Hecuba

Euripides Hecuba is one of the few tragedies that evoke a sense of utter desolation and destruction in the audience. The drama focuses on the status of women, those who are out of power and at the margins of society, by enacting the sufferings of Hecuba. With the city of Troy fallen, Hecuba and Polyxena, her daughter, are enslaved to Agamemnon. Hecuba is despondent with the news that Polyxena is chosen to be sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles. After the sacrifice, the body of her son Polydorus, already a ghost at the start of the drama, is discovered. Polymestor, a king in Thrace who Hecuba sent Polydorus to for safety reasons, murdered Polydorus for his gold. With the tacit complicity of Agamemnon, Hecuba plots her revenge against Polymestor. What transpires next has lasting implications for all involved, including a dramatic trial scene and Hecubas ultimate metamorphosis.

SKU
27413g

Euripides
Translated, with Introduction and Commentary, by Robin Mitchell-Boyask

2006 - 118 pp.
Imprint: Focus, Series: Focus Classical Library

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Paper 978-1-58510-148-1
$11.95
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-1-58510-148-1
$1.00

An eBook edition is available for $9.75, click here for more information and purchasing options. Ebook examination copies are also available to qualified course instructors.

Euripides Hecuba is one of the few tragedies that evoke a sense of utter desolation and destruction in the audience. The drama focuses on the status of women, those who are out of power and at the margins of society, by enacting the sufferings of Hecuba. With the city of Troy fallen, Hecuba and Polyxena, her daughter, are enslaved to Agamemnon. Hecuba is despondent with the news that Polyxena is chosen to be sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles. After the sacrifice, the body of her son Polydorus, already a ghost at the start of the drama, is discovered. Polymestor, a king in Thrace who Hecuba sent Polydorus to for safety reasons, murdered Polydorus for his gold. With the tacit complicity of Agamemnon, Hecuba plots her revenge against Polymestor. What transpires next has lasting implications for all involved, including a dramatic trial scene and Hecubas ultimate metamorphosis.


About the Author:

Robin Mitchell-Boyask is Associate Professor of Classics at Temple University and has been a Junior Fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies and a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge University. He has published numerous articles on Greek and Latin literature as well as Approaches to Teaching the Dramas of Euripides (MLA 2002). He is currently completing a book on the plague of Athens and Greek drama.