Euripides of Athens (ca. 485-406 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 play--the 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 Euripides--parts of which view him as a subverter of morality, religion, and art--cannot 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.

Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. In this fifth volume of the new Loeb Classical Library Euripides, David Kovacs presents a freshly edited Greek text and a faithful and deftly worded translation of three plays.

For his Helen the poet employs an alternative history in which a virtuous Helen never went to Troy but spent the war years in Egypt, falsely blamed for the adulterous behavior of her divinely created double in Troy. This volume also includes "Phoenician Women," Euripides' treatment of the battle between the sons of Oedipus for control of Thebes; and "Orestes," a novel retelling of Orestes' lot after he murdered his mother, Clytaemestra. Each play is annotated and prefaced by a helpful introduction.

One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides (ca. 485-406 BCE) has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here, in the third volume of a new edition that is receiving much praise, are four of his plays.

"Suppliant Women" reflects on war and on the rule of law. Euripides' "Electra"--presenting the famous legend of a brother and sister who seek revenge on their mother for killing their father--is a portrayal interestingly different from that of Aeschylus or Sophocles. "Heracles" shows the malice of the gods--and mutual loyalty as the human response to divinely sent disaster. And the theme of the tragic unpredictability of life is developed in "Trojan Women."David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text and a new translation that, in the words of "Greece and Rome," is "close to the Greek and reads fluently and well."

One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. This volume completes the new six-volume Loeb Classical Library edition of his plays.

In "Bacchae," a masterpiece of tragic drama, Euripides tells the story of king Pentheus's resistance to the worship of Dionysus and his horrific punishment. "Iphigenia at Aulis" recounts the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter to Artemis, the price exacted by the goddess for favorable sailing winds. "Rhesus" (probably not by Euripides) dramatizes a pivotal incident in the Trojan War. David Kovacs presents a faithful and skillfully worded translation of the three plays, facing a freshly edited Greek text.

One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides (ca. 485-406 BCE) has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here, in the third volume of a new edition that is receiving much praise, is the text and translation of three of his plays.

"Trojan Women," a play about the causes and consequences of war, develops the theme of the tragic unpredictability of life. "Iphigenia among the Taurians" and "Ion" exhibit tragic themes and situations (the murder of close relatives). Each ends happily with a joyful reunion.

As in the first three volumes of this edition, David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text and an admired new translation that, in the words of "Greece and Rome," is "close to the Greek and reads fluently and well;" his introduction to each play and explanatory notes offer readers judicious guidance.

One of Athens' greatest poets, Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here are four of his plays in a new Loeb Classical Library edition. Hippolytus triumphed in the Athenian dramatic competition of 428 BC; in modern times it has been judged to be one of Euripides' masterpieces. It tells of the punishment that the goddess Aphrodite inflicts on a young man who refuses to worship her. Hecuba and Andromache recreate the tragic stories of two noble Trojan women after their city's fall. Children of Heracles, probably first produced in 430, soon after the Spartan invasion of Attica, celebrates an incident long a source of Athenian pride: the city's protection of the sons and daughters of the dead Heracles. In this second volume of the new Loeb Euripides David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text facing an accurate and graceful prose translation. Explanatory notes clarify allusions and nuances, and a brief introduction to each play is provided.

Oedipus the King is the best-known play we have from the pen of Sophocles and was recognized as a masterpiece in Aristotle's Poetics, which cites the play more often than any other as an example of how to write tragedy. The principal character is the king of a city ravaged by a mysterious plague, who consults Apollo at Delphi and is told that the plague will end only when those who killed the previous king, Laius, are found and punished. He launches an investigation, in the course of which he learns not only that he is himself the killer, but that Laius was his father and Laius' widow, whom he married, his own mother. As a result of this revelation Oedipus changes from being a respected king and conscientious investigator into a polluted and self-blinded outcast. This volume presents a highly-polished English verse translation of Sophocles' powerful play which renders both the beauty of his language and the horror of the events being dramatized. A detailed introduction and notes clearly elucidate how the plot is constructed and the meaning this construction implies, as well as how Sophocles ably concealed the fact that his characters act in ways which differ from what we expect in real life. It also addresses influential misinterpretations, thereby offering an accessible and authoritative introduction to the play that will be of benefit to a wide range of readers.

The volumes published in the series Beitrage zur Altertumskunde comprise monographs, collective volumes, editions, translations and commentaries on various topics from the fields of Greek and Latin Philology, Ancient History, Archeology, Ancient Philosophy as well as Classical Reception Studies. The series thus offers indispensable research tools for a wide range of disciplines related to Ancient Studies.

This volume presents a newly edited text of Euripides' Troades, with a scene-by-scene and line-by-line commentary that brings centuries of classical scholarship to bear on a wide variety of questions. These include the interpretation of the play as part of a trilogy (its companion plays were Alexandros and Palamedes, of which we have only fragments), the contribution of the various scenes, speeches, and choral odes to the play, the style and usage of Euripides, and the stage action of the original performance. Since the play was performed in 415, shortly after the Athenian subjugation of Melos, it has frequently been interpreted as a criticism of Athenian foreign policy. The Introduction provides numerous converging arguments against this view and also shows that those who hold it are forced to ignore a greate deal of the text and cannot account for the Helen episode. The commentary, in addition to discussing the topics named above, interrogates the play's intellectual content, topics such as the nature of human success, vicissitude in mortal life, and the workings of the gods in the world, and re-evaluates the way the play's first audience were meant to react to the worldviews of Hecuba and others. It also examines carefully all the places where the text is insecure, places where there are significant variants or where what is transmitted is open to challenge. The book is written with the needs of both comparative beginners and seasoned classical scholars in mind.