The Women Of The Trojan War As Seen In Paris: A Rock Odyssey

I saved my favorite and most unknown musical for the last installment of my four-part miniseries. This musical is called Paris: A Rock Odyssey (1990) (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. 1990, compact disc. )). Created by the late Jon English and David Mackay, Paris: A Rock Odyssey tells the story of Prince Paris and Helen whose infamous love doomed the city of Troy.

The story of the Trojan War has been told time and time again in the form of epic poems like The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid, and in movies like Troy. But Paris: A Rock Odyssey brings something different to the story of the Trojan War. With rock ballads, an exceptional chorus, and memorable characters, Paris: A Rock Odyssey stands out with its unique adaptation.

In this story of the Trojan War, the Trojan, Paris, falls in love with Helen, the queen of Sparta, while on a peace mission to Sparta. Paris convinces Helen to leave with him, which enrages Menelaus, Helen’s husband, and the king of Sparta. As a result, the Spartans go to war with the Trojans.

Upon their arrival in Troy, Paris and Helen are greeted with hatred and fear as the people of Troy realize that they’re heading into a war with Sparta. The war lasts ten years, and both sides suffer terrible losses. In the end, Troy falls due to the cunning invention of Ulysses (also known as Odysseus) that we now call the Trojan Horse. Unfortunately, for the two lovers, Paris is killed at the end of the war, and Helen is taken back to Sparta, thus ending their love story.

Paris: A Rock Odyssey establishes itself as a love story first and foremost by not spending the vast majority of its time detailing events on the battlefield (like The Iliad). The musical spends a disproportionate amount of time on Helen and Paris as the pair tries to make sense of the consequences of their love in the midst of Troy’s suffering. However, despite the love story and intriguing men in the musical, it is the women themselves, namely Cassandra and Helen, who stand out. Throughout Paris: A Rock Odyssey, Cassandra and Helen act as refreshing voices of reason and maturity in the midst of the confusing chaos of war.

Cassandra’s Warnings

Cassandra establishes herself as a rational person early on in Paris: A Rock Odyssey. However, her disadvantage comes from the fact that she was cursed by the god Apollo who made it so no one would believe Cassandra’s prophecies. Therefore, despite Cassandra’s well-founded objections against the Trojans sending Paris to Sparta on a peace mission, no one listens to her. However, Cassandra’s desperation to save her people and to prove that she isn’t crazy makes her never give up on her truth.

For example, at the beginning of the musical, in the song “Straight Ahead,” Cassandra asks Hector, another prince of  Troy if it is wise to “sacrifice sanity, to satisfy a whim” (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Straight Ahead.” 1990, compact disc. )) Her words here have a double-meaning. Her use of the word “whim” references both the Trojans’ decision to send Paris to Sparta as well as Paris’ later decision to spontaneously take Helen despite the foreseeable consequences (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Straight Ahead.” 1990, compact disc. )).

At the beginning of Paris: A Rock Odyssey, Cassandra provides the source of conflict because she is the only one who casts doubt on this plan to send the young and unworldly Paris to Sparta. In the song “Head Without a Heart,” Cassandra makes it clear that solely following the heart or the mind creates an imbalance (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Head Without a Heart.” 1990, compact disc. )).

Therefore, Cassandra sees Paris as dangerous because he thinks only with his heart and not with his head. In other words, he’s all emotion and no logic. However, Cassandra is unsuccessful in her attempts to sway the minds of the Trojans. Thus, Paris goes to Sparta, takes Helen, and then ten years later, Troy falls all because of one love affair.

Cassandra’s Anger

Cassandra’s anger at the Trojans and Paris culminates in one of the last songs on the album called, “Oh Paris.” This awesome rock number occurs after the Trojans bring what we now call “The Trojan Horse” past the walls of Troy that had protected them. The Greeks hiding inside the horse bring the destruction to Troy that Cassandra foresaw in the first act of Paris: A Rock Odyssey.

In “Oh Paris,” Cassandra demonstrates her mystical abilities by stepping outside the bounds of her time to reflect on the future consequences of Paris’ actions. She sings, “[H]istory will say, “Your love was too high a price to pay’” (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Oh Paris.” 1990, compact disc. )). Cassandra chastises Paris for not thinking beyond his own selfish love and for refusing to think of the effect his actions would have on other people.

Again, even in the midst of what is very clearly a disaster, only Cassandra criticizes Paris as he should be criticized. For example, even Paris’ brother, Hector, who fights in the war, doesn’t make Paris take responsibility for his actions. In fact, he encourages Paris’ and Helen’s love affair at the expense of everyone else. Cassandra is the only Trojan who tries to help Paris at the beginning of the musical, and she is the only one who criticizes Paris at the end of the musical.

Cassandra is intentionally made into the voice of reason for Paris: A Rock Odyssey. From her god-given premonitions to her appreciation of the balance between love and logic, Cassandra is the only one trying to save the Trojans from themselves. Cassandra’s reason is consistently strong and unshakable in the musical, but Helen’s reason is a bit more nuanced.

Helen’s Ability To See What Others Cannot

One of Helen’s recurring lines in Paris: A Rock Odyssey is “Any fool could see” (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Any Fool Could See.” 1990, compact disc. )). Helen prides herself on her ability to see things clearly and as they are, which makes her an excellent source of reason. For example, the first time Helen and Paris interact alone, Helen is trying to save Paris because Agamemnon, her husband’s brother, wants to kill him.

Helen tells Paris that “any fool could see” the dangerous position he is in (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Any Fool Could See.” 1990, compact disc. )). She is frustrated with his inability to make sense of the situation on his own because it is so clear to her. Later in Paris: A Rock Odyssey, after Helen and Paris arrive in Troy together, Paris does his best to avoid having to tell the Trojans that Helen is the wife of the king of Sparta. In the end, it is Helen, not Paris, who finally tells the Trojans who she is. Helen is the one to act as the voice of reason and tell everyone who she is so that everyone understands the situation. Much like Cassandra, Helen is one of the few people in the musical who checks Paris and criticizes him for his naivety.

It is also worth mentioning that both Cassandra and Helen sing about the dichotomy of the head and the heart. The first time Helen sees Paris in Menelaus’ court, Agamemnon very clearly lays out his plan to first use Paris for information and then kill him. After Paris leaves the court, Helen tells Agamemnon, “You embrace your black mind…beware the heart!” (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Paris in Court.” 1990, compact disc. )).

Here, Helen does the same thing with Agamemnon that Cassandra did with Paris at the beginning of Paris: A Rock Odyssey. Cassandra establishes Paris as a character who thinks only with his heart, while Helen establishes Agamemnon as a person who thinks only with his evil mind. Helen and Cassandra see this imbalance between using the heart and using the head as dangerous and wrong.

Both Cassandra and Helen see and understand things that everyone else around them cannot. They both provide insight into characters and criticism of characters that the audience wouldn’t otherwise get without them. However, for Helen, because of her love for Paris, she does stay in Troy with him even though she knows she shouldn’t be there. But, Helen may not be entirely to blame for her decisions.

The Gods

Cassandra and Helen both share a similar problem: the gods. In Cassandra’s case, the gods make everyone ignore her, while in Helen’s case, she is cursed with the beauty of Aphrodite as she was made in her image. In Greek mythology, Paris is given a golden apple by the goddess Discord. Paris is told to give the apple to the most beautiful goddess: Aphrodite, Hera, or Athena. In the end, Paris gives the apple to Aphrodite because she promises to give Paris the most beautiful woman on earth who turns out to be Helen.

Therefore, it is unfair to condemn Helen’s and Paris’ actions without also considering the role the gods play in their love story. Helen also comments on the gods’ involvement in their lives. For example, Helen interrupts one of Paris’ romantic ponderings about their future together to remind him of the gods’ domineering role in their lives. She says, “The gods create the circumstance, while we must pay the consequence” (( English, Jon, David Mackay. Paris: A Rock Odyssey. “Thoughts of Love.” 1990, compact disc. )). In other words, the gods like to play with mortals’ lives because they never pay the price—mortals do.

Cassandra and Helen both seem to understand the gods’ games, but no one else pays them much heed. Everyone else is too concerned with their own agendas to take the time to stop and examine the world around them and think of the consequences of their actions. This alone makes these two women voices of reason in a sea of ignorance.

Why You Should Check Out Paris: A Rocky Odyssey

Paris: A Rock Odyssey didn’t receive much attention after the original cast recording came out in 1990. It’s had a couple of performances over the years like in 2017, which is where the pictures in this article come from, but it has received much stage time. It’s also worth mentioning that Paris: A Rock Odyssey originated in Australia, so most of its performances have been in Australia.

Due to the musical’s unknown status, there are very few songs available on YouTube. However, there are two videos of songs that are not referenced in the article that are also worth checking out: “Business” (which is an incomplete recording ) and “For Better or Worse.” Paris: A Rock Odyssey is a really awesome musical that deserves more attention. Its soundtrack features a lot of rock songs, dynamic characters, a compelling love story, and two powerful female characters.

The musical also does a good job of exploring the dynamic between the Greek gods and their mortals. Paris: A Rock Odyssey offers a unique take on the Trojan War and the characters who played their roles in it. Give this musical a listen—what could go wrong?