3 Plays: Andromache / Hecuba / Trojan Women

It is rather hard to believe that these plays were written over 2,400 years ago. They are easy to read and comprehend and are, in fact, very absorbing and captivating. I guess that is why they are still read a couple thousand years after they were written! The plays are all tragedies and pertain to the Trojan War and it's aftermath, which took place hundreds of years prior to the plays being written (if the war actually did occur). They all feature strong and forceful yet tragic female characters. To me, they are far more interesting and compelling than the male characters. It is interesting to note that many of the Greek tragedies have such strong female characters, since they were written by men, for a male only audience (women were show more not allowed to watch them), and acted in by males only. I have noticed that in the past few years there has been several new novels written that are based on Greek Mythology, and most of them seem to feature female leading characters. They are more engrossing, and let's face it, Achilles was an obnoxious jerk.

I liked all three of the plays in this collection, I did not really prefer one over the other, enjoying each in it's turn. And if you are thinking about popping the DVD of the movie "Troy" into your player, sit down and read some Euripides instead. He is far more entertaining and believable... show less

Full disclosure: I had to skim a good portion of the dialogue in each of these plays in order to not give up out of boredom. I think that a focus on monologues and having very little action was the style back in ancient Greece, but it does not translate well to modern America (my attention span is nil! entertain me!). The strongest feelings I had when reading these plays was when I stepped back and considered on my own what the characters were going through; I did not find the dialogue to be all that moving.

Of all the Euripides plays I've read, Trojan Women is definitely my favorite. I can't remember the last time I've read something so heart-wrenching.

Hecuba had it right when she said, "Nothing, no agony for us is missing." Absolutely nothing could have made it worse.