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Bacchae / Iphigenia at Aulis / Rhesus
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.
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.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published January 30, 2003
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Euripides
3,082 books1,920 followersEuripides (Greek: Ευριπίδης) (ca. 480 BC–406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the Suda says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (Rhesus is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined—he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
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October 17, 2023This volume of Euripides works includes three quite different plays. Their protagonists differ as much as the time and place they take place: The first is about the god of wine who comes to Thebes ca. 5 generations before the Trojan war, the second about a young noble woman in Aulis sacrificing her life so that her father and uncle can start their war against Troy and the third about a king of Troy who has to realise that his stroke of luck in the war has come to an end. Despite their differences, all plays share a motive of killing. Euripides varies this motive in the three plays: a murder committed in religious ecstasy, a sacrificial self-sacrifice, and a strategic killing in war. It is safe to say that with these later plays, Euripides has moved-on from writing plays with happy conclusions such as Ion and Helena.
The Bacchae is considered Euripides masterwork and might be his most influential one, given its reception by Nietzsche and its importance as a source for the cult of Dionysus. It begins with Dionysus introducing himself and explaining that he has come to Thebes to establish himself as a god. He wishes to punish all the Thebans who did not believe his mother Semele was impregnated by Zeus and thus question his existence and power. Dionysus plots a gruesome plan to establish his status as a god: He entrances all the women of the city, leads them outside the city and then appears to king Pentheus in the form of a priest of Dionysus' cult. When Pentheus shows no acknowledgement for Dionysus and decides to have this strange priest be taken to the prison, Dionysus persuades Pentheus to look at the enthusiastic women of the city and wear women’s clothing for the occasion. Once the women see Pentheus they run towards him and kill him acting like wild animals. Pentheus mother, who takes part in the murder, takes his head home to his father, presenting it as prey, believing to hold the head of an animal in her hand. Slowly she returns to a sound state of mind and must realise that it is her sons head and that therefore, Dionysus really is powerful and was angry about her doubts about him. Despite the enormous influence of the play, I do not think it is one of Euripides best. It seems brutal in an unconstructive way and here more than in other plays I get the impression that nothing really is to learn from the enormity of the atrocious act, despite that one should sometimes drink and party to please Dionysus. It is interesting to have a god as a character and I see the meta-statement of a play being about the god of theatre and a part of the cult of Dionysus, yet I do not personally enjoy it much.
The story of Iphigenia's sacrifice is well known. Agamemnon’s daughter must die so that the Greek army can sail from Aulis to Troy and get Menelaos wife Helen back home to Greece. As typical with Euripides, his play 'Iphigenia at Aulis' introduces new facets to this well-known myth. The play covers what happens from the moment that Agamenon sends for his daughter to come to Aulis until the moment, she goes off to her sacrifice.
It begins with Agamenon conversing with one of his servants. He is supposed to deliver a second letter to Agamemnon’s wife Clytaemnestra. The first one asked his wife to send Iphigenia to Aulis to marry Achilles. This, of course, is a lie designed to get the girl to Aulis to kill her. Now Agamenon seems to have second thoughts and writes to Clytaemnestra not to send Iphigenia. The massage never reaches Clytaemnestra but is opened by his brother Menelaos who confronts him about it. He accuses Agamenon of being a bad leader - first taking any measure to win power and then being unwilling to pay the price for taking on this role. Agamemnon in turn objects that it is Menelaos inability to control his wife that brought war to Greece and that it is unjust to kill innocent Iphigenia to win back a malicious woman like Helen. Menelaos agrees that Iphigenia should not be sacrificed, but now Agamemnon states that it is necessary, because the army would plot against him if he would spare the girls life. Then Clytaemnestra and Iphigenia arrive, still thinking that the girl will be married to Achilles. The real reason Agamemnon send for Iphigenia gets revealed to Clytaemnestra and Achilles by the servant that was supposed to deliver the second letter to Clytaemnestra. Iphigenia’s mother is understandably desperate and angry but Achilles, enraged as well, promises to fight for Iphigenia’s life. First, however, he asks Clytaemnestra to talk to Agamenon and try to persuade him to let the girl go. She tries her best, reminds him of her own qualities as a wife and his duties as a husband and father, but he does not give in, even if Iphigenia, who heard her mother’s speech, begs her father for her life. Achill returns and tells Clytaemnestra and Iphigenia that he still wants to fight for Iphigenia although part of the Greek army is set out to kill him. Iphigenia, hearing this, decides to sacrifice herself voluntarily.
Even though this play highlights Euripides talent for making unpopular characters such as Clytaemnestra psychologically more approachable, it also highlights his weaknesses of plotting and of developing stable and plausible characters. In this case, Agamenon, Menelaos and Iphigenia are unbelievably erratic. I suspect the play is structured the way it is to allow for the maximum theatrical effect, but it does so, unfortunately, at the cost of a realistic story with realistic characters.
Euripides' play Rhesus is about the murder of Rhesus, the leader of the Thracian arm, by two infamous Greek warriors, Diomedes and Odysseus. This episode marks and important turning point of the war. By killing the leader of an army in support of the Trojans, Diomedes and Odysseus not only prevent losing the war but prepare the advantage of the Greeks.
The play focusses on the Trojan king Hector. He is presented as overconfident that he has already beaten his enemies, but nonetheless listens to the advice of Trojan soldiers and Aeneas to send a spy into the Greek camp to make sure that they prepare their department from Troy. Meanwhile Rhesus arrives with his army and arrogantly offers Hector to 'finish the Greeks off'. In the night, Hector and Rhesus' must pay for their hybris: Odysseus and Palamedes sneak into Rhesus camp and kill him and some of his men. Hector, humbled and sobered by the news that the Greeks are not yet defeated, orders his army to continue the fight.
This play, that some scholars believe is authored by another tragedian, misses some elements that Euripides is famous for, i. e. the perspective of women and it is certainly less horrendous than plays like the Medea. I like it for its simple tragic message - you should not overestimate your gains. It is not only the decision of a god that makes Hector suffer, it is partly also hybris, a character flaw that can be avoided. I also found this play to be quite entertaining. The prominence of spies that tiptoe around the nightly Troy is intriguing and something about simple-minded worrier-type men trying to be sneaky and silent quite amusing. I recommend it even though it is certainly not a very deep, subtle or the most thought-stimulating play.
The Bacchae is considered Euripides masterwork and might be his most influential one, given its reception by Nietzsche and its importance as a source for the cult of Dionysus. It begins with Dionysus introducing himself and explaining that he has come to Thebes to establish himself as a god. He wishes to punish all the Thebans who did not believe his mother Semele was impregnated by Zeus and thus question his existence and power. Dionysus plots a gruesome plan to establish his status as a god: He entrances all the women of the city, leads them outside the city and then appears to king Pentheus in the form of a priest of Dionysus' cult. When Pentheus shows no acknowledgement for Dionysus and decides to have this strange priest be taken to the prison, Dionysus persuades Pentheus to look at the enthusiastic women of the city and wear women’s clothing for the occasion. Once the women see Pentheus they run towards him and kill him acting like wild animals. Pentheus mother, who takes part in the murder, takes his head home to his father, presenting it as prey, believing to hold the head of an animal in her hand. Slowly she returns to a sound state of mind and must realise that it is her sons head and that therefore, Dionysus really is powerful and was angry about her doubts about him. Despite the enormous influence of the play, I do not think it is one of Euripides best. It seems brutal in an unconstructive way and here more than in other plays I get the impression that nothing really is to learn from the enormity of the atrocious act, despite that one should sometimes drink and party to please Dionysus. It is interesting to have a god as a character and I see the meta-statement of a play being about the god of theatre and a part of the cult of Dionysus, yet I do not personally enjoy it much.
The story of Iphigenia's sacrifice is well known. Agamemnon’s daughter must die so that the Greek army can sail from Aulis to Troy and get Menelaos wife Helen back home to Greece. As typical with Euripides, his play 'Iphigenia at Aulis' introduces new facets to this well-known myth. The play covers what happens from the moment that Agamenon sends for his daughter to come to Aulis until the moment, she goes off to her sacrifice.
It begins with Agamenon conversing with one of his servants. He is supposed to deliver a second letter to Agamemnon’s wife Clytaemnestra. The first one asked his wife to send Iphigenia to Aulis to marry Achilles. This, of course, is a lie designed to get the girl to Aulis to kill her. Now Agamenon seems to have second thoughts and writes to Clytaemnestra not to send Iphigenia. The massage never reaches Clytaemnestra but is opened by his brother Menelaos who confronts him about it. He accuses Agamenon of being a bad leader - first taking any measure to win power and then being unwilling to pay the price for taking on this role. Agamemnon in turn objects that it is Menelaos inability to control his wife that brought war to Greece and that it is unjust to kill innocent Iphigenia to win back a malicious woman like Helen. Menelaos agrees that Iphigenia should not be sacrificed, but now Agamemnon states that it is necessary, because the army would plot against him if he would spare the girls life. Then Clytaemnestra and Iphigenia arrive, still thinking that the girl will be married to Achilles. The real reason Agamemnon send for Iphigenia gets revealed to Clytaemnestra and Achilles by the servant that was supposed to deliver the second letter to Clytaemnestra. Iphigenia’s mother is understandably desperate and angry but Achilles, enraged as well, promises to fight for Iphigenia’s life. First, however, he asks Clytaemnestra to talk to Agamenon and try to persuade him to let the girl go. She tries her best, reminds him of her own qualities as a wife and his duties as a husband and father, but he does not give in, even if Iphigenia, who heard her mother’s speech, begs her father for her life. Achill returns and tells Clytaemnestra and Iphigenia that he still wants to fight for Iphigenia although part of the Greek army is set out to kill him. Iphigenia, hearing this, decides to sacrifice herself voluntarily.
Even though this play highlights Euripides talent for making unpopular characters such as Clytaemnestra psychologically more approachable, it also highlights his weaknesses of plotting and of developing stable and plausible characters. In this case, Agamenon, Menelaos and Iphigenia are unbelievably erratic. I suspect the play is structured the way it is to allow for the maximum theatrical effect, but it does so, unfortunately, at the cost of a realistic story with realistic characters.
Euripides' play Rhesus is about the murder of Rhesus, the leader of the Thracian arm, by two infamous Greek warriors, Diomedes and Odysseus. This episode marks and important turning point of the war. By killing the leader of an army in support of the Trojans, Diomedes and Odysseus not only prevent losing the war but prepare the advantage of the Greeks.
The play focusses on the Trojan king Hector. He is presented as overconfident that he has already beaten his enemies, but nonetheless listens to the advice of Trojan soldiers and Aeneas to send a spy into the Greek camp to make sure that they prepare their department from Troy. Meanwhile Rhesus arrives with his army and arrogantly offers Hector to 'finish the Greeks off'. In the night, Hector and Rhesus' must pay for their hybris: Odysseus and Palamedes sneak into Rhesus camp and kill him and some of his men. Hector, humbled and sobered by the news that the Greeks are not yet defeated, orders his army to continue the fight.
This play, that some scholars believe is authored by another tragedian, misses some elements that Euripides is famous for, i. e. the perspective of women and it is certainly less horrendous than plays like the Medea. I like it for its simple tragic message - you should not overestimate your gains. It is not only the decision of a god that makes Hector suffer, it is partly also hybris, a character flaw that can be avoided. I also found this play to be quite entertaining. The prominence of spies that tiptoe around the nightly Troy is intriguing and something about simple-minded worrier-type men trying to be sneaky and silent quite amusing. I recommend it even though it is certainly not a very deep, subtle or the most thought-stimulating play.
February 21, 2019
One of the finest translations of Iphigenia at Aulis.
April 30, 2018
The Bacchae
Dionysus, the god of wine, prophecy, religious ecstasy, and fertility return to his birthplace in Thebes in order to clear his mother's name and to punish the insolent city-state for refusing to allow people to worship him. The background to his return is presented in the prologue, in which Dionysus tells the story of his mother, Semele, once a princess in the royal Theban house of Cadmus. She had an affair with Zeus, the king of the gods, and became pregnant.
As revenge, Zeus's jealous wife Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to appear in his divine form. Zeus, too powerful for a mortal to behold, emerged from the sky as a bolt of lightning and burnt Semele to a cinder. He managed, however, to rescue his unborn son Dionysus and stitched the baby into his thigh. Semele's family claimed that she had been struck by lightning for lying about Zeus and that her child, the product of an illicit human affair, had died with her, maligning her name and rejecting the young god Dionysus.
Dionysus, the god of wine, prophecy, religious ecstasy, and fertility return to his birthplace in Thebes in order to clear his mother's name and to punish the insolent city-state for refusing to allow people to worship him. The background to his return is presented in the prologue, in which Dionysus tells the story of his mother, Semele, once a princess in the royal Theban house of Cadmus. She had an affair with Zeus, the king of the gods, and became pregnant.
As revenge, Zeus's jealous wife Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to appear in his divine form. Zeus, too powerful for a mortal to behold, emerged from the sky as a bolt of lightning and burnt Semele to a cinder. He managed, however, to rescue his unborn son Dionysus and stitched the baby into his thigh. Semele's family claimed that she had been struck by lightning for lying about Zeus and that her child, the product of an illicit human affair, had died with her, maligning her name and rejecting the young god Dionysus.
December 26, 2024
Iphigenia at aulis continues to be my favorite telling of her story. If only since her death is one of the things that got me into Greek mythology to begin with. Piecing through the original Greek connects with the story so much better. Shout-out perseus for being the best per usual!
February 21, 2023
Bacchae: 5 stars (more than that, actually)
Iphigenia at Aulis: 5 stars
Rhesus: 3 stars
Rhesus is to blame that this book isn't a 5 stars read.
Iphigenia at Aulis: 5 stars
Rhesus: 3 stars
Rhesus is to blame that this book isn't a 5 stars read.
February 12, 2015
In Bacchae a new god Bacchus is offended by the king of Thebes, because he comes in mortal form and they don't believe he is a god. Bacchus gets jailed. They also call his mom a whore. So he has the kings mom tear him limb from limb. All this is considered terrible but just by the people in the play. This is widely considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of all time, but it just seams a little fucked up to me and a bit pointless.
November 5, 2011
wanted to read Bacchae because it is supposedly one of the best greek tragic plays. but i didn't really get much out of it. guess i'm not a big fan of greek tragedies
June 3, 2016
I refuse to believe Rhesus is by Euripides. Scholarship might agree with me but my opinion is wholly an aesthetic one.
April 28, 2010
bacchae. Such a difficult translation....
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews