Publisher:
Bloomsbury, London
;
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
In the dark of night, intrigues and treachery flourish beneath the walls of the besieged Troy. A chorus of sentries stands guard while spies and heroes scheme to turn the tides of war in their favour. In 'Rhesos', Euripides portrays the reality of...
more
In the dark of night, intrigues and treachery flourish beneath the walls of the besieged Troy. A chorus of sentries stands guard while spies and heroes scheme to turn the tides of war in their favour. In 'Rhesos', Euripides portrays the reality of war, in which there is no place for honour.
Publisher:
Bloomsbury, London
;
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The haunting spectre of unburied corpses begins the action of 'Suppliants'. Aithra, mother of the king of Athens, Theseus, pleads with her son to exhort Thebes to release the bodies of the sons of Athens killed in Thebes, hired by Polyneikes to fight...
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The haunting spectre of unburied corpses begins the action of 'Suppliants'. Aithra, mother of the king of Athens, Theseus, pleads with her son to exhort Thebes to release the bodies of the sons of Athens killed in Thebes, hired by Polyneikes to fight in the post-Oedipal era of Theban civil war. Theseus agrees to the request, but only after ascertaining that it is the democratic will of the people of Athens that he should make this plea to the Thebans. The Thebans, for their part, refuse, mocking Athenian democratic principles along the way. A battle between the two cities erupts; this time, however, Theseus fights only to gain that which his mandate had sought: the return of the bodies for their holy rites.
Publisher:
Bloomsbury, London
;
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Euripides' play tells the story of Phaidra's love for her step-son Hippolytos, Theseus's illegitimate son, a man so devoted to his chastity and the cult of Artemis that he spurns the goddess of love Aphrodite. To return the insult, she condemns him...
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Euripides' play tells the story of Phaidra's love for her step-son Hippolytos, Theseus's illegitimate son, a man so devoted to his chastity and the cult of Artemis that he spurns the goddess of love Aphrodite. To return the insult, she condemns him via his stepmother's passion, causing the subsequent fall of the royal house. A play that at once cautions people not to disregard the strength of the divine, but also illustrates the futility of trying to second-guess its intention, 'Hippolytos' is an astonishing and disturbing tragedy.