Mon préféré d'Euripides <3

Translation by George Theodoridis

"Those who are fortunate should not believe that fortune will stay with them forever."

"All men are slaves, Agamemnon! Slaves to money, to Fate, to the cries of the masses, to the written laws!"

This play is set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, and stars Hecuba, the former queen of Troy.

I read this right after reading Andromache, which is worth reading, but I think Hecuba is the better of the two; it’s tighter and more dramatic. Like Medea, this play is about the revenge of oppressed women, but unlike Medea she doesn’t quite get away with it, although she doesn't actually face any repercussions in the play itself; the consequences of her actions are only foretold.

This turned out to be one of my favourite plays by Euripides.

Like *The Trojan Women*, this play is set in the aftermath of the Trojan War and is centered around the recently-enslaved royal women of Troy: in this case, specifically Hecuba. (*Andromache* is about Andromache after she's been installed as a slave in the household of Neoptolemus; *The Trojan Women* is about Hecuba and Andromache on the beaches of Troy, about to be carried off to Greece.)

It's a dark and difficult play. The ghost of Achilles has required the Greeks to sacrifice Hecuba's daughter, Polyxena, before the ships can set sail (mirroring, of course, the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter in *Iphigenia in Aulis*). Hecuba is distraught and begs for her daughter's life, but there's no convincing the Greeks to back off; Polyxena ultimately hates life enough to go semi-willingly. In case that wasn't enough, just afterwards, Polydorus, Hecuba's son who was being fostered in Thrace by Polymestor, washes up dead on the beach. It quickly becomes clear that Polymestor has betrayed the royal house of Troy and murdered Polydorus himself. Hecuba now has another child to mourn. The brutality continues when Hecuba and the Trojan women-slaves gang up on Polymestor, kill his child, and gouge out his eyes. Agamemnon sits in trial and ends up ruling in favor of Hecuba against Polymestor, clearly having no sympathy for the way that Polymestor killed a child in his keeping.

The way that this play transitioned from a dark tragedy, on a par with *Herakles*, for instance, to a trial was fascinating. Putting characters on trial was something that we've seen before in Euripides: I am pretty sure it's in the *Helen*, but I might be mistaken. I think that combining these different genres and styles is a really smart creative decision, not least of all because of how bleak this play was looking!

Esta es la primera tragedia griega que leo y me ha dado ganas de leer muchas más. No tenía ni idea de lo que me iba a encontrar y me vi leyendo un cuento entre histórico y mitológico en torno a personajes que ya conocía (aunque no son los protagonistas, menciona a menudo a Héctor, Helena, Aquiles o Ulises).

Es una obra cortita, bastante fácil de leer (tiene algún monólogo densillo de dos páginas) y con algunas perlas que solo por ellas merece la pena leérsela. En concreto, hay una que se me quedó grabada de lo poética que es (la voy a añadir ahora a la sección de citas, por si tenéis curiosidad).

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This was my first greek tragedy and I am pretty sure I will be reading another one soon because I enjoyed it more than I was thinking I would. I loved the poetic prose the author lets slip sometimes in the play, and the story is interesting too if you like mythology.

Che belle le donne troiane che vogliono sangue e lo ottengono, che gli uomini siano d'accordo o meno ♥

Εκάβη (Hecuba) is definitely one of the most tragic Greek plays! Euripides chooses Hecuba as a protagonist for this play, the former queen of Troy!

A queen that circumstances and war made her a slave. A woman with so many sons and daughters stays "motherless" at the very end.

In Iliad, the three characters that made me feel really sad for Troy and for Hector's death were Cassandra, Andromache and of course Hecuba. A woman that should be idolised, a woman that kept living after she saw her own children die! If that doesn't spark a feeling of yours then I question your humanity.

That being said, you already must have guessed how enjoyable read this was. Was it the best tragedy Ι have ever read; No!

It was great and refreshing to see a writer focusing into the life of the Trojan women after the big fall of Troy! The only thing that not exactly surprised me but made me question the reason behind it is Agamemnon's new personality! I am not a big fan of Agamemnon, I don't want to use the word "hate" because I think it's too passionate but I am going to say that I found him being stupid all the time in Homer's Iliad! Euripides' Agamemnon is more likeable!

Euripides knows how to catch your attention and keep you going and going much deeper into the story!

Quite did not expect the ending, I really thought Hecuba was going to murder Polymestor along with his sons.

dont mess with hecabe lmao

I love how Euripides plays are experimental and explore a range of complex topics as well as social issues of the time. I loved loved loved Hecuba. She's such a tragic figure and it's nice to see the aftermath of the Trojan War from the eyes of the Trojans.

Medea and Other Plays

read in 2017: philip vellacott translation:

I was a god, in all except mortality.

the strength of polyxena, the sorrow and rage of hecuba, the softer side to agamemnon, the harsh reality given by odysseus. the horribly announced prophecies left hanging in the air like smoke. this was brilliant.

This is my last goodbye to you, my own dear mother. Now I am going into the dark.

read in 2022: diane svarlien translation:

then murder me together with her; pour a double blood-offering to the earth.

loved it just as much, if not more, this time. so awfully sad. polyxena is remarkable. the men are oddly sympathetic.

i’m going now, mother, i’m going down below.

I’m continuing on with my Euripides kick by reading a play that I had never heard of before but now and sitting here enjoying the aftermath of it. I’m actually a little surprised that I had never heard of this play before, but my only real introduction into the world of the plays of the Ancient world was very limited.

This particular play follows Hecuba, the former Queen of Troy and wife of Priam, who has now been made a slave of Odysseus as she laments the tragedies that have befallen her. Unbeknownst to her, things are about to get much worse.

She has received a vision that her youngest son Polydorus has been killed by the man who was supposed to protect him while the war waged on in Troy. As she doesn’t know whether he has been killed already or whether it has not yet happened, Hecuba is in a free fall. Made all the worse when she is told that her daughter Polyxena will have to be sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles because his ghost has decided that that is the type of offering he wants.

Euripides again has really focused on the women of this play and gives them huge parts and speaking material that they would never normally have. He focuses on the anguish that women suffer when they are left behind in war, and also how freely their lives are given away by men who think they are just and right. It’s shocking really but this would have all been understood and agreed by the Ancient Greeks.