before that the lords should never reach their lands alive, / until she was truly dead and laid out in pieces.” What is surprising is that except for Caxton no other narrative makes any mention of Iphigenia's sacrifice. Therefore, if for antiquity one could claim that Polyxena's sacrifice helped frame the Trojan war, placing the same event at the end of the war as at the beginning, no such argument can be made for the medieval myth of Polyxena.

By contrast, the connection between Polyxena and Helen does not fade in the Middle Ages. One sees this, for example, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde where two scant mentions of Polyxena both emphasise her likeness to Helen in beauty: “that [Criseyde] fairer was to sene / than euere were Eleyne or Polixene” Chaucer, G. (1984). Troilus & Criseyde: a new edition of “The book of Troilus”. London: Longman. 1.455 and “I haue my faire suster, Polixene, / Cassandre, Eleyne <…>” ibid 3.408-9. Similarly, in Le Roman de Troie, Hector cannot decide who is more beautiful of the two. Benoît 14625-26 Moreover, The Seege of Troye strengthens this link when the lovestruck Achilles, trying to persuade the Greeks to stop fighting, proclaims: “For a woman this woo was waked, / And for a woman pees shall be maked.” Seege 1353-54. Achilles's speech offers a new framework: instead of the two sacrifices at the beginning and the end of the campaign, there are two women with parallel, if opposite, roles. Thus, in the Middle Ages Polyxena continues to be regarded as Helen's double.

The desire to punish Helen is also part of the medieval tradition, which, staying true to Dictys's narrative, has Ajax, supported by many of the Greeks, demand Helen's death. This makes it necessary to “purge the emotions of the community,” Girard 1979, 291. to divert the Greeks wrath away from Helen. What is more, in some narratives Neoptolemus is portrayed as needing such an outlet for destructive passions more than others as, when Andromache and Helenus plead to have Hector's children spared, he “that purpost to put hom to deth, / assentid to that same with a sad graunt.” Gest. 12059-60. “that was inclined to put them to death, consented to that same with a solemn agreement.” Prevented from killing Hector's children, Neoptolemus uses Polyxena's sacrifice to satisfy his own need for violence and vengeance. Such an interpretation is also supported by the fact that the medieval Neoptolemus differs significantly from his Euripidiean and Ovidian hesitant counterpart who pities Polyxena. Thus, the medieval sacrifice of Polyxena is necessary both to cleanse the Greeks of violence and at the same time to pacify one of the surviving Greek warriors, whose violence might have escalated to harm the Greeks themselves.

Graphic violence

The accounts of Dares and Dictys, determined to present the unembellished truth, only state that Polyxena's sacrifice took place but do not provide any description. Therefore, their faithful reader, Joseph of Exeter, mentions that, after the winds prevent the Greeks from departing, Joseph 6.874-79. they search for Polyxena, whom Hecuba had asked Aeneas to conceal, but he does not elaborate on her sacrifice, mentioning it rather equivocally ibid 6.878-9 The regular medieval practice, however, was to fill this gap in the accounts by providing a detailed and gory depiction of how Polyxena died, to an extent introducing a new motif, comparable in its graphicness perhaps only to Seneca's “<…> non stetit fusus cruor / humove summa fluxit: obduxit statim / saevasque totum sanguinem tumulus bibit.” Sen.Tro. 1162-4. “the poured blood did not stay, / did not flow on the surface of the ground, immediately swallowed it and the cruel tomb drank all the blood.”

With the image from The Trojan women probably unavailable throughout most of the Middle Ages Mayer, R. (2018). Seneca Redivivus. In: The Cambridge Companion to Seneca. (S. Bartsch, A. Schiesaro, Eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P. 278. the medieval tradition supplied a few different versions of Polyxena's sacrifice. The most widespread of these originates with Guido's narrative: “statim Pirrus in gladio coram sui patris sepulchro, uidente Heccuba matre sua, impie Polixenam occidit, et eius corpore per frusta truncato per eum, patris monumentum in multa circunquaque copia uirginei sanguinis irrigauit.” Guido, 237. “immediately Pyrrhus upon the grave of this father wickedly killed Polyxena, with her mother Hecuba watching, and with her body cut by him into pieces, he moistened the father's tomb all around with the ample supply of virgin's blood.” Of the English narratives only The Seege of Troye, which worked with Benoît's and not Guido's version, presents a different picture, in which Neoptolemus does not even require a weapon to kill Polyxena: “with his fist he smote her soo, / that atoo her nekke he breke.” Seege 1896-7. “with his fist he smote her so, that her neck he broke in two.” This image does not stem from Le Roman de Troie, however, as there Polyxena is simply slain with a sword. Benoît 26548-9. Finally, Excidium Troie introduces yet another gruesome killing: “Et aperto tumulo vivam eam in sarcofago ubi pater eius fuit misit et cooperuit et plumbo ligavit.” Atwood, Whitaker 1944, 20. “and having uncovered the tomb, [Neoptolemus] threw her alive into the sarcophagus, where his father was, and buried and bound with lead.” By burying Polyxena in Achilles's sarcophagus, Neoptolemus might be seen as forcing upon Polyxena the practice of suttee, according to which the wife was supposed to take her own life after the death of her husband and was later buried with him. Without reference to the text of Excidium Troiae, this parallel was discussed in Hughes 2003, 27, 61. In addition, this mode of death, of course, reinforces the idea that Polyxena is to join Achilles in the afterlife.

Polyxena's conduct

As can be seen from the many alternative versions of Polyxena's death, neither the Dares-Dictys tradition, nor the description from the Metamorphoses satisfied the medieval vision of Polyxena's death. Nevertheless, one ancient motif reached the medieval narratives: Polyxena's speech before the sacrifice. Presented either through direct or indirect speech, Polyxena's appeal, one of the few Ovidian borrowings in Le Roman de Troie Joly, A. (1869). Benoi?t de Sainte-More et le "Roman de Troie" ou les Meìtamorphoses d'HomeÌre et de l'eìpopeìe greìco-latine au Moyen-Age. Paris: Derache. P. 214. and, thus, the English tradition, incorporates classical themes, while also introducing new motifs. For example, Polyxena starts not with the controversial gesture of tearing her clothes, which disappears in the medieval version of the myth, but with an accusation. Indicting the Greeks, she proclaims her innocence: “you do me scle with mochel vn-right! / for - by that god that maked pes! - / off that knhyghtes deth am I giltles <…>” Laud 18548-50. “you slay me with much unrighteousness, for by the god that makes peace / I am guiltless of that knight's death.” This is sometimes followed by Polyxena exclaiming that she grieved at learning of Achilles' death. Lydgate 6671-3. Naturally, this is a new motif as the Polyxena of Euripides or Ovid was not used by Hecuba or Paris in the ruse against Achilles. What is surprising, however, is that the medieval Polyxena accuses the Greeks of injustice, sometimes almost cursing them: “my blood youre gilt her-after shal apache, / and accuse also your grete envie / to the goddess, that shal iustefie / euvery vnritgh <…>” Lydgate 6796-8. “my blood shall charge your guilt hereafter, / and accuse also your great malice / to the gods, that shall justify/ every wrongdoing.” This is a medieval topos, as Polyxena in the antient tradition never accused or cursed the Greeks. To an extent this is because some classical texts focalized the sacrifice through a Greek messenger, who praising Polyxena, was unlikely to mention her blaming the Greeks.

Another classical motif that is reflected in medieval narratives, perhaps due to this motif's prominence not only in Ovid, but also in Virgil, is Polyxena's preference for death over slavery and loss of virginity. So, for instance, one reads in The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy that “hir was leuer in hir lond out of lyue pas, / then be defoulit in filth with febill of astate; / or be led of hire lond with a lede straunge; / set vnder seruage and sorrow for euer, / with the fose of hir fadur <…>” Gest. 12125-9. “it was better to die in her land, / than to be ruined by someone of miserable position; / or to be carried away from her land by an unknown man; / set in bondage and sorrow forever, / with the foes of her father.” Similarly to Polyxena's speech in Euripides, as discussed in the previous chapter, an element of self-delusion, of exaggerating the evils awaiting her in the future, is present. By contrast, the motif of pity towards Hecuba is completely erased in the Middle Ages. Although very important for Polyxena in Ovid, she is never mentioned or addressed by Polyxena in medieval narratives, although she is usually depicted as present at the sacrifice. It seems likely that the disappearance of this motif of pity towards Hecuba is caused by the emphasis on Hecuba's plotting of Achilles's death Generally, Hecuba and Paris were portrayed as the sole conspirators in the plot against Achilles. Only in Excidium Troiae, which in many aspects defies the tradition, Priam is also part of the plot. . By having Polyxena neglect to mention her mother in the speech, the medieval authors pass judgement on Hecuba's revenge on Achilles.

Finally, a motif that is addressed and to a certain extent reinterpreted in the Middle Ages is Polyxena's courage during the sacrifice. As was already mentioned, Christine de Pisan in her compilation of the famous women mentions Polyxena as an example of remarkable courage. Due to the same reason Polyxena appears in Boccaccio's compilation De Mulieribus Claris where she is praised for facing Neoptolemus with “constanti pectore et intrepido vultu.” Boccaccio, G. Famous Women. (Virginia Brown, Ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001. P. 132.