'His Prize'
Of Ichor and War 3: Considering the Metaphysics of Homer's Iliad; Physical Foundations
In The Iliad, women are first and foremost “prizes” of war, with the first order of business among a conquering army the awarding of the most beautiful woman to the preeminent hero by vote, and the awarding of the second most beautiful woman to the overall commander. The warrior society of The Iliad is at the very same level as that of Beowulf, a feudal order, with kings attended by less politically powerful peers and the warrior-based rather than soldier-bound army maintaining a democratic voice. One can glimpse the roots of the patrician-plebian order of Rome, and the Houses of Commons and Lords in Britain and the House and Senate in America, reflected in The Iliad in their heroic infancy.
The woman as prize was reflected in an ancient book I read by a forgotten author which was Eucumin for Helen, I think, in which the author defended Helen of Troy for her marriage to Paris or Alexandros of Troy. For, she was an obedient and not always willing wife to craven Paris, as his prize, and would return to Sparta to be an obedient wife—prize returned—to king Menelaus. Helen, Briseis and the bed companions of Achilles and Patroclus lived as the conquests of men, where only a nymph, a goddess, or a queen might consent to her union from a position of choice.
Even Gaia, Mother Earth, must consent to unhappy marriage, either to Sky or Sea, the latter union dictated by the acts of her most powerful sons, Time and then Almighty.