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asha1891's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
adaora_ble's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I try to judge ancient plays on a different scale because I'm A) from a different time, place and culture than the target audience and B) I'm reading a play that I'm supposed to be watching which definitely changes how we interpret it but also there are Greek Tragedies that I really love and find really good and well written. This is not one of them. Sorry to Euripides but not his best work in my opinion although he does a good job of highlighting the danger Helen is in every time she leaves her tomb sanctuary.
Also besides from just the actual play itself, I'm just not a fan of this version of the story where Helen was never in Troy to begin with. Sure it makes the tragedies more tragic and the gods come off quite badly fr to k this side of history making so many people fight and die for a decade because of a name but also I think (kidnapped) Helen being in Troy is also tragic, only this time tragic for just her. And if we're going by the runway Helen version, why let her off scott free from a war she caused or at least partially.
So yeah not a fan of this one, he's done better but this was definitely above Trojan Women which I also don't like.
Also besides from just the actual play itself, I'm just not a fan of this version of the story where Helen was never in Troy to begin with. Sure it makes the tragedies more tragic and the gods come off quite badly fr to k this side of history making so many people fight and die for a decade because of a name but also I think (kidnapped) Helen being in Troy is also tragic, only this time tragic for just her. And if we're going by the runway Helen version, why let her off scott free from a war she caused or at least partially.
So yeah not a fan of this one, he's done better but this was definitely above Trojan Women which I also don't like.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Animal death, Trafficking, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Confinement
platosfire's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
blushingbookkeeper's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
jasonfurman's review against another edition
4.0
Helen is an post-Trojan war alternate history: we being with Helen alone in Egypt explaining that after Paris came for her at Sparta Hera whisked her off to Sparta and sent Paris off with some sort of copy that he thought was Helen:
"But Hera, hating having lost,
turned my affair with Paris into wind.
She gave king Priam's on an empty image,
not me but something like me, made of air
but breathing. So he thought that he had me,
but it was just an empty false appearance."
Helen was safe in Egypt until the king died and his son wants to rape and marry her. At this moment Menelaus shows up having spent seven years at sea following the war and after an initial lack of recognition they pair up and formulate a plan of escape--which is made more difficult because the king's sister is omniscient. Ultimately through disguises and a burial trick (almost identical to the plot of [b:Iphigenia among the Taurians|20694759|Iphigenia among the Taurians|Anne Carson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400938018l/20694759._SY75_.jpg|6278905]) and a bloody escape/chase scene they make it out--with a bit of deus ex machina by Castor and Pollux to help them along.
All of it feels like a light action/adventure story more than a fully fledged tragedy. There is a little of the lessons around politics and duty (namely that the new king's sister was right to betray him because he was doing something wrong in the eyes of his own late father and the gods), but mostly it is about the suspense of whether and how Helen and Menelaus will escape.
I should add that seeing Helen portrayed this sympathetically, hearing so much from her, and having her resist the entreaties and worse from men was an interesting twist on her general invisibility in the set of poems, plays and stories that ultimately center around her in important respects.
(Note: I read the translation by [a:Emily Wilson|478455|Emily Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523444389p2/478455.jpg] in [b:The Greek Plays: Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides|25893680|The Greek Plays Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides|Mary Lefkowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469408925l/25893680._SY75_.jpg|45775582].)
"But Hera, hating having lost,
turned my affair with Paris into wind.
She gave king Priam's on an empty image,
not me but something like me, made of air
but breathing. So he thought that he had me,
but it was just an empty false appearance."
Helen was safe in Egypt until the king died and his son wants to rape and marry her. At this moment Menelaus shows up having spent seven years at sea following the war and after an initial lack of recognition they pair up and formulate a plan of escape--which is made more difficult because the king's sister is omniscient. Ultimately through disguises and a burial trick (almost identical to the plot of [b:Iphigenia among the Taurians|20694759|Iphigenia among the Taurians|Anne Carson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400938018l/20694759._SY75_.jpg|6278905]) and a bloody escape/chase scene they make it out--with a bit of deus ex machina by Castor and Pollux to help them along.
All of it feels like a light action/adventure story more than a fully fledged tragedy. There is a little of the lessons around politics and duty (namely that the new king's sister was right to betray him because he was doing something wrong in the eyes of his own late father and the gods), but mostly it is about the suspense of whether and how Helen and Menelaus will escape.
I should add that seeing Helen portrayed this sympathetically, hearing so much from her, and having her resist the entreaties and worse from men was an interesting twist on her general invisibility in the set of poems, plays and stories that ultimately center around her in important respects.
(Note: I read the translation by [a:Emily Wilson|478455|Emily Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523444389p2/478455.jpg] in [b:The Greek Plays: Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides|25893680|The Greek Plays Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides|Mary Lefkowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469408925l/25893680._SY75_.jpg|45775582].)
mothmilk's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
spacestationtrustfund's review
3.0
ειδολονThis edition was translated by Robert Emmet Meagher (who also wrote Helen: Myth, Legend, and the Culture of Misogyny, which always reminds me of Bettany Hughes's book, Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore). It's pretty good.