[DOC] Ten Plays by Euripides by Euripides in Arts-Photography

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Satisfying EuripidesBy Christopher GreffinTen Plays Euripides. translated by Moses Hadas and John Mclean. gives a solidly satisfying experience of the works of the Greek playwright. Euripides is often considered the least significant of the three great tragedians of Athens in the 5th century BC. behind Aeschylus and Sophocles. and of the time that was undoubtedly true he did not win as much praise. However there happens to be more surviving plays from Euripides than there are from other two combined (17 compared to 14). This book has the translations of ten of the seventeen.I have never read Euripides before this. so I canrsquo;t compare this to another translation. It is an interesting one. more concerned with accuracy to what was stated than of trying to emulate Greek poetic meter (as for Instance ldquo;Electra and other Playsrdquo;. which was my first foray into the ancient Greek theater. was more going for). The more notable tragedies include lsquo;Electrarsquo;. lsquo;Medearsquo;. and the posthumous completed lsquo;Iphigenia at Aulisrsquo;. Among the standouts for me of the Euripidesrsquo; works are Ion. lsquo;Alcestisrsquo;. and lsquo;Electrarsquo; (though I prefer the Sophocles version of the last).My personal favorite of them all is lsquo;The Trojan Womenrsquo;. It takes place the field of Troy just after the epic warrsquo;s conclusion. the city burnt down and many legends having been killed on both sides. Survivors of the conquered city. set to be slaves or concubines for the Greeks. are led off by the men to the ships to be taken away forever from their land. Among these captives are the widows of the late King Priam and Hectormdash;Hecuba and Cassandramdash;and also Helen. wife of Menelaus. the woman whose going to Troy was the catalyst of the war. Though this was written by a Greek for Greeks. the sympathy is primarily with the Trojans who suffer. grieve. and in one notable case go mad from emotional hardship. while the Greeks sort of come off as pompous victors. But at its heart it is a set of entertaining and emotional interactions. occasionally grisly and disturbing as these tragedies tend to be (though this isnrsquo;t the most depressing story of the bunch) in the conflicts dealing with great moral issues about what a warrsquo;s aftermath. the relationship of conqueror and conquered. should be.Overall if you want a first foray into Euripides this should be a good read. If yoursquo;re looking for something that tries to emulate the style of the original dramas. then you might be a little disappointed. but itrsquo;s an interesting read none-the-less. There were one or two of the tragedies that were a bit of a slog. but most of them quite engaged me for most of the duration.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Shocking. heartbreaking plays in a very useful collectionBy M.E.AndersonNot being able to translate Attic Greek. I cant comment on the translation; but I must say that these versions are wonderfully readable (MUCH more so than the translation I had to read in college. back before the Civil War). The translators provide introductions to each play and a general introduction that is extremely useful.The plays are heartbreaking...be warned. The Trojan Women and Medea have to be among the most shattering things ever written about war. love. faithlessness and despair. and I choose them only because the others are just slightly less monumental. These ten plays will bake themselves on your heart.My ONLY criticism. and it is a small one. is that the glossary of names and places at the end of the book. which is 4 meagre pages long. leaves out most of the things I wanted to know. In a future edition I would recommend that several more pages be included that have names on them that most of us would have to look up. (Who is Achilles son? Neoptolemus. What is Amyclae? An ancient town near Sparta.) By all means buy this edition. but if you are not intimately conversant with the myths and stories of ancient Greece. be prepared to look things up. I found myself referring many times to Edith Hamiltons wonderful Mythology.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The most "modern" of the "Big Three" Greek dramatistsBy C. E. StevensI will preface this review by stating that I am usually loath to review "the classics". First. they tend to stand on their own merits; second. more qualified reviewers with greater expertise than I as a general reader tend to already do an excellent job reviewing the work long before I arrive on the scene. "Ten Plays by Euripides" is no exception: the works have survived to the present day due to their beauty and genius. and excellent reviews (most notably Mr. Lawrence Bernabos) have already been posted. But a particularly knuckleheaded review currently stands as the most recent review. prompting me to add my own review in an attempt to add a counterweight to the negative review.Euripides is in many ways the most "modern" of the ancient Greek dramatists in the way he plunges the psychological depths of his characters ... most of whom stood as "larger than life" figures in the works of his ancestors and contemporaries (e.g. Homer. Aeschylus. and Sophocles) until Euripides humanizes them. As Sophocles is reported to have said. where Sophocles portrayed these characters as "they ought to be". Euripides portrayed them as "they actually were". The full genius of Euripides characterization cannot be appreciated except for in comparison with the often "larger than life" treatment given by Homer and Aeschylus. Euripides is particularly gifted in his work with female characters such as Clytemnestra. Medea. and Alcestis.With his surprisingly "modern" treatments of these famous characters and scenes from Greek history and mythology. Euripides ushered in a new era of theater. Echos of Euripides works can be heard in the great dramatic history of Europe. all the way to the present day. This particular volume contains many of Euripides best works at a good price with good translations. making it an especially worthwhile purchase.