Heracles and Other PlaysAlcestis * Heracles * Children of Heracles * Cyclops Euripides wrote about timeless themes, of friendship and enmity, hope and despair, duty and betrayal. The first three plays in this volume are filled with violence or its threat, while the fourth, Cyclops, is our only surviving example of a genuine satyr play, with all the crude and slapstick humour that characterized the genre. There is death in Alcestis, which explores the marital relationship of Alcestis and Admetus with pathos and grim humour, but whose status as tragedy is subverted by a happy ending. The blood-soaked Heracles portrays deep emotional pain and undeserved suffering; its demand for a more humanistic ethics in the face of divine indifference and callousness makes it one of Euripides' more popular and profound plays. Children of Heracles is a rich and complex work, famous for its dialogues and monologues, in which the effects of war on refugees and the consequences of sheltering them are movingly explored. In Cyclops Euripides takes the familiar story of Odysseus' escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus and turns it to hilarious comic effect. Euripides' other plays are all available in Oxford World's Classics. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. |
Contents
Abbreviations | vi |
Introduction | vii |
Note on the Translation | xlii |
Select Bibliography | xliii |
A Chronology of Euripides Work and Times | liii |
Map of the Greek World | liv |
ALCESTIS | 1 |
HERACLES | 34 |
CHILDREN OF HERACLES | 74 |
CYCLOPS | 103 |
Explanatory Notes | 125 |
Textual Notes | 157 |
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Common terms and phrases
ADMETUS Aeschylus Alcestis Alcmene alive altar AMPHITRYON ancient Apollo Argos arms Athenian Athens attendants battle blood body bring brought cave Children of Heracles CHORUS Classical Cyclops daughter dead death DEMOPHON don't drama drink earth enemy Enter Euripidean Euripides Eurystheus eyes fate father friends give gods Greece Greek Tragedy ground Hades halls hands happened head HERALD hero hope human husband inside IOLAUS keep killed king labours land leave lines live look lord LYCUS madness mean MEGARA mother never ODYSSEUS offer once Oxford pain palace performed play Reading satyr scene SEMICHORUS SERVANT SILENUS sings song sons stand suffering suppliants sure tell temple Thebes There's THESEUS things turn underworld wife wine woman women young Zeus