Orestes And Other Plays

Written during the long battles with Sparta that were to ultimately destroy ancient Athens, these six plays by Euripides brilliantly utilize traditional legends to illustrate the futility of war. The Children of Heracles holds a mirror up to contemporary Athens, while Andromache considers the position of women in Greek wartime society. In The Suppliant Women, the difference between just and unjust battle is explored, while Phoenician Women describes the brutal rivalry of the sons of King Oedipus, and the compelling Orestes depicts guilt caused by vengeful murder. Finally, Iphigenia in Aulis, Euripides' last play, contemplates religious sacrifice and the insanity of war. Together, the plays offer a moral and political statement that is at once unique to the ancient world, and prophetically relevant to our own.

This is the fourth volume of Euripides plays in new translation. The four plays it contains, Ion, Orestes, The Phoenician Women and The Suppliant Women, explore ethical and political themes, contrasting the claims of patriotism with family loyalty, pragmatism with justice, the idea that 'might is right' with the ideal of clemency.

Euripides (480 BC-406 BC) is revered as one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, and produced the largest body of extant work by any ancient playwright. He is considered to be the most modern of the three, and he laid the foundation for Western theatre. His work sticks out from that of his contemporaries because of his colloquial vocabulary, meter and syntax, distinct from the grandiose language of his predecessors. This edition contains six of Euripides' eighteen surviving works, including "Orestes." In writing "Orestes" (408 b.c.e.), Euripides utilized the mythology of the Bronze Age to reflect upon the politics of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The story takes places after Orestes has murdered his mother to avenge his father, Agamemnon, and follows him as he attempts to save his own life. The play explores themes of man's subordination to the gods and the conflict between natural law and manmade law. In addition to "Orestes" this edition also includes "The Heracleidae," "Andromache," "The Suppliants," " The Phoenician Maidens," and "Iphigenia at Aulis."

Alcestis/Medea/The Children of Heracles/Hippolytus 'One of the best prose translations of Euripides I have seen' Robert Fagles This selection of plays shows Euripides transforming the titanic figures of Greek myths into recognizable, fallible human beings. Medea, in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by killing her children, is one of the most shocking of all the Greek tragedies. Medea is a towering figure who demonstrates Euripides' unusual willingness to give voice to a woman's case. Alcestis is based on a magical myth in which Death is overcome, and The Children of Heracles examines conflict between might and right, while Hippolytus deals with self-destructive integrity. Translated by JOHN DAVIE

Ion Orestes The Phoenician Women The Suppliant Women In these four plays Euripides explores ethical and political themes,contrasting the claims of patriotism with family loyalty, pragmatism and expediency with justice, and the idea that 'might is right' with the ideal of clemency. Ion is a vivid portrait of the role of chance in human life and an exploration of family relationships, which combines a sympathetic portrait of a rape victim with remarks on Athenian xenophobia. In Orestes, the most popular of the tragedian's plays in the ancient world, Euripides explores the emotional consequences of Orestes' murder of his mother on the individuals concerned, and makes the tale resonate with advice to Athens about the threat to democracy posed by political pressure groups. The Suppliant Women is a commentary on the politics of empire, as the Athenian king Theseus decides to use force of arms rather than persuasion against Thebes. The Phoenician Women transforms the terrible conflict between Oedipus' sons into one of the most savage indictments of civil war in Western literature by highlighting the personal tragedy it brings. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

In this innovative rendition of The Oresteia, the poet, translator, and essayist Anne Carson combines three different visions -- Aischylos' Agamemnon, Sophokles' Elektra, and Euripides' Orestes, giving birth to a wholly new experience of the classic Greek triumvirate of vengeance. Carson's accomplished rendering combines elements of contemporary vernacular with the traditional structures and rhetoric of Greek tragedy, opening up the plays to a modern audience. --from publisher description.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.