| Hecuba | |
|---|---|
 Hecuba Blinding Polymestor by Giuseppe Maria Crespi |
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| Written by | Euripides |
| Chorus | Captive Trojan Women |
| Characters | Ghost of Polydorus Hecuba Polyxena Odysseus Talthybius Maid Agamemnon Polymestor, and his children |
| Setting | Greek camp upon the shore of the Thracian Chersonese |
Hecuba (Greek: Ἑκάβη / Hēkabē) is a tragedy by Euripides written c. 424 BC. It takes place after the Trojan War, but before the Greeks have departed Troy.
It depicts Hecuba's grief over the loss of a daughter, and the revenge she takes over the loss of a son. Taking place near the same time is The Trojan Women, another play by Euripides.
Contents |
Plot
At the beginning of the play, Hecuba, Queen of Troy, mother of Prince Hector of Troy and wife of King Priam, is mourning her great losses. Her son, Hector, has been brutally killed by the fierce Greek warrior Achilles. Her son, Polydorus, has been treacherously murdered by his trusted guardian, Polymestor for a great treasure, and she has just learned the fate of her two daughters; Polyxena is to be killed as a sacrifice on the tomb of Achilles, and Cassandra, a virgin-priestess to Apollo, is destined to become a concubine and whore to Agamemnon. She also contemplates her own doomed fate; she is to become a slave to Odysseus, a man she hates.
After her daughter's death, Hecuba rages against the brutality of the Greeks. This queen is inconsolable; she eloquently and compellingly lists all of the injustices of war. She also questions the benevolence of the gods, who have betrayed both her and Troy. The women of Troy, who are also grieving for their own families and losses, are hard-pressed to see their queen in such a state. Later, Hecuba extracts revenge to some extent by killing Polymestor's sons and then blinding Polymestor. As Hecuba and the women of Troy are led off into captivity, she speaks one last time: "Come, let us rush to the pyre, our greatest glory will be to perish in the flames in which our country perishes." Polymestor, upon being blinded, reveals the deaths of Hecuba and Agamemnon before leaving the stage.
Impact
Euripides' plays challenged the state-sponsored religious and political system. They reflected strong characters, both men and women, and exposed the folly of war. As Euripides' plays became increasingly popular, and controversial, he was persecuted by the State, and some of his friends were even murdered.
References
Genesius Guild Play Resources: http://www.genesius.org/plays/hecuba
Translations
- Edward P. Coleridge, 1891 - prose: full text
- Arthur S. Way, 1912 - verse
- J. T. Sheppard, 1927 - verse
- Hugh O. Meredith, 1937 - verse
- William Arrowsmith, 1958 - verse
- Philip Vellacott, 1963 - verse
- Timberlake Wertenbaker, 1995 - verse
- Frank McGuinness, 2004 - verse
- Anne Carson, 2006 - prose
- George Theodoridis, 2007 - full text prose: [1]
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