Medea and Other Plays

Euripides, Philip Vellacott

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English

Penguin
18 December 2000

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Plays & playscripts; Penguin Black Classics

A collection of four of the finest Greek plays

The four tragedies collected in this volume all focus on a central character, once powerful, brought down by betrayal, jealousy, guilt and hatred. The first playwright to depict suffering without reference to the gods, Euripides (c.485-407 BC) made his characters speak in human terms and face the consequences of their actions. In Medea, a woman rejected by her lover takes hideous revenge by murdering the children they both love, and Hecabe depicts the former queen of Troy, driven mad by the prospect of her daughter's sacrifice to Achilles. Electra portrays a young woman planning to avenge the brutal death of her father at the hands of her mother, while in Heracles the hero seeks vengeance against the evil king who has caused bloodshed in his family.

By: Euripides
Translated by: Philip Vellacott
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 12mm
Weight: 157g
ISBN: 9780140441291
ISBN 10: 0140441298
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 18 December 2000
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Euripides was an Athenian born in 484BC. A member of a family of considerable rank, he disliked performing the public duties expected of him, preferring a life of introspection. He was not a popular figure, and at some point (and for a reason unknown) he went into voluntary exile at the court of Archelaus, King of Macedon. He died c.407BC and is thought to have written around ninety-two plays, of which seventeen survive.