Ten plays by Euripides

Some of the plays featured in this collection are the best Euripides ever wrote, namely Medea and Hippolytus which are just as emotionally devastating today as they were 2500 years ago. Some other plays are strong ones as well, like the wonderfully morbid The Bacchants. Unfortunately a large number of these plays are rather unremarkable. Euripides' play Electra is substantially inferior to Aeschylus' interpretation of the same events presented in The Libation Bearers, and Iphigenia at Aulis has an ending that undercuts one of the most poignant moments of The Iliad (though note, the authenticity of the final line giving this play a happy ending is highly disputed).

It's probably better to read a few of these plays at a time, instead of show more reading all ten straight through, since the style and progression of the plays is so uniform that the works might begin to blend together for you as they did for me. It's this experience that makes me rate the collection as I do, but I would also urge you to read Medea and Hippolytus, as they are among the best works that survive from the ancient Athenian dramatists. show less

Medea Review - If one could enjoy reading a tragic story, then I could be counted as enjoying this book. Medea is the woman slighted by Jason, and whether you believe Jason is doing the right thing, especially for a Greek of the time the story is written, is the bigger question as to how tragic or to what degree this is a tragedy.

Euripides uses some great writing to make the audience feel the emotional despair Medea has and her further descent into it, resulting in the actions she takes. There are a few times that Medea becomes a bit too introspective with her pointing out that she has reached such a point of madness that she shouldn't do what she is about to do and it's a bit much even for her - although that may lend to believing her show more madness more.

Euipides does a good job of staying with his female character and while he doesn't write her to excuse her actions, you understand most of what she does. Once again, the early Greeks as a people seeing what type of story plays out when you let revenge overtake the person. Final Grade - A-

The Trojan Women Reivew - Whereas Medea is the story after Jason and the Argonauts, The Trojan Women is the story right after The Iliad but before Agamemnon. Euripides focuses on the tragic outcomes of what's going to happen to the captured women of Troy following the sacking of the city by the Greeks. Euripides once again focuses on the plight of women ,which is an interesting perspective for his time and nature. There is a mix of some anti-war teachings, or at the very least, some introspection about the outcomes of war, and again, with the focus of it affecting women.

While Euripides does write about the tragedy well, the story bounces to too many characters too often and includes a semi-trial of Helen. While it's nice to finally see someone call out Helen for causing about 75% of all Greek literature of the time to be written because of Troy, she's an odd inclusion and takes the focus of all the stories about the women as tragedies. Andromache and her child's story completes the woeful plot point that I enjoyed in The Iliad and that was devastating to read about. Overall, I didn't think the play did as much as it could have although I'd be willing to be convinced that I'm wrong. Final Grade - C+ show less

1972