Product Description

One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. This volume completes the new six-volume Loeb Classical Library edition of his plays.

In Bacchae, a masterpiece of tragic drama, Euripides tells the story of king Pentheus's resistance to the worship of Dionysus and his horrific punishment. Iphigenia at Aulis recounts the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter to Artemis, the price exacted by the goddess for favorable sailing winds. Rhesus (probably not by Euripides) dramatizes a pivotal incident in the Trojan War. David Kovacs presents a faithful and skillfully worded translation of the three plays, facing a freshly edited Greek text.

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Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Bilingual Edition In Spite of a Few Errors
This is the sixth and final volume of the new LOEB edition of Euripides, edited and translated by David Kovacs. The new LOEB edition of Euripides is an enormous improvement over the old LOEB Euripides which it replaces. The old edition featured translations by A.S.Way which, in addition to being of the lowest possible literary quality,were often wildly unfaithful to the Greek original.

Fortunately, Kovacs, unlike Way, eschews any attempt at poetic inspiration and settles instead on translating Euripides' Greek into idiomatic English prose. Thus, anyone seeking a poetic translation of Euripides will be disappointed. However, anyone seeking a translation that is as faithful to the Greek as is possible without producing unidiomatic English will find Kovacs' translations illuminating. Kovacs' translations are particularly useful for the Greekless reader who wishes to see how poetic translations of Euripides compare with the original. Since many poetic translations often depart from the original quite drastically, Kovacs' translations can be used to determine how much of any given poetic translation comes from Euripides and how much comes from the translator.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to Kovacs' edition. Scattered throughout his translations are mistranslations as well as omissions of small scraps of the Greek.

For example, Kovacs translates line 1154 of the Bacchae (Greek: anaboasomen xymphoran) as "Let us dance for joy at the calamity". Here Kovacs has mistranslated "anaboasomen", which means "let us raise a shout". It seems that he accidentally read and translated the line as "anakhoreusomen xymphoran".

An example of omission of material from the Greek is to be found at line 420 of Iphigenia at Aulis, where Kovacs has the messenger say that, "...since they [Iphigenia and Clytaimestra] have had a long journey, they are refreshing their female feet...". For some reason, Kovacs has decided to leave "euruton para krenen" untranslated.

However, in spite of the occasional errors, Kovacs' edition and translation are an excellent addition to the LOEB series. ... Read more

Product Description
Now in paperback.

Euripides, the last of the three great tragedians of ancient Athens, reached the height of his renown during the disastrous Peloponnesian War, when democratic Athens was brought down by its own outsized ambitions. “Euripides,” the classicist Bernard Knox has written, “was born never to live in peace with himself and to prevent the rest of mankind from doing so.” His plays were shockers: he unmasked heroes, revealing them as foolish and savage, and he wrote about the powerless–women and children, slaves and barbarians–for whom tragedy was not so much exceptional as unending. Euripides’ plays rarely won first prize in the great democratic competitions of ancient Athens, but their combustible mixture of realism and extremism fascinated audiences throughout the Greek world. In the last days of the Peloponnesian War, Athenian prisoners held captive in far-off Sicily were said to have won their freedom by reciting snatches of Euripides’ latest tragedies.

Four of those tragedies are presented here in new translations by the contemporary poet and classicist Anne Carson. They are Herakles, in which the hero swaggers home to destroy his own family; Hekabe, set after the Trojan War, in which Hektor’s widow takes vengeance on her Greek captors; Hippolytos, about love and the horror of love; and the strange tragic-comedy fable Alkestis, which tells of a husband who arranges for his wife to die in his place. The volume also contains brief introductions by Carson to each of the plays along with two remarkable framing essays: “Tragedy: A Curious Art Form” and “Why I Wrote Two Plays About Phaidra.” ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Eros and Necessity
No one writes about eros and "Necessity" (or the Greeks, Common Sense) their twists of irony, and the destructiveness of revenge as does Anne Carson. These plays are as relevant today as they were when written.The translations are fluent, singing poetry. The short prefaces are dynamite.Reflective and provocative. I'm rereading her other books.They are each one inspiring and unique. She is one of our best poets, and philosophers. Whenever my mind is dull, I reach over and pick up Desecration or Irony and Glass.

Family love and hate
This translation of four plays by Euripedes is brilliant, clean and clear, without pretension.It offers the direct gaze of an Athenian at human emotion and human fate, which is considered a matter of luck more than character.For the Athenians matters of state and import are rooted in the family, where everything begins.

Whose got a mop?
There is so much blood letting in these plays I would hate to be the stage manager. What a clean up after every performance.
Seriously folks...
The plays are spellbinding. The insights into what motivates human beings are brilliant. I enjoyed reading these plays 10 times more than I ever thought I would. I read the review inThe New Yorker and thought I'd take a chance. (I don't normally read the classics)
I gave it to my wife who loved the plays as well.
Great job.

simple, clear, beautiful
I've owned copies of Euripides all my life and never got around to reading them, but when Grief Lessons came across my desk last week, I was compelled to read straight through it. The title alone speaks of Carson's special talent for reaching the heart of the matter. Grief Lessons. The layout of her character's dialogue, too, flows back and forth along the margins of the page so that your eye moves easily down the text. The characters speak simply, without flourishes, without annoying Victorian poetic touches. Grief Lessons opens up Euripides to you so clearly that you can hear the characters weeping and shouting at each other on the stage of your mind. At the same time, so simple is Carson's translation that her words have an open ended flexibility that let you imagine them being pitched almost any way. Is Admetus a typical egocentric or an oaf? I'd always felt sorry for Hippolytus, cursed unfairly by his father. Now I'd like to curse him myself. I've never seen pomposity in a youth so clearly shown in a play. Moreover, Euripides lived at the end of Greece's golden age. His cynicism of the gods and heroes plays very appropriately on the stage of today. ... Read more

Product Description
Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can best re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. The tragedies collected here were originally available as single volumes. This new collection retains the informative introductions and explanatory notes of the original editions, with Greek line numbers and a single combined glossary added for easy reference.

This volume collects Euripides' Andromache, a play that challenges the concept of tragic character and transforms expectations of tragic structure; Hecuba, a powerful story of the unjustifiable sacrifice of Hecuba's daughter and the consequent destruction of Hecuba's character; Trojan Women, a particularly intense account of human suffering and uncertainty; and Rhesos, the story of a futile quest for knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
Euripides III: Hecuba, Andromache, The Trojan Women, and Ion written by legendary tragedian Euripides is widely considered to be among the best of his approximately ninety five plays. These great classics will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, Euripides III: Hecuba, Andromache, The Trojan Women, and Ion is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, the combination of these gems by Euripides is highly recommended. Published by Classic Books America and beautifully produced, Euripides III: Hecuba, Andromache, The Trojan Women, and Ion would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Review of the Grene/Lattimore 'Euripides III'
Again, Grene and Lattimore deliver an excellent collection of plays by Euripides. The language and clear and readable in all translations. However, I also continue my criticism that these works lack footnotes to guide readers through obscure mythological references. I believe the Arrowsmith translations have a few, but this should be more widespread.

And interesting aspect to this volume in particular is the thematic unity of the plays. The first three all concern the division of skin and treasure after the fall of Troy. The fourth (Ion) is something of an anomaly, but was actually my favorite of all those within this volume.

Nicely organized
The third in this series of translation of Greek drama has the same basic flaws as the others: conservative translation.But also like the others it is very readable and affordable. I also liked the fact that these playswere organized so that the stories are shown in their interconnectedfashion.An audience member in ancient Greece would have this fullbackground and thus it is a wonderful ideas for the modern reader to taketime and at least read all the introductions before beginning any one text. ... Read more

Product Description
Bacchae written by legendary Athenian playwright Euripides is widely considered to be one of the top Greek tragedies of all time. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, Bacchae is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, this gem by Euripides is highly recommended. Published by Classic Books America and beautifully produced, Bacchae would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Poor quality book
While Dodds' text and notes are good, the quality of the binding on this book is terrible.Pages were falling out of this text from day one.For $85 and a month's wait, this is completely unacceptable.If you're looking for the Greek text, get yourself a Loeb and some Post-Its and you'll be more satisfied and pay less.

ISBN 0-486-29580-x Euripides Bacchae
The book I read had the isbn number I gave in my title. An Amazon search pulled up this page. There seems to have been a mix-up somehow because many of the other reviews seem to be referring to other translations of this work. The Dover Thrift edition states in a bibliographical note that the translation used is that of Henry Hart Milman, first published in 1865. I mention this so prospective buyers won't be misled.

This is indeed a thrift edition. There is but the briefest of introductory notes. To get an adequate background which explains the context of the action, the reader will have to look elsewhere. I found plenty of sources on the internet, but one in particular which was outstanding. That was: "Introductory Note To Euripides' Bacchae" by Ian Johnston, a retired instructor at Vancouver University. This was a very lucid, well-written introduction and commentary on the play which provided context and also considered several different interpretations of it's meaning.

This translation, though having a certain lyrical quality, seems in many places awkward, with subjects, verbs, and objects of sentences doing a cumbersome dance and sometimes getting out of order. I glanced at the beginning of a translation by the above-mentioned Ian Johnston which seemed much more direct and understandable. However, I'm not out to knock this translation, just to point out there might be desirable alternatives.

My interest in reading the 'Bacchae' was aroused by a book called 'Sexual Persona', by Camille Paglia. Paglia sees the whole of Western Civilization as achieving its successes through the suppression of Dionysian irrationality by Apollonian focus - hard, rational, and discriminating. For her, the Apollonian expression reached a high point in the production of Aeschylus' 'Oresteia', with it's concept of a rational code of justice. The 'Oresteia' appeared during a time of vigor for classical Greece. The 'Bacchae', on the other hand was written during a period of decline, and according to Paglia, parodies the idealism of Aeschylus.

She(Paglia) associates the Dionysian frenzy of the 'Bacchae' with the drugs, rock music, and rebelliousness of the 1960's. It is a "panorama of intoxication, delusion, and self-destruction". She equates the conquest by Dionysus with the repressed id erupting to wreak vengeance on the Apollonian super-ego of sharply defined form and rationality.

After reading the play, I must say I think it surely merits these colorful comparisons, for it rivals anything produced by the psychedelic '60's. Most of the time I try to give my own impressions of a book more weight in interpreting its meaning, but I think in the case of ancient Greek drama we have little choice but to pay more heed to the opinions of expert critics. We are so far removed from the cultural factors which produced these works it is impossible to penetrate very deeply without help from the experts. I'm sure there are many worthwhile commentators other than the two I mentioned, but without their help, the 'Bacchae' would have remained an interesting, but bizarre and murky mystery to me.

No Greek text
This review refers to the paperback Bryn Mawr commentary of Euripides' Bacchae byBeth Causey copyright 1995 ISBN 0-929524-85-3.

Usually, Bryn Mawr commentaries come with the Greek text. The information on Amazon says that the book is 28 pages. In fact the book I received was 21 pages and is only a commentary - it is missing the Greek text.

The poor rating in this review does not refer to the quality of commentary by Beth Causey but the fact that I expect commentaries to have a copy of the Greek text, and I expect books I order to be the same number of pages as stated in the information on Amazon.

Several of the reviews here seem to be of a different book altogether since they refer to an English translation of the text. I have never heard of a Bryn Mawr commentary that gave an English translation of the text.

Helpful Book
I used this book as a resource for a college paper when I was a little short of time. The accompanying historical and amplifying material was very helpful as was the summary of the play in the back.

A note for a five-star book, Bacchae edited by E. R. Dodds
I doubt anyone will go so far as to shell out $65.00 and find out the hard way, but this spectacular book:

1986 2nd ed.
EnglishBook lix, 253 p. ; 19 cm.
Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press.
ISBN: 0198721250 (pbk.) 9780198721253 (pbk.)

contains in fact the Greek text, with apparatus, accompanied by this great scholar's introduction and line by line commentary. I have never seen a better commentary on a Greek tragedy, and in fact the work may be of some value to Greekless readers, but it is NOT the translation referred to by the other reviewers at this site. ... Read more

Product Description
Women on the Edge, a collection of Alcestis, Medea, Helen, and Iphegenia at Aulis, provides a broad sample of Euripides' plays focusing on women, and spans the chronology of his surviving works, from the earliest, to his last, incomplete, and posthumously produced masterpiece. Each play shows women in various roles--slave, unmarried girl, devoted wife, alienated wife, mother, daughter--providing a range of evidence about the kinds of meaning and effects the category woman conveyed in ancient Athens. The female protagonists in these plays test the boundaries--literal and conceptual--of their lives.

Although women are often represented in tragedy as powerful and free in their thoughts, speech and actions, real Athenian women were apparently expected to live unseen and silent, under control of fathers and husbands, with little political or economic power. Women in tragedy often disrupt "normal" life by their words and actions: they speak out boldly, tell lies, cause public unrest, violate custom, defy orders, even kill.Female characters in tragedy take actions, and raise issues central to the plays in which they appear, sometimes in strong opposition to male characters.The four plays in this collection offer examples of women who support the status quo and women who oppose and disrupt it; sometimes these are the same characters.

The translations in Women on the Edge help readers locate the plays within their original social, cultural and performance context and mediate between ancient and modern ideologies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Translations Worthy of Performance!
The students in my theatre history class consistently rate this book as the best of all that we read. The translations are honest, accessible and, best of all, performable. Mary-Kay Gamel's translation of Iphigenia AtAulis is a revelation. In addition, the book's introduction and individualprefaces to the plays provide an excellent background on Athenian cultureand theater in general, and on the significance of women as characters andaudience in particular. I recommend Women On The Edge for classes like mineand as a scholarly work, but I also feel that anyone interested inEuripides and ancient Athens will appreciate this book. ... Read more

Product Description

One of Athens' greatest poets, Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here are four of his plays in a new Loeb Classical Library edition.

Hippolytus triumphed in the Athenian dramatic competition of 428 BCE; in modern times it has been judged to be one of Euripides' masterpieces. It tells of the punishment that the goddess Aphrodite inflicts on a young man who refuses to worship her. Hecuba and Andromache recreate the tragic stories of two noble Trojan women after their city's fall. Children of Heracles, probably first produced in 430, soon after the Spartan invasion of Attica, celebrates an incident long a source of Athenian pride: the city's protection of the sons and daughters of the dead Heracles.

In this second volume of the new Loeb Euripides David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text facing an accurate and graceful prose translation. Explanatory notes clarify allusions and nuances, and a brief introduction to each play is provided.

Customer Reviews (1)

One classic Euripides tragedy and three more of interest
This volume in the Loeb Classical Library brings together four of the ninteen tragedies by the tragic playwright Euripides that have survived from the 92 plays he was known to have written: "Children of Hercales" (produced 430 B.C.), "Hippolytus" (428 B.C.), "Andromache" (circa 426 B.C.), and "Hecuba" (circa 425 B.C.).Only the second tragedy could be considered a classic, but the other three have their points of interest.

"Children of Heracles" ("Heracledidae") has usually been considered a minor political play by Euripides.It tells how the children of Hecules were exiled by from their home by the murderous King Eurystheus of Argos (the one who imposed the famous Twelve Labors on the demi-god) after their father's death. The children and their mother fled from country to country in search of sanctuary until, of course, they came to Athens. At first, the Athenians are reluctant to grant asylum, since Eurystheus might bring political and military strife on the city. But Demophon, King of Athens, agrees to admit them. Indeed, the army of Eurystheus surrounds the city and the oracles declares that the safety of Athens depends on the sacrifice of a virgin. Macaria, one of the daughters of Hercules, offers herself as the sacrificial victim. The play has usually been considered to be nothing more than a glorification of Athens, but, of course, in more contemporary terms it is worth reconsidering this Greek tragedy as a look at the problem of political refugees.

"Hippolytus" opens with Aphrodite declaring her power over all mankind and her intention to ruin Hippolytus, the son of Theseus because he alone has had the audacity to scorn love. Instead, the young prince has devoted himself to hunting and Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt. As the instrument of Hippolytus' downfall, Aphrodite selects his stepmother Phaedra, by making her fall in love with him. What becomes interesting in Euripides' telling of the tale is how Phaedra resists the will of Aphrodite, having resolved to starve herself to death rather than ever reveal her infatuation. However, Phaedra's secret is revealed and Hippolytus is horrified that his stepmother wants him as her lover.Mortified that her secret is now known, Phaedra hangs herself, but trying to spare the reputation of her children she leaves a note accusing Hippolytus of having tried to rape her. When Theseus returns to find his wife dead at her own hand and his son implicated in her suicide, the king pronounces a deadly curse upon Hippolytus.Ironically, despite the tragic fate that awaits him, Hippolytus is not a sympathetic figure since his devotion to Artemis does not require him to spurn the ways of love and an Athenian audience would not look kindly upon him as a martyr to the idea of chastity.Phaedra becomes the truly tragic character in the tale, who has her dignity taken away from her by a vengeful goddess and a friend with the best of intentions, surely as potent a combination of dangerous characters as you can find in literature.

"Andromache," set in the aftermath of the Trojan War and focusing on the widow of Hector, is one of the weakest of the extant plays of Euripides, a work better considered as anti-Spartan propaganda.The scenes are more episodic than we usually find in Euripides with the first part essentially a supplicant play.The play has one of Euripides' strongest beginnings, with its attacks on Sparta, represented by Menelaus. But even as propaganda Euripides elevates his subject for what he sees is not merely a war between two cities, but rather a clash between two completely different ways of life. Andromache, the widow of Hector, is the slave of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, who is married to Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen.Andromache has born Neoptolemus a son, and the barren Hermione accuses the Trojan woman of having used witchcraft and seeks her death. Andromache has taken refuge as this temple where Hermione and Menelaus try to get her to come out by threatening to kill her son. However, the title character disappears from the play and everybody from Peleus, the father of Achilles, to Orestes, the cousin of Hermione, shows up, mainly to talk about Neoptolemus, who is at Delphi. Thetis shows up as the deus-ex-machina and the play ends rather abruptly. As a tragedy there is little her beyond a progression of characters who all talk about doing something they end up not doing and if there is supposed to be a series of object lessons offered by each of these characters, then that idea is pretty much lost on contemporary audiences.

In "Hecuba" the queen of fallend Troy has become the slave of Odysseus, who takes away her daughter Polyxena to be slain on the grave of Achilles. However, in this drama it is the earlier death of another child, Polydorus that provides the motivation for what comes to pass. This was a child who had been sent (according to Homer, there are various versions of this tale) for safety to the Thracian Chersonese. But now, after Hecuba hears of the death of Polyxena, the body of Polydorus washes up on shore. Apparently Hecuba's son-in-law Polymnester murdered the boy for the gold, which King Priam had sent to pay for his education. Agamemnon hears Hecuba's pleas, and Polymnester is allowed to visit the queen before she is taken away into captivity.The most fascinating aspect of "Hecuba" is that it gives us an opportunity to contrast the character of the queen of fallen Troy here with that in his more famous work, "The Trojan Women." This play was performed ten years earlier and its events take place right before the other play as well, although there is some overlap when Talthybius informs Hecuba of the death of Polyxena. In both dramas Hecuba is a woman driven by a brutal and remorseless desire for vengeance; however she proves much more successful in this drama than she does in "The Trojan Women." ... Read more

Product Description
Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. In this fifth volume of the new Loeb Classical Library Euripides, David Kovacs presents a freshly edited Greek text and a faithful and deftly worded translation of three plays. For his Helen the poet employs an alternative history in which a virtuous Helen never went to Troy but spent the war years in Egypt, falsely blamed for the adulterous behavior of her divinely created double in Troy. This volume also includes Phoenician Women, Euripides' treatment of the battle between the sons of Oedipus for control of Thebes; and Orestes, a novel retelling of Orestes' lot after he murdered his mother, Clytaemestra. Each play is annotated and prefaced by a helpful introduction. ... Read more

Product Description
Cambridge Translations from Greek Drama aims to eliminate the boundary between classics students and drama students. Euripides: Medea is the first in the series, and is aimed at A-level students in the UK and college students in North America.Features of the book include full commentary running alongside the translation, notes on pronunciation, and a plot synopsis. Background information is also provided, along with suggestions to encourage discussion. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Heracles and Other Plays, written by legendary author Euripides, is widely considered to be among the greatest classic texts of all time. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, Heracles and Other Plays is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, this gem by Euripides is highly recommended. Published by Classic Books International and beautifully produced, Heracles and Other Plays would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great translation
Of course the text itself is ageless, but my focus here is the translation and persentation.This book offer great discussion before each play and great text notes in the back to expand on the writings.There is also a glossary of names to reference.This translation offers you great depth of the subject plays. ... Read more

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Product Description
Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals.

This volume collects Euipides' Alcestis (translated by William Arrowsmith), a subtle drama about Alcestis and her husband Admetos, which is the oldest surviving work by the dramatist; Medea (Michael Collier and Georgia Machemer), a moving vengeance story and an excellent example of the prominence and complexity that Euripides gave to female characters; Helen (Peter Burian), a genre breaking play based on the myth of Helen in Egypt; and Cyclops (Heather McHugh and David Konstan), a highly lyrical drama based on a celebrated episode from the Odyssey.This volume retains the informative introductions and explanatory notes of the original editions and adds a single combined glossary and Greek line numbers. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in English courses. By using a running English-to-Albanian thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this edition of Hippolytus & The Bacchae by Euripides was edited for three audiences. The first includes Albanian-speaking students enrolled in an English Language Program (ELP), an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program, an English as a Second Language Program (ESL), or in a TOEFL� or TOEIC� preparation program. The second audience includes English-speaking students enrolled in bilingual education programs or Albanian speakers enrolled in English-speaking schools. The third audience consists of students who are actively building their vocabularies in Albanian in order to take foreign service, translation certification, Advanced Placement� (AP�) or similar examinations. By using the Webster's Albanian Thesaurus Edition when assigned for an English course, the reader can enrich their vocabulary in anticipation of an examination in Albanian or English.
TOEFL�, TOEIC�, AP� and Advanced Placement� are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved. ... Read more

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Euripides' most important plays in one volume.Translations are taken in full text from other single volumes in the Focus Classical Library, by authors Michael Halleran, Anthony Podlecki, and Stephen Esposito, with notes and a new introduction.As with all Focus Classical Library titles, this anthology has been designed with the student of ancient drama in mind, including modern translations close to the original, informed by the latest scholarship, and with an extensive introduction, interpretative essay, and footnotes- all to the purpose of allowing the student to understand Greek drama, Greek mythology, and the context of Greek culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

student review
I found all 4 plays in this book easy to read & easy to get into...this book was awesome & has made me a fan of Euripides. ... Read more

Product Description
Three Plays of Euripides: Alcestis, Medea, The Bachae, written by legendary author Euripides, is widely considered to be among the greatest classic texts of all time. These great classics will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, Three Plays of Euripides: Alcestis, Medea, The Bachae is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, these gems by Euripides are highly recommended. Published by Classic Books International and beautifully produced, Three Plays of Euripides: Alcestis, Medea, The Bachae would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library. ... Read more

Product Description
Iphigenia at Aulis dramatises the myth of Iphigenia, the young virgin sacrificed by her father Agamemnon at the start of the expedition against Troy. Produced at the end of the Peloponnesian war, it explores the breakdown of social norms which turns Greeks against Greeks, men against women, and condemns young brides to death. Pantelis Michelakis examines the mythological, socio-political and institutional context, the main themes and major issues in modern criticism, and ends with an outline of performance history and reception. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Euripidis Fabulae Tomus II: Supplices, Hercules, Ion, Troiades
is the Latin title of this book, which translates into English as "Euripides: Tragedies, Volume II: Suppliants, Heracles, Ion, Trojan Women." The standard Oxford Classical Text edition of the middle plays of Euripides, edited by the widely respected Euripides textual scholar James Diggle. The text is in Greek, the frontmatter and title in Latin. This is less a review than an attempt to get the title corrected. ... Read more

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Euripides' Medea, produced in the year that the Peloponnesian War began, presents the first in a parade of vivid female tragic protagonists across the Euripidean stage. Throughout the centuries it has been regarded as one of the most powerful of the Greek tragedies.McDermott's starting point is an assessment of the character of Medea herself. She confronts the question: What does an audience do with a tragic protagonist who is at once heroic, sympathetic, and morally repugnant? We see that the play portrays a world from which all order has been deliberately and pointedly removed and in which the very reality or even potentially of order is implicitly denied. Euripides' plays invert, subvert, and pervert traditional assertions of order; they challenge their audience's most basic tenets and assumptions about the moral, social, and civic fabric of mankind and replace them with a new vision based on clearly articulated values of his own.One who seeks for "meaning" in this tragedy will come closest to finding it by examining everything in the play (characters, their actions, choruses, mythic plots and allusions to myth, place within literary traditions and use of conventions) in close conjunction with a feasible reconstruction of the audience's expectations in each regard, for we see that it is a keynote of Euripides' dramaturgy to fail to fulfill these expectations. This study proceeds from the premise that Medea's murder of her children is the key to the play. We see that the introduction of this murder into the Medea-saga was Euripides' own innovation. We see that the play's themes include the classic opposition of Man and Woman. Finally, we see that in Greek culture the social order is maintained by strict adherence within the family to the rule that parents and children reciprocally nurture one another in their respective ages of helplessness. Through the heroine's repeated assaults on this fundamental and sacred value, the playwright most persuasively portrays her ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR’d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more