Surprinsingly feminist and with a great message.

A betrayal of hospitality
2 Mar 2012

tIt looks like Goodreads has taken the Latin title for this play (Hecuba) to which Philip Vellacott, the translator of the version that I read, takes serious offence. Personally, being a Philhelline (a lover of Greek culture) I pretty much agree with him. This is not a Roman play, it is a Greek play, and as such I believe they should use the Greek title (and names).

tThis play is set during the Trojan War. While scholarship refers to only one epic cycle (that of the Trojan War) I believe that there is more than one (such as the Theban cycle), though I will go into more detail when I return to the Library of Greek Mythology. However, the Trojan War is considered to be the last of the Greek mythological cycle (a collection of stories – sort of like a modern day series) set in the Mycenean Period. The cycle itself is probably the longest and most complex of the mythological cycles, and is also the most popular. When I think of all of the surviving plays that we have the Trojan War is the setting for more than half of them. The only other myths that receive more than one play would be the Theban Cycle (the story of Oedipus and the aftermath) and Heracles (and even then there are only two plays). The Trojan War cycle begins with the judgement of Paris, where he is asked to decide who is the most beautiful god, and when he choses Aphrodite she gives him Helen as his wife. The problem is that Helen is married to King Menelaus of Sparta, so when he kidnaps Helen the Greeks all gather together, form a coalition, and set sail for Troy. The cycle then goes through the stories of how they get to Troy, the war itself, and then the voyage home. The cycle concludes with Odysseus' wanderings and his homecoming. The only surviving epic poems (The Iliad and the Odyssey) both occur during the Trojan War cycle.

tThe reason for the popularity of the Trojan War probably has a lot to do with many of the surviving plays being written after the Persian Wars. The Trojan War cycle deals with a conflict between the Greeks and the inhabitants of Asia Minor, or the people of the East. I suspect that the Trojans were somehow connected with the Hittites, though I have no real proof. Anyway, the Persian Wars also arose out of a conflict between East and West and in a way we begin to see a shift from the civilisations of the Middle East to Europe. In a sense civilisation is moving westward, and we see this as it shifts from the Middle East to Greece, then to Rome, then to Western Europe, then to England, then to the United States, and now we are seeing a further shift to the west, over the pacific, to China. Sooner or later it is going to go full circle and return to the Middle East.

tHecabe is set after the fall of Troy but before the voyage home. Once again the winds do not favour the Greeks. Achillies' ghost then appears and tells them that if they wish to return home they must offer him a sacrifice, and he chooses Priam's youngest daughter Polyxena. However, Priam's youngest son, Polydorus, has also been murdered. Before Troy fell Priam gave the king of Thrace (Polymestor) a pile of treasure to hold in trust for his son, and then sent his son to stay with him. However, Polymestor's greed overcame him, killing Polydorus and keeping the gold for himself. This happens prior to the play and is outlined at the beginning by the ghost of Polydorus.

tThe play appears to be set in three parts (though they are not acts as we understand them, a Greek play is continuous, broken only by the choral interludes). The first part involves the decision to sacrifice Polyxena and Hecabe's (the Queen of Troy) sorrow over the decision. The second part begins after Polyxena's death and involves the discovery of Polydorus' body and Hecabe's revenge against Polymestor, and the final part involves the judgement of Agamemnon when he is asked to mediate the dispute between Hecabe and Polymestor.

tNow, Thrace covers the region to the north of the Aegean Sea and is a flat plain bordered by mountains to the North, Macedonia to the west, the Aegean to the South, and the Borsophorous to the East. The Thracians did speak Greek, though with a heavily accented dialect, and were considered barbarians (non-Greeks) by the inhabitants to the south. They are also described as nomads and horsemen. In this play it is indicated that they were allies of Troy, however Polymestor appears to have switched sides when it became apparent that Troy was defeated.

tInitially I was going to consider that the theme of the story is similar to that of Medea: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. iIn part it is true. However, as we arrive at the end it becomes clear that the real theme involves a breach of hospitality. In the Greek World it was expected that one shows kindness and hospitality to strangers. In fact, it appears that this was the ancient's idea of what truly defined a civilisation (and in many cases it is still practised today – one can travel to some of the most dangerous parts of the Middle East yet be secure in the knowledge that no harm will come to you because of the overriding principle of hospitality). I did notice this when I was in Western Europe. The more I learn about the Modern Greeks, the more I notice that they are actually quite unlike the Europeans further to the west. In Greece they welcome strangers and are very warm and kind to them. That was what I found when I was in Greece, however when I travelled over the Adriatic to Italy I discovered that such principles of hospitality were non-existent. In fact, on my journey across Europe it was evident that the principle of hospitality is really only played out in Greece.

tThere are two elements to Agamemnon's decision regarding Polymestor. The overriding principle is that he breached the principle of hospitality, and because of that it was decreed that his punishment was justified. However, it was the determination that Polymestor had intended to keep the gold for himself (and this is supported by him accepting Hecabe's lie about more treasure being buried in Troy and his decision to take it). However, it is the final lines of the play that demonstrate that Polymestor simply does not accept Agamemnon's decision as in his anger he speaks of the fate of both Hecabe (she suicides) and Agamemnon (he is murdered by his wife and her lover), though it is interesting that they do not believe him.

tI want to finish off with a little word on Greek Drama. It appears that it evolved from the art of storytelling. Initially bards would travel the land and stay in villages in return for telling stories. It is likely that when one arrived the village would gather around and hear his stories and in return the village would clothe and feed him. Drama evolved from this through poetry recitals when Thespis decided to add a second actor where a dialogue could be created. Greek drama confirms to unity of time and place: the entire play occurs in one location and the action occurs within a single day. Most of the action takes place off stage and the background is explained by one of the actors. Anything that occurs outside the unity is conveyed to the audience by the actors or the chorus.

tFinally, once again we see how Euripides moves away from what is expected of Greek drama. Most of the playwrights, when writing about the Trojan War, focus it around the Greeks and put the Trojans out of the picture. They are the enemy and remain the enemy. However Euripides has turned this concept around by making the Trojan not only the focus of the play, but also generating sympathy. Further, once again we see the woman take the leading role and being demonstrated as the person who has been wronged. This is not necessarily Euripidean as Sophocles also uses this in Antigone (and we see the same with the Electras). In a way, Aesychlus and Sophocles would be seen as the Steven Spielburg and Ron Howard of the ancient world (they follow the traditional lines) where as Euripides would be the, say, Martin Scorsesee (because he breaks with tradition, but is able to maintain his reputation despite this). In a way, I am glad that the volume of Euripidean plays managed to survive antiquity giving us a much broader collection of plays than the other playwrights (I believe we have nineteen of them as opposed to seven).

mi piace vedere queste donne che d'improvviso da totalmente in lutto e disperate diventano delle assassine, psycho killer

"بیا، مرد جوان. تو می توانی هرجایی که می خواهی بزنی. این پستان من است اما اگر می خواهی بیخ گردنم را بزنی، آن‌ نیز آماده است."

از همان ابتدا میخکوب خشونت و قدرت پولیکسنه شدم. شهامتی (و ما همگی شاهد شهامت نیکا و حدیث بودیم که رهایی موی آنها در تاریخ بماند) که پش از ۲۴۰۰ سال انگار همین امروز را روایت می کند.

هکوب نماد زنان جنگ‌زده، خشمگین از فراموشی، و سوگوار است. زنانی که دختر، همسر، خواهر و مادر کسانی هستند و با این حال خودشان ��دون نسبت یافتن به کسی دیگر، وجودی ندارند. صدایی از آنان نباید بلند باشد و اگرم شد، جز مویه زنانه از آن نام نمیبرند. اما این زنان دادخواه اند و هنگامی که دادخواهی راه به جایی نمیبرد، خشمگین اند و بیچاره در چرخه خشونت و انتقام‌جویی.

هکوب داوری به نزد آگاممنون میبرد (مادر کیان را که داور بود؟) و از طبیعتی سخن می گوید که فراتر از قوانین نوشته شده است. ممکن است این طبیعت گرایی فلسفی را هم نظر با اشتراوس و دیگران، انحرافی از کنترل خارج شده به دنبال هابز و لاک تا به امروز بدانیم اما تغییری در این حقیقت تاریخی به وجود نمی آورد: "بانوان آیا باید که به درون خیمه یورش بریم؟ این لحظه ای سرنوشت ساز برای هکوب و زنان ترواست. باید که پشتیبان آن زن باشیم."

اولین باری که کتاب رسال آزادی استوارت میل را خواندم عمیقا باور کردم که طبیعت انسان، آزادی است. پس از کمی کمتر از ده سال هنوز عمیق تر از پیش باور دارم که ما آزاد زاییده شدیم.
رنج و درد اطرافم را میبینم و میفهم. گاهی در این بیچارگی هم شریک بودم. اما نمی توانم تصور کنم اگر به این طبیعت باور نداشته باشم، چطور میتوانم به خروج از چرخه خشونت فکر کنم؟ چطور میتوانم امیدم را نگه دارم؟ چطور به درد و رنج دیگری خشنود نباشم؟

چندان فهمش سخت نیست، اینکه همه ما طبیعتا آزاد به این دنیا آمدیم و خفه کردن این آزادی، لگد زدن به طبیعی ترین ویژگی خودمان است. اما نمیفهمند، نه طبیعت را برای خودشان و نه برای دیگری.

Malheur aux vaincus, dit Brennus aux romains vaincus, avant que Camille ne vienne les sauver. Troie a été prise par la cautèlerie d’Ulysse, et pour ses habitantes, la perte de la liberté s’ajoute à celle des êtres chers. Mais pour Hécube, c’est aussi la royauté qu’elle quitte, avec son époux et ses nombreux fils qui ont péris sous les murs de Troie. Seul lui reste Polydore, le cadet, envoyé chez Polymnestor, roi de Thrace, pour y être protégé, avec un trésor, de la rapacité des Achéens. Mais son fantôme vient lui annoncer la trahison de l’hôte, qui a succombé à la soif de l’or, et le cadavre de son fils rejeté par la mer lui confirme la sombre prémonition. C’est trop pour cette femme, qui fomente alors une vengeance terrible contre le traitre : il sera aveuglé, attiré dans un piège, victime de son avidité. La rage d’Hécube la transforme en chienne, ainsi que le relate Ovide, dans les métamorphoses.

Rhetoric is a constant theme throughout the play. For all her contempt for it...

"Yours is a thankless generation, seeking
A demagogue’s honors. Be far from me,
You who don’t care about ruining your friends,
If you say something pleasing to the mob."

...Hecuba succeeds in her revenge through speaking (though she isn't made less miserable for it). However, it doesn't save Polymestor: his discourse isn't flawed, but his actions betray him...

"Agamemnon, men’s tongues should
Not be stronger than their acts.
But he who does well should speak well.
Or if he does wrong, his words ought to be hollow,
And he unable to gloss over injustice.
Some wise men are perfect at this,
But they can’t last to the end
And they wreck themselves."

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A few lines I just thought very beautiful:

"It is hard for me to judge another’s wrongdoing,
But I must. For he bears the shame
Who takes this matter up and casts it off."

"Good friends show themselves best in times
Of trouble, while luck always has friends."

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on a completely different note, I wonder if Euripides planned how comic some lines sounds. In a great tragedy it's hardly a relief, but it's so clear in his style. Why?????

"I was not born a prophet, who, not
Hearing, shall divine your ways."

Love it when they just murder the bad guys

„Naš Euripid, čovečni,“ da parafraziram stih Elizabet Baret Brauning, najkrvaviji je i meni najdraži od tragičke trijade, iako su me klasičari često pokušavali ubediti da je slabiji i od Eshila i od Sofokla. Delom je to zbog toga što se Euripid ne uklapa uvek u uzvišene definicije tragedije, tragičnog i tragičnog junaka. pa je nekako od titule “najtragičniji” stigao do pozicije pesnika kojem je, za ono što je želeo da izrazi, bio potreban novi žanr, ali se nije uspeo izmaći iz okvira istog. Upravo u tom rascepu nastaje cela potonja tragička tradicija evropske književnosti, od Seneke, preko Šekspira i Rasina, pa do tragične opere 19. veka.

„Hekaba“ je smeštena neposredno posle završetka Trojanskog rata. Pobednik je poznat, trojanski muškarci i dečaci su poklani, a žene i devojčice, uključujući i trojansku kraljicu Hekabu, su odvedene u roblje. To ne znači da je gotovo sa mrtvima. Naprotiv, Euripid podseća da nakon svakog rata, sukob se nastavlja - pobijeni traže da budu dostojanstveno sahranjeni, proslavljeni i osvećeni. Stoga, dramsku radnju ovde ne pokreću živi nego mrtvi – duh Polidora, Hekabinog sina, ubijenog od strane tračkog kralja Polimestra, i duh Ahileja, koji zahteva žrtvovanje Poliksene, Hekabine kćerke.

Vrhunac tragedije nije ni u smrti Polidora ni u smrti Poliksene, već u Hekabinoj osveti nad kraljem Polimestorom time što ubija njegovu decu. U staroj Grčkoj, čin ubijanja dece izazivao je manju moralnu uznemirenost nego danas, posebno ako je ono sprovedeno po principu “oko za oko” i kada dolazi kao kazna za kršenje gostoprimstva. Za razliku od Sofoklovih junaka, koje tragedija (Simona Vejl bi rekla nesreća) pretvara u svetačke figure dostojne da im se celivaju ruke, Euripidovi likovi postaju baš strašni, monstrumi, a samim time i čovečniji. Tragedija ipak manjinu pretvara u svece. Uglavnom ljudi usled nesreće postaju još gori nego što su bili. Ovde majka koja pati za sopstvenom decom, postaje čedomorka tuđe. I to je osveta, ali nije pravda. Pravda za Hekabu ne postoji, a nesamerivost tuge za mrtvom decom je i dalje menja, kako kaže mit, sve dok je ne pretvori u nešto izvanljudsko – besnog psa.

Pročitao sam četiri različita prevoda. Baš je uzbudljivo pratiti nijanse razlika.

A)tPrvi je prevod Nikole T. Đurića, oca Miloša N. Đurića. Ispevan je u desetercu. Dugo je postojala ideja da se grčka antika treba prevesti u metru srpske epske poezije. I kad smo kod roditelja koji tuže nad smrću svoje dece u rat, potresno je da na izdanju Grčkih tragedija iz 1948. kao posveta stoji: "Seni svoga jedinca Rastka. M. Đurića, svšenog maturanta, koji u odbrani otadžbine junački pogibe 8. 4. 1945. god posvećuje svoje prevode Miloš N. Đurić".

Nikola Đurić ovako prevodi završni deo Polidorovog monologa s početak tragedije:

"O, majko moja, nekad kraljica
A sada jadna, zarobljenica,
U sreći nekad, u bijedi sad.
Po volji bogu nekom sve je to."

A ovako Nikola prevodi završne stihove hora trojanskih robinja sa kojim se završava tragedija:

"U luke, drage, i u šatore,
Da produžimo službu nemilu!
Neslomiva je ljudska sudbina!"


B)tDrugi prevod je načinio Branko Pleša, reditelj i glumac koji je, između ostalog, prvi tumačio i Openhajmera na filmu. Prevod je nastao povodom postavke Hekabe u Jugoslovenskom dramskom pozorištu sedamdesetih

Pleša ovako prevodi završni deo Polidorovog monologa s početak tragedije

"Jao! O majko moja, nekad sjajna kraljice,
u ropstvu sad si tužna zarobljenica.
A sreća - gde je sad! Za radost negdanju
osvećuje ti se svirepo neki bog."

Pleša ovako prevodis Stihove koje izgovara hor trojanskih robinja sa kojima se završava tragedija:

"U luku, drage, u šatore idite
da primite na ruke lance robovske!
Crna je sudbina!"

C) Za prevod na engleski želeo sam da uzmem prevod Gilberta Mareja, najvećeg stručnjaka za Euripida na ostrvu s početka 20. veka, a i sam je pisao komade sa pacifističkom porukom. Međutim, izgleda da nije preveo Hekabu. Stoga sam uzeo prevod uDajan Arnson Svarilen američke savremene prevoditeljke. Prepev je u metru.

Dajan ovako prevodi zavRšni deo Polidorovog monologa s početak tragedije:

"O Mother, from a royal household—you
who look upon your day of slavery—
some god has counterpoised your former joy
with all the weight of what you suffer now."

A ovako Dajan prevodi završne stihove hora trojanskih robinja sa kojim se završava tragedija:

"Let us go to the tents, friends; let’s go to the harbor;
it’s time to take up the toils of our masters.
Compulsion is brutal."

D)tZa kraj sam uzeo prevod kanadAkse pesnikinje En Karson, autorke "Autobiografije crvenog". Kako kaže, Euripid je za nju Lars fon Trir antičkog sveta i u laptopu ima poseban dokument u kome redovno dopisuje zbog čega joj je Euripid neprijatan. Prevod je u slobodnom stihu.

En ovako prevodi završni deo Polidorov monologa s početak tragedije:

"O mother! You went from a house of kings to a day of slavery.
Your grief is as great as your splendor was:
some god is weighing the one out equal to the other"

A ovako En prevodi završne stihove hora trojanskih robinja sa kojim se završava tragedija:

"Go to the harbor, go to the tents, dear women.
Now we taste the work of slaves.
Hard is necessity."

Ok. No one can ever give R. R. Martin a hard time ever again. He is just going back to the roots of literature.

Something is fascinating me about these books, Hecuba in particular. How true are these accounts? The Histories of Herodotus was all 'fact' (as he was told) yet the accounts of the Trojan War seem to be written in the same way. I could believe these things happened. I'm sure that people who have studied this stuff know the difference, yet I'm becoming more and more fascinated, and the less clear it becomes!!

Euripides writing both Medea and Hecabe: "I'm not here for history, I'm here for HER story."

A play that is literally and figuratively haunted by a ghost.

In a quasi-murder mystery, Hecuba, (once queen of Troy, now a slave,) searches for the killer of her son. Once she finds the murderer, she will have her revenge.

e despre suferinta puternica, care dezumanizeaza.
si despre emotii intense. care ghideaza actiuni. si dupa aia sunt justificate prin discursuri care cel putin par extrem de rationale (apropo, mi-ar placea sa analizez argumentarea din discursurile de aici).
si despre decizii luate in raspuns la ceea ce ti se intampla. decizii fie violente si crude (euripide se pricepe fff bine sa arate cruzimea) fie 'nobile' si resemnate.