Synopses & Reviews
Euripides of Athens (ca. 485406 BCE), famous in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations, wrote nearly ninety plays. Of these, eighteen (plus a play of unknown authorship mistakenly included with his works) have come down to us from antiquity. In this first volume of a new Loeb edition of Euripides David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text of three plays and an accurate and graceful translation with explanatory notes.
Alcestis is the story of a woman who agrees, in order to save her husband's life, to die in his place. Medea is a tragedy of revenge in which Medea kills her own children, as well as their father's new wife, to punish him for his desertion. The volume begins with Cyclops, a satyr playthe only complete example of this genre to survive. Each play is preceded by an introduction.
In a general introduction Kovacs demonstrates that the biographical tradition about Euripidesparts of which view him as a subverter of morality, religion, and artcannot be relied on. He argues that this tradition has often furnished the unacknowledged starting point for interpretation, and that the way is now clear for an unprejudiced consideration of the plays themselves.
Review
An excellent 48-page general introduction...The translation...is close to the Greek and reads fluently and well. All in all this is an excellent little volume. Greece and Rome
Review
A well-executed and stimulating production. Classical Review
Review
Both experts and generalists will benefit from the work of this experienced Euripidean scholar. John E. Thorburn
Synopsis
Three plays by ancient Greece's third great tragedian.
One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. The new Loeb Classical Library edition of his plays is in six volumes.
In Volume I of the edition are Cyclops, the only complete satyr play that has survived from antiquity; Alcestis, the story of a woman who agrees, in order to save her husband's life, to die in his place; and Medea, a revenge tragedy in which Medea kills her own children to punish their father.
Synopsis
Euripides (c. 485-406 BCE) has been prized in every age for his emotional and intellectual drama. Eighteen of his ninety or so plays survive complete, including Medea, Hippolytus, and Bacchae, one of the great masterpieces of the tragic genre. Fragments of his lost plays also survive.
About the Author
David Kovacs is Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Bibliography
Abbreviations
Cyclops
Introduction
Text and Translation
Alcestis
Introduction
Text and Translation
Medea
Introduction
Text and Translation