There
are two prominent and distinguished wives of Troy. Those are Creusa, the wife
of Aeneas in the book Aeneid and Andromache, the wife of Hector in Illiad and
Oddysey. In Illiad and Odyssey, Andromache, foreseeing Hector’s death, pleads
with him to withdraw from the fighting. “Dearest, your own great strength will
be your death, and you have no pity on your little son, nor on me, ill-starred,
who soon must be your widow …” She reminds Hector that all of her family have
already been killed in war, including her father and seven brothers, all slain
by Achilles, who is destined to defeat Hector in mortal combat. This is the
moment on the battlements of Troy, when the Trojans’ great hero Hector has left
the fighting momentarily; his wife Andromache comes to speak with him,
accompanied by a nurse and their infant son, Astyanax. This designates the
great affection expressed by Andromache to her husband.
Just
like Andromache, Creusa exhibited such concern and affection to her husband,
Aeneas. For instance, When Anchises refuses to
leave the house, prompting Aeneas to decide that he will leave to continue the
fight against the Greeks so that he may die in battle. Creusa grabs his feet
and begs him to think of what would become of Ascanius, Anchises and herself if
Aeneas were to be killed. As she does this, Ascanius catches fire with an
un-earthly flame. The flame is quickly doused with water. Anchises believes
this to be an omen from Jupiter, who confirms this omen by sending a shooting
star. Anchises now agrees to flee Troy. The family leaves the home, Aeneas
carrying his father and Ascanius holding his hand, while Creusa is to remain
some distance behind them. This indicates the unconditional love of Creusa to
her husband, Aeneas.
These
two situations signify the tenderness of love of the two eminent wives in Troy.
They showed their great passion of love to their husbands. And always be
reminded that a wife is essential to great longevity. She is also the
receptacle of half a man's cares, and two-thirds of his ill-humor. Wives are young
men's mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men's nurses.
“Blessed
is the man that hath a virtuous wife, for the number of his days shall be
double.”