Weaving Webs and Singing Songs:
The Reaffirmation of kleos for Helen and Achilles in the Iliad

Chad P. Brown (Marshall University)

In the Iliad, the scenes of Helen weaving in Book 3 and Achilles singing in Book 9 both contain many similarities (isolation, celebrating kleos, and adhering to the will of Zeus), but the two scenes have yet to be discussed together. As scholars have shown, it is through the medium of epic song that kleos is celebrated and transmitted (Nagy 1974), and, at least in a mythological context as stated by Hesiod, the will of Zeus decides which mortals will receive kleos (W&D 1-4). The act of weaving has also been shown to be a form of celebrating kleos similar to epic song (Kennedy 1986). Helen and Achilles, through their respective acts of weaving and singing in the Iliad, are actually celebrating their own future kleos that is confirmed by the will of Zeus. Additionally, both are reaffirming the kleos that they will receive because of feelings of doubt that arise from being isolated from the fighting.

By depicting the fighting of the Greeks and Trojans through the medium of weaving, Helen celebrates her kleos visually, just as a singer celebrates kleos orally through song. In Iliad 3.125-128, Helen reaffirms her future kleos by weaving a cloak that portrays the fighting between the Greeks and Trojans, who fight for her sake. Helen realizes that she is not to blame for the war because of the will of Zeus (Il. 6.354-358), even though she does receive reproach. Furthermore, although Helen feels shame for the war (Il. 3.236-242), she nevertheless realizes that she will receive kleos by being the subject of song (Il. 6.354-358), and her kleos will be her beauty (Il. 3.156-160). The fighting between the Greeks and Trojans is the violent result of her beauty, but it is also the physical affirmation of Helen’s kleos for herself. However, within the isolation of her chamber and away from the fighting, her future kleos must be reaffirmed because doubts arise about whether or not she will receive it.

In Iliad 9.186-191, Achilles also reaffirms his own kleos by singing while he is withdrawn from the fighting. Although the specific subject of Achilles’ song is referred to only as klea andrōn, it can be inferred that Achilles sings of his own past kleos in battle. In the Odyssey (1.351-352; 8.492-495), it is stated that singers sing of the most recent events, and, by implication, Achilles is singing of battles from the Trojan War. Furthermore, because the lyre Achilles is playing was taken in the sack of Thebe, it can be inferred further that he is singing of the kleos he won there when he “destroyed the city of Eëtion” (Il. 9.189). The therapeutic effect of song (Theog. 98-103) eases his troubled spirit from being withdrawn from the fighting (Il. 1.488-492), but the subject of his song, which is the most appropriate subject matter to ease his spirit, is camouflaged by the nonspecific term klea andrōn. Achilles knows that kleos can only be achieved in battle through one’s words and actions (Il. 9.443), and doubts about his future kleos arise because he is not participating in the fighting until he is honored again by Agamemnon according to the will of Zeus. Achilles ensures that his own kleos will be celebrated by singing of his past actions in battle to Patroclos, the one person he hoped would return home safely (Il. 9.328-333) and who would spread that kleos.

Helen and Achilles must reaffirm their future kleos to themselves through the two gender-specific mediums of weaving and singing because there is no one present in their isolation to give them this reassurance. However, there is also a magical and illusory quality surrounding both the acts of weaving and singing. This quality causes the reaffirmation of kleos for Helen and Achilles to also inadvertently become an act of self-deception, which allows them to escape for the time being while they are performing each respective act of celebrating kleos from the situation confronting them in their isolation that is causing doubt in the first place.