The myth of Polyxena from antiquity to the renaissance

Conclusion

The myth of Polyxena, alternative versions of which were already present in classical sources, was greatly elaborated in English medieval and Renaissance literature. Aiming to examine how the myth of Polyxena evolved from antiquity to the Renaissance, I used the motif-based approach, showing which motifs constituted the centre and the periphery of the myth, while also examining how these motifs were interconnected. It was shown that there is no single ubiquitous element in Polyxena's myth. Although most narratives depict her as being sacrificed on Achilles's tomb, in Cypria she was killed during the siege of the city. Likewise, her death, although paradoxically giving birth to her whole myth, is not universally alluded to in the literature of the English Renaissance, thus, also not constituting the core of her myth.

At the same time, it is possible to say which motifs predominated in which periods of the myth's development and which have been embraced throughout its history. Firstly, the motif of Polyxena's beauty, while not invariably mentioned or foregrounded, was shown to be important for the understanding of her myth in all the covered periods. It should be noted, however, that while in antiquity, and especially in the Middle Ages, this motif was inherently linked to grief - Polyxena's beauty was alluded to either in the scene of the anniversary of Hector's death or the scene of the sacrifice - this connection between the two motifs is lost by the Renaissance. Similarly, the depiction of Polyxena courageously and willing going to the sacrifice, present in the majority, albeit not all, classical and medieval texts, was also erased in the Renaissance. By contrast, the motif of the violence of the sacrifice was minimally present in antiquity but fully developed in the medieval and Renaissance traditions.

The analysis has also demonstrated the importance of Achilles's love towards Polyxena in all three traditions. For the classical period, this motif appears only in the texts of the countertradition, thus, the ones less often analysed by scholars. This motif does come to light in the forged accounts of the Trojan war supposedly written by the eyewitnesses from both the Greek and the Trojan side. As these narratives by Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis were widely read and believed, the love motif came to play a crucial role in the literature of the Middle Ages. Embracing the image of a love-struck Achilles, the medieval narratives of the Trojan war also assign a more active role to Polyxena. Although not describing her emotion as love, the texts do showcase her disappointment when Achilles's breaks his word and resumes fighting. At the same time the attitudes towards Achilles's feelings varied greatly throughout the evolution of the myth. While he is mostly blamed for behaving heedlessly and choosing passion over valour by medieval authors, the authors of the Renaissance sometimes sympathise with him.

Finally, I have offered a reading of Polyxena's myth through the lens of Girard's theory of ritual substitution. This has proven productive for the understanding of the myth throughout its complex evolution. Showing that Helen and Polyxena are often compared as the two most beautiful women, I argued that the intrinsic logic of Polyxena's sacrifice was her being a substitute for Helen. Thus, according to Girard's framework, the community first chooses a scapegoat figure, a victim from inside the community who the community blames for all its misfortunes. This victim, however, is not killed as this death might trigger more violence, from which the sacrifice is meant to protect the society. Instead a ritual victim from outside the community is chosen and killed instead. As I have demonstrated, the Greeks did indeed show aggression towards Helen and accused her of the calamities of the Trojan war. Yet, Helen is not killed, Polyxena, her equal in terms of beauty is slain instead. This overarching interpretation of the myth is borne out by its treatment in the classical, medieval and Renaissance sources.

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