THEOCLYMNEUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Theoclymneus is a central figure in Helen, the Greek mythological play, written by Euripdes. This play gives an alternative view of events linked to the Trojan War, where Theoclymneus is a king of Egypt.
Theoclymneus Son of Proteus
Theoclymneus is the son of Proteus and the Nereid Psamathe, and is thus brother to the female seer Theonoe. Proteus was King of Egypt, although whether he was the same individual as the prophetic sea-god is unclear.
Theoclymneus and Helen
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Proteus had given sanctuary to Helen, wife of Menelaus, when she had been whisked away by the gods from Sparta. In this version of events, Paris had actually “abducted” a phantom duplicate of Helen, and thus throughout the whole of the Trojan War, Helen had never been in or near Troy.
Time passed by, and Proteus was no longer King of Egypt, nor protector of Helen, for Theoclymneus had become king. Theoclymneus now wished to make Helen his wife and queen. Rumours had spread that Menelaus was dead, and so Theoclymneus sought to put pressure upon Helen to accept his marriage proposal. Helen though, first sought insight from Theonoe, Theoclymneus’ sister, about Menelaus. Theonoe tells Helen that her husband is alive, and shortly afterwards a disguised Menelaus arrives in Egypt. Menelaus and Helen sought to return to Sparta, but Helen was in essence a prisoner in Theoclymneus’ kingdom, and so a plan was concocted to escape from Egypt. Helen told Theoclymneus that with Menelaus “dead”, she must perform a burial rite at sea, allowing her to be free to marry again. Theoclymneus readily agrees to Helen’s request, for he now believed he was to marry her. Menelaus and Helen of course escape on the boat given to Helen by Theoclymneus to perform the burial rite. |
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Colin Quartermain - Theoclymneus - 28th August 2021