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Regarded by many as Euripides' masterpiece, Bakkhai is a powerful examination of religious ecstasy and the resistance to it. A call for moderation, it rejects the temptation of pure reason as well as pure sensuality, and is a staple of Greek tragedy, representing in structure and thematics an exemplary model of the classic tragic elements.

Disguised as a young holy man, the god Bacchus arrives in Greece from Asia proclaiming his godhood and preaching his orgiastic religion. He expects to be embraced in Thebes, but the Theban king, Pentheus, forbids his people to worship him and tries to have him arrested. Enraged, Bacchus drives Pentheus mad and leads him to the mountains, where Pentheus' own mother, Agave, and the women of Thebes tear him to pieces in a Bacchic frenzy.

Gibbons, a prize-winning poet, and Segal, a renowned classicist, offer a skilled new translation of this central text of Greek tragedy. ... Read more

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Foolish Pentheus resists the worship of the god Dionysus
"Bakkhai" ("The Bacchae") was written by Euripides when he was living in Macedonia in virtual exile during the last years of his life. The tragedy was performed in Athens after his death as part of a trilogy that included one extant play, "Iphigenia at Aulis," and one which is lost, "Alcaeon in Corinth." These factors are important in appreciating this particular Greek tragedy because such plays were performed at a festival that honored the Dionysus, and in "Bakkhai" he is the god who extracts a horrible vengeance. The tragedy clearly demonstrates the god's power, but it is a terrible power, which suggests less than flattering things about the deity himself.

Pentheus was the son of Echion and Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of the Royal House of Thebes. After Cadmus stepped down the throne, Pentheus took his place as king of Thebes. When the cult of Dionysus came to Thebes, Pentheus resisted the worship of the god in his kingdom. However, his mother and sisters were devotees of the god and went with women of the city to join in the Dionsysian revels on Mount Cithaeron. Pentheus had Dionysus captured, but the god drove the king insane, who then shackled a bull instead of the god. When Pentheus climbed a tree to witness in secret the reverly of the Bacchic women, he was discovered and torn to pieces by his mother and sisters, who, in their Bacchic frenzy, believed him to be a wild beast. The horrific action is described in gory detail by a messenger, which is followed by the arrival of the frenzied and bloody Agave, the head of her son fixed atop her thytsus.

Unlike those stories of classical mythology which are at least mentioned in the writings of Homer, the story of Pentheus originates with Euripides. The other references in classical writing, the "Idylls" written by the Syracusean poet Theocritus and the "Metamorphoses" of the Latin poet Ovid, both post-date "Bakkhai" by centuries. On those grounds, the tragedy of Euripides would appear to be entirely his construct, which would certainly give it an inherent uniqueness over his interpretations of the stories of "Medea," "Electra," and "The Trojan Women."

I see "Bakkhai" as being Euripides' severest indictment of religion and not as the recantation of his earlier rationalism in his old age. The dramatic conflicts of the play stem from religious issues, and without understanding the opposition on Appollonian grounds of Pentheus to the new cult readers miss the ultimate significance of the tragedy. This is not an indictment of Appollonian rationalism, but rather a dramatic argument that, essentially, it is irrational to ignore the irrational. As the fate of Pentheus amply points out, it is not only stupid to do so, it is fatal. Consequently, "Bakkhai" is one of the most important of Greek tragedies. ... Read more

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THE BACCHAE was not only the last and greatest of EuripidesÕ tragedies, it was very close to the last of the great Greek tragedies. The story of the play is in part about this cultural dissolution in Athens. ItÕs also about the theatre itself, and how a sane society needs strong, intelligent theatre to survive. THE BACCHAE makes a perfect first entry in the new Applause series of classic dramas, because it argues so passionately and beautifully and convincingly for the need for such a theatre, in our era as much as in EuripidesÕ. Herbert Golder in his new translation has turned an ancient play into a new one, one just as potent for an applicable to our troubled times as EuripidesÕ own. ... Read more

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Foolish Pentheus does not welcome Dionysius to Thebes
"The Bacchae" was written by Euripides when he was living in Macedonia in virtual exile during the last years of his life.The tragedy was performed in Athens after his death.These factors are important in appreciate this particular Greek tragedy because such plays were performed at a festival that honored the Dionysus, and in "The Bacchae" he is the god who extracts a horrible vengeance.The tragedy clearly demonstrates the god's power, but it is a terrible power, which suggests less than flattering things about the deity himself.

Pentheus was the son of Echion and Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of the Royal House of Thebes.After Cadmus stepped down the throne, Pentheus took his place as king of Thebes. When the cult of Dionysus came to Thebes, Pentheus resisted the worship of the god in his kingdom.However, his mother and sisters were devotees of the god and went with women of the city to join in the Dionsysian revels on Mount Cithaeron.Pentheus had Dionysus captured, but the god drove the king insane, who then shackled a bull instead of the god.When Pentheus climbed a tree to witness in secret the reverly of the Bacchic women, he was discovered and torn to pieces by his mother and sisters, who, in their Bacchic frenzy, believed him to be a wild beast.The horrific action is described in gory detail by a messenger, which is followed by the arrival of the frenzied and bloody Agave, the head of her son fixed atop her thytsus.

Unlike those stories of classical mythology which are at least mentioned in the writings of Homer, the story of Pentheus originates with Euripides.The other references in classical writing, the "Idylls" written by the Syracusean poet Theocritus and the "Metamorphoses" of the Latin poet Ovid, both post-date"The Bacchae" by centuries.On those grounds, the tragedy of Euripides would appear to be entirely his construct, which would certainly give it an inherent uniqueness over his interpretations of the stories of "Medea," "Electra," and "The Trojan Women."

I see "The Bacchae" as being Euripides' severest indictment of religion and not as the recantation of his earlier rationalism in his old age.The dramatic conflicts of the play stem from religious issues, and without understanding the opposition on Appollonian grounds of Pentheus to the new cult readers miss the ultimate significance of the tragedy.This is not an indictment of Appollonian rationalism, but rather a dramatic argument that, essentially, it is irrational to ignore the irrational.As the fate of Pentheus amply points out, it is not only stupid to do so, it is fatal.Consequently, "The Bacchae" is one of the most important of Greek tragedies. ... Read more

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HECUBA: Ah me! an awful trial is nigh, it seems, fraught with mourning, rich in tears. Yes, I too escaped death where death had been my due, and Zeus destroyed me not but is still preserving my life, that I may witness in my misery fresh sorrows surpassing all before. Still if the bond may ask the free of things that grieve them not nor wrench their heart-strings, 'tis well that thou shouldst make an end and hearken to my questioning. ... Read more

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Queen - Slave - Animal...
This book was an assigned book for a composition class I'm taking. Still - I feel in love with the translation - reading the play through and through again. The language and rhythms - the Greek tragedy is no surprise - and everyone is dead, dying, will die or prophesied to die - but I loved the control that Hecuba exerts over everyone even as a slave heading to her now service - her kingdom of Troy in ruins. After finishing I went into the notes and intro which were nearly as good as the play. Now - onto King Lear!

A first look by Euripides at the tragic character of Hecuba
Troy has fallen and its queen, Hecuba, 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 in this play by Euripides with that in his more famous work, "The Trojan Women."This play was performed ten years before the other 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."

This is an unusual play for Euripides is that the gods do not appear; the prologue is given by the ghost of Polydorus and the exodos are the slave women heading off to the ships (again, contrast this with "The Trojan Women").Hecuba has harsh words for Helen, as in the other play, but her son Paris receives his fair share of approbation as well.This play also makes reference to the myth that Hecuba would meet her own hideous death, which reinforces the idea that there is much more of a moral degradation of her character in this play (set up by much more humiliation and degradation in the first half).On an entirely different level, "Hecuba" is comparable to Aeschylus' "Orestia," since he addresses the question of the difference between revenge and justice, so while the "Hecuba"/"Trojan Woman" analog is the most obvious and the most fruitful, it is not the only possibility.

The Destruction of the Human Soul
Hecuba is one of the most profound, and profoundly pessimistic dramas ever written.It shows Hecuba, who had been Queen of Troy, now facing the ultimate devastation.She has already lost everything except her twoyoungest children.Now she will lose them, not to war but to politics andhuman greed.She loses herself to the need for vengeance, succeeds andloses her humanity.It is a shattering story and the Introduction byKenneth Reckford in which he examines the meaning of the play is worth theprice of the book.

War and loss driving Hecuba mad.
Hecuba was the wife of Priam, King of Troy, and the mother of Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and others. At the start of this play of Euripedes, the war between the Greeks and Troy is over and Hecuba is now a slave ofAgamemnon. The ghost of Achilles had appeared and demanded a sacrifice overhis tomb before the Greeks can set sail for home. They vote to sacrificePolyxena, Hecuba's young daughter, despite the tears and entreaties ofHecuba. After Polyxena's noble death, Hecuba learns that her last childPolydorus had been murdered by the King of Thrace, Polymestor, to whomPolydorus had been sent for safe keeping. This finally drives Hecuba madand she seeks vengence for Polydorus's death. Euripedes shows in this playthe effects of war and vengence on innocent lives and how cruel men at warcan be. ... Read more

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The Penn Greek Drama Series presents original literary translations of the entire corpus of classical Greek drama: tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays. It is the only contemporary series of all the surviving work of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander.

This volume includes translations by Richard Moore (Hippolytus), John Frederick Nims (Suppliant Women), Rachel Hadas (Helen), Elizabeth Seydel Morgan (Electra), and Palmer Bovie (Cyclops).

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In the years before his death at age sixty-eight in 1998, Hughes translated several classical works with great energy and ingenuity. His Tales from Ovid was called "one of the great works of our century" (Michael Hofmann, The Times, London), his Oresteia of Aeschylus is considered the difinitive version, and his Phèdre was acclaimed on stage in New York as well as London. Hughes's version of Euripides's Alcestis, the last of his translations, has the great brio of those works, and it is a powerful and moving conclusion to the great final phase of Hughes's career.

Euripides was, with Aeschylus and Sophocles, one of the greatest of Greek dramatists. Alcestis tells the story of a king's grief for his wife, Alcestis, who has given her young life so that he may live. As translated by Hughes, the story has a distinctly modern sensibility while retaining the spirit of antiquity. It is a profound meditation on human mortality.

Ted Hughes's last book of poems, Birthday Letters, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Prize. He was Poet Laureate to Queen Elizabeth II and lived in Devon, England until he died in 1998.
... Read more

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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

Customer Reviews (2)

okay
Medea translations differ greatly. I ordered a specific translation and got a completely different one. Luckily I was able to find the one I needed for twice the price at Barnes and Noble.
I decided to keep it solely to compare the two.

It's all Greek to me.
Wonderful play, great translation. Collier really makes ancient Greek understandable and enjoyable.Great edition. ... Read more

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This up-to-date edition offers a detailed literary and cultural analysis of Euripides' Helen, a work which arguably embodies the variety and dynamism of fifth-century Athenian tragedy more than any other surviving play. The story of an exemplary wife (not an adulteress) who went to Egypt (not to Troy), Euripides' 'new Helen' skilfully transforms and supplants earlier currents of literature and myth. The Introduction elucidates Euripides' treatment of Helen and sets the play in its wider intellectual context. It also discusses questions of genre and reception, rejecting such descriptions as 'tragicomedy' or 'romantic tragedy', and showing how later artists have responded to Euripides' unorthodox heroine and her phantom double. The Commentary's notes on language and style are intended to make Helen fully accessible to readers of Greek at all levels, while the edition as a whole is designed for use by anyone with an interest in Greek tragedy. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.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

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Murray's translations of Greek tragedy unlocked the gates of commercial theatre to its performance-and its performance in verse-on both side of the Atlantic, bringing to the project his personal prestige as holder of the Regius Chair of Greek at Oxford (from 1908) and as editor of all the plays of Euripides in the Oxford Classical Text series. His translations laid down the standard by which public and scholar alike have viewed Greek drama for the last hundred years. Scholar he certainly was, but was also a humanitarian liberal, who saw contemporary resonances of Trojan Women in the Boer War and of Medea in the suffragette movement; and his keen instinct for the theatre was deferred to alike by actors (Sibyl Thorndike), directors (Granville Barker) and fellow playwrights (George Bernard Shaw). His was the voice that had something wonderful to say and that could not be ignored. The volume contains his versions of Medea, Hippolytus, Electra, The Trojan Women and Bacchae, along with his own penetrating introductions and notes designed to guide the reader to Murray's own distinctive view of each play. Morwood's new Introduction to the volume sets the translations in their context; and an Appendix gives the (hitherto unpublished) parody of them written by Murray's friend and former pupil Maurice Bowra. ... Read more

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Cliffs Test Preparation Guides help students prepare for and improve their performance on standardized tests ACT Preparation Guide CBEST Preparation Guide CLAST Preparation Guide ELM Review GMAT Preparation Guide GRE Preparation Guide LSAT Preparation Guide MAT Preparation Guide MATH Review for Standardized Tests MSAT Preparation Guide Memory Power for Exams Police Officer Examination Preparation Guide Police Sergeant Examination Preparation Guide Police Management Examinations Preparation Guide Postal Examinations Preparation Guide Praxis I: PPST Preparation Guide Praxis II: NTE Core Battery Preparation Guide SAT Preparation Guide SAT II Writing Preparation Guide TASP Preparation Guide TOEFL Preparation Guide with 2 cassettes Advanced Practice for the TOEFL with 2 cassettes Verbal Review for Standardized Tests Writing Proficiency Examinations You Can Pass the GED Cliffs Quick Reviews help students in introductory college courses or Advanced Placement classes Algebra I Algebra II Anatomy & Physiology Basic Math and Pre-Algebra Biology Calculus Chemistry Differential Equations Economics Geometry Linear Algebra Microbiology Physics Statistics Trigonometry Cliffs Advanced Placement Preparation Guides help high school students taking Advanced Placement courses to earn college credit AP Biology AP Calculus AB AP Chemistry AP English Language & Composition AP English Literature & Composition AP United States History Cliffs Complete Study Editions are comprehensive study guides with complete text, running commentary and glossary Chaucer's Prologue Chaucer's Wife of Bath Hamlet Julius Caesar King Henry IV, Part I King Lear Macbeth The Merchant of Venice Othello Romeo and Juliet The Tempest Twelfth Night See inside back cover for listing of Cliffs Notes titles Registered trademarks include: GRE, MSAT, the Praxis Series, and TOEFL (Educational Testing Service): AP, Advanced Placement Program, and SAT (College Entrance Examination Board); GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Council); and LSAT (Law School Admission Council.) Electra & Medea ... Read more

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Medea has been betrayed. Her husband, Jason, has left her for a younger woman. He has forgotten all the promises he made and is even prepared to abandon their two sons. But Medea is not a woman to accept such disrespect passively. Strong-willed and fiercely intelligent, she turns her formidable energies to working out the greatest, and most horrifying, revenge possible.

Euripides' devastating tragedy is shockingly modern in the sharp psychological exploration of the characters and the gripping interactions between them. Award-winning poet Robin Robertson has captured both the vitality of Euripides' drama and the beauty of his phrasing, reinvigorating this masterpiece for the twenty-first century. ... Read more

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A Fresh and Wonderful Translation of a Great Story
This thoroughly modern translation of Euripides' tale of a woman scorned's revenge will open up this classic to a whole new generation of readers. Readers will feel all the raw emotion of Medea as she develops her plans of vengeance against Jason who has dumped her in favor of a much younger woman. But this is no simple tale of a wife wronged by her husband, for Medea herself is no innocent when it comes to allowing nothing to stand in the way of what she wants. Yes, Jason is an ungrateful and self-centered wretch but does he deserve what Medea has in mind for him? Readers will undoubtedly have strong reactions. The author's inclusion of the backstory of Jason and Medea, as well as an explanation of the role of the Chorus in a Greek play of the time will greatly increase understanding and therefore enjoyment of this enduring work. ... Read more

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Useful edition of one of Euripides' most attractive plays with an introduction that discusses the plot, structure, characters, themes, language and staging and a detailed commentary. ... Read more

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Euripides exposes Apollo, the god of truth, as a liar
"Ion" is one of many plays by Euripides in which he tried to show his Athenian audience that when judged by ordinary human standards the gods themselves would fall short. In this play, Apollo, the god of truth, brutally rapes a helpless young girl, Creusa, and then abandons her, which is not exactly something new for one of the Olympian deities. Creusa has a son (Ion), whom she abandons in a cave; when she goes back to find the child, he is gone. Years later she marries Xuthus, a solider of fortune who becomes king of Athens, which is where Euripides picks up the story.

At the start of the play Xuthus and Creusa are childless and go to Delphi for aid. There they are told that Ion, a young temple servant who has been raised from infancy, is the son of Xuthus. Creusa, outraged that Apollo let their own son die but preserved the life of a child begotten by Xuthus on some Delphian woman, tries to have Ion killed. Of course, in reality, Ion is her own child, abandoned in that cave. Condemned to death by the Delphians, Creusa escapes Ion's vengeance by taking refuge at Apollo's altar. There the priestess presents the tokens that allow Creusa to recognize Ion as her own son. Telling him the truth about his father, Ion tries to enter the temple to demand of Apollo the truth.

There is some academic debate over how much "Ion" reflects the noted religious skepticism of Euripides. After all, we can certainly believe that Creusa was raped by a human and that he child died in that cave and that the priestess who bore Ion was simply setting up a convenient fiction that would make her son the prince of Athens. Apollo is the subject of the indictment, but the gods who introduce and end the play are Hermes and Athena. However, I do consider "Ion" to be one of the best examples of Euripides's cynical view of the gods the Greeks were supposed to be worshipping. Athena forestalls a confrontation between Ion and Apollo, but this particular example of deus ex machina certainly rings hollow. After all, Delphi is Apollo's holy place and if Athena's words are true, he should be there to reveal the truth to his son instead. Ultimately, "Ion" is one of the more provocative of the extant plays of Euripides. ... Read more

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In Herakles, Euripides reveals with great subtlety and complexity the often brutal underpinnings of our social arrangements. The play enacts a thoroughly contemporary dilemma about the relationship between personal and state violence to civic order. Of all of Euripides' plays, this is his most skeptically subversive examination of myth, morality, and power.
Depicting Herakles slowly going mad by Hera, the wife of Zeus, this play continues to haunt and inspire readers. Hera hates Herakles because he is one of Zeus' children born of adultery, and in his madness, Herakles is driven to murder his own wife and children and is eventually exiled, by his own accord, to Athens. This new volume includes a fresh translation, an updated introduction, detailed notes on the text, and a thorough glossary. ... Read more

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Translation Information
One of my pet peeves is the lack of translation information in electronic book purveyors listings, so here is the information from Oxford's site for this translation of Herakles:

"Translated by Thomas Sleigh, Professor of English
Introduction and Notes by Christian Wolff, Professor of Classics and Strauss Professor of Music, both at Dartmouth College"

Join me in remedying the problem at Amazon.Supply as much translation information as you can accurately determine for any of the translations Amazon sells.

Euripides looks at the subject of political refugees
"The Children of Herakles" has usually been considered a minor political play by Euripides. First performed in 430 B.C.E. it tells of how the children of Herakles 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 Herakles, offers herself as the sacrificial victim. There is then a surprising twist as Eurystheus is captured and Alkmene, the mother of Herakles, insists that the tyrant be put to death.

This 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. This comes approach focuses on the debate the Athenians have over accepting the refugees. In this context it is not simply that Athens is a great place because it accepts the children of Herakles but rather that doing so is a political action of some significance; historically we know that the Athenians were not as generous as Euripides depicts them, but then we also recognize that the tragic playwright was try to inspire his audience. There is also a clear sense of the refugees as being heroic rather than pathetic, not only because of Macaria's willingness to be sacrificed but simply because they have survived. You can consider every refugee to be a success story because they have survived and made it out of their troubled homeland alive. "The Children of Herakles" works well as an analog to "Medea," with the one play dealing with the topic of how Athens treated refugees and the other touching on how the city tolerated foreigners. However, as with other plays by Euripides, such as "Trojan War," this tragedy is also a meditation on the effects of war. This is one of the shortest plays in Greek drama, but it is arguably one of the most complex of the plays of Euripides. The play suffers from having a particular character dominate the action or a truly great heroic scene and this is never going to be one of the first Greek tragedies anybody is going to look at (indeed, it apparently was never performed in the United States until just recently). But even if it comes at the end of your study of Euripides, it is still a play worth considering for what it says about the playwright and his attempts to inspire his Athenian audience. ... Read more

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Text with facing translation, commentary and notes. (Aris and Phillips 1991) ... Read more