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mxmorganic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Body shaming
Multiple detailed descriptions of mutilated bodies (e.g. one bobs on the waves, and one is gruesomely beheaded)daisy_may's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
flamingo_and_owl_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
dee9401's review against another edition
5.0
I hadn't read any Euripides since a college classics course. Of the three major Greek dramatists, I never really liked Aeschylus and didn't read too much Euripides. Everyone focused on Sophocles, who was very good. But, having read this recent translation, Euripides has rocketed up into first place among these three (even though he won the fewest competitions when he was alive).
If I had to list these plays in order of my favorites, it would be Andromache, then Hecuba, then closely followed by The Trojan Women. In the Trojan Women, I loved Hecuba's retort to Helen's unwillingness to accept any blame for the destruction of Troy, when in reference to the Judgement of Paris, Hecuba says, "After all, why should the goddess Hera have conceived so great a desire to be beautiful? Was it so that she could win a better husband than Zeus? Was Athena in eager pursuit of a match with one of the gods? But she shunned marriage and asked her father to let her stay a virgin. Don't try to give respectability to your crime by making the goddesses out to be fools" (p. 65, lines 975-981). As a footnote mentions, contemporary belief in the judgement of Paris is not questioned, but the "rationalizing of myth for the sake of argument is thoroughly Euripidean" (p. 142).
In Andromache, there are many excellent lines were Andromache and Peleus put Hermione and Menelaus in their places. Andromache says to Hermione, in reference to her mother Helen, "Do not try to outdo your mother, lady, in the love of men. All sensible children should steer clear of the ways of bad mothers" (p. 82, lines 229-231). Peleus chews out Menelaus several times, partly reflecting the real world fact that Athens was at war with Sparta when Euripides produced this particular play.
The pathos of these plays, the stories, the characters, all spoke out loudly across the ages. While certainly having political as well as dramatic significance when they were first produced, these plays still resonate today with issues of war, violence, inner strength, and ego. I thoroughly recommend them.
If I had to list these plays in order of my favorites, it would be Andromache, then Hecuba, then closely followed by The Trojan Women. In the Trojan Women, I loved Hecuba's retort to Helen's unwillingness to accept any blame for the destruction of Troy, when in reference to the Judgement of Paris, Hecuba says, "After all, why should the goddess Hera have conceived so great a desire to be beautiful? Was it so that she could win a better husband than Zeus? Was Athena in eager pursuit of a match with one of the gods? But she shunned marriage and asked her father to let her stay a virgin. Don't try to give respectability to your crime by making the goddesses out to be fools" (p. 65, lines 975-981). As a footnote mentions, contemporary belief in the judgement of Paris is not questioned, but the "rationalizing of myth for the sake of argument is thoroughly Euripidean" (p. 142).
In Andromache, there are many excellent lines were Andromache and Peleus put Hermione and Menelaus in their places. Andromache says to Hermione, in reference to her mother Helen, "Do not try to outdo your mother, lady, in the love of men. All sensible children should steer clear of the ways of bad mothers" (p. 82, lines 229-231). Peleus chews out Menelaus several times, partly reflecting the real world fact that Athens was at war with Sparta when Euripides produced this particular play.
The pathos of these plays, the stories, the characters, all spoke out loudly across the ages. While certainly having political as well as dramatic significance when they were first produced, these plays still resonate today with issues of war, violence, inner strength, and ego. I thoroughly recommend them.
christylouise's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
My favourite play in this collection is the titular Trojan Women. It’s refreshing to see such complex female characters in ancient texts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Child death
xole's review against another edition
3.0
Cassandra, on being dragged away to Agamemnon: (Do not cry for me, mother.) "I shall come among the dead as a victor. I shall have laid waste the house of the sons of Atreus, the men who destroyed us."
mathildur's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
4.25
Very interesting reading! I might have benefited from reading Euripides before reading modern retellings of what happened to the Trojan women, but it was still very exciting to read their stories. This collection of plays includes: Hecuba, The Trojan Women, and Andromache and it tells the dark story of what happens to women after war. We see the women fall into slavery and be given as prized slaves to the men who slaughtered their families. We see the atrocities the women had to live through. But at the same time, the plays are about the victory of the female spirit. They are about the community of women, women's resilience and survival. I highly recommend reading these plays if you're a fan of Greek mythology and/or the Trojan war! I'm definitely reading more of Euripides soon, I have Alexandros, Electra, and Iphigenia in Aulis high on my list.
toothfairycake's review against another edition
3.0
**3.5
greek plays are really praised when they’re literally
chorus: here comes meneleaus, to unleash his wrath on the wretched hermione
meneleaus: *gives two page soliloquy about how angry he is over his daughter just existing*
greek plays are really praised when they’re literally
chorus: here comes meneleaus, to unleash his wrath on the wretched hermione
meneleaus: *gives two page soliloquy about how angry he is over his daughter just existing*
blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition
3.0
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.