Helena: Übergewichtig oder schwanger? Zu Menelaos’ Scherz in Eur. Troad. 1050

Abstract

In Euripides’ Trojan Women, Hecuba asks Menelaus not to travel on the same ship as Helen so as not to fall in love with her again. Menelaus dismisses this request with a joke question about Helen’s potential weight increase. In this paper, it is argued that Menelaus’ question is, in fact, not about Helen’s physique, but about a potential pregnancy. Further, Menelaus’ reply is spoken neither with naivety nor with insecurity, but with scorn and condescension, allocating to Hecuba her new position at the bottom of society.