helen of troy

• daughter of Zeus, born from an

• carried off by Theseus, rescued by brothers

• said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world

• when it was time for Helen to marry, many kings n princes internationally came to seek her hand, bringing rich gifts w them/sent emissaries to do so on their behalf

• her abduction by Paris of Troy was the immediate cause of the Trojan War » when Menelaus discovered his wife was missing, he called upon Helen’s other suitors to fulfil their oaths of military aid = Trojan War

• either died by hanging (Queen Polyxo, for the death of her husband Tlepolemus, in Trojan War) or offered as godly sacrifice to atone for Achilles’ death

cleopatra

• her beauty was the product of Roman propaganda

• she had a hand in the death of 3 of her siblings

• married her brothers to retain purity of royal bloodline

• teamed with julius caesar to gain sole possession of the throne over her brother/husband ptolemy iii, then believed to have murdered her brother/husband ptolemy xiv

• potentially had a child w caesar

• affair with mark antony

• led a fleet in naval battle

• mark antony and cleopatra both killed themselves

• cleopatra by an asp

marilyn monroe

• 2nd women to head her own production agency

• cut honeymoon short to entertain troops

• affair w jfk

• suspected suicide

• married 3 times

  • james dougherty » joe dimaggio » arthur miller

  • 1st at 16, pre-actress

  • final divorce big factor to death

princess diana

• wanted to be a ballerina but was too tall

• struggled with postnatal depression, anxiety

• divorced on her own terms

• lived as a royal on her own terms

• all tried to take control of their narratives in some way

• all died in their 30s

• downfall of all = sexuality