Hecuba ( /
Hēkabē) is a
tragedyTragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that, paradoxically, offers its audience pleasure...
by
EuripidesEuripides was the lastof the three great tragedians of classical Athens . Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias...
written c.
424 BC-Persian empire:* Xerxes II rules as King of Persia for only about 45 days until he is killed. He is reportedly murdered, while drunk, by Pharnacyas and Menostanes on the orders of Secydianus , the son of one of Artaxerxes I's concubines, Alogyne of Babylon.-Greece:* The statesman, Hermocrates of...
. It takes place after the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, but before the Greeks have departed
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
.
It depicts
HecubaHecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of her children was Hector of Troy...
'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 WomenThe Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
, another play by Euripides.
At the beginning of the play,
HecubaHecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of her children was Hector of Troy...
, Queen of Troy, mother of Prince
HectorIn Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the son of Priam and Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he is a prince of the royal house. He acts as leader of the Trojans...
of Troy and wife of King Priam, is mourning her great losses.
Hecuba ( /
Hēkabē) is a
tragedyTragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that, paradoxically, offers its audience pleasure...
by
EuripidesEuripides was the lastof the three great tragedians of classical Athens . Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias...
written c.
424 BC-Persian empire:* Xerxes II rules as King of Persia for only about 45 days until he is killed. He is reportedly murdered, while drunk, by Pharnacyas and Menostanes on the orders of Secydianus , the son of one of Artaxerxes I's concubines, Alogyne of Babylon.-Greece:* The statesman, Hermocrates of...
. It takes place after the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, but before the Greeks have departed
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
.
It depicts
HecubaHecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of her children was Hector of Troy...
'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 WomenThe Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
, another play by Euripides.
Plot
At the beginning of the play,
HecubaHecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of her children was Hector of Troy...
, Queen of Troy, mother of Prince
HectorIn Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the son of Priam and Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he is a prince of the royal house. He acts as leader of the Trojans...
of Troy and wife of King Priam, is mourning her great losses. Her son, Hector, has been brutally killed by the fierce Greek warrior
AchillesIn Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Achilles also has the attributes of being the most handsome of the heroes assembled against Troy....
. Her son,
PolydorusIn Greek mythology, Polydorus referred to several different people.#An Argive, son of Hippomedon. Pausanias lists him as one of the Epigoni, who attacked Thebes in retaliation for the deaths of their fathers, the Seven Against Thebes, who died attempting the same thing.#Polydorus, son of Cadmus...
, has been treacherously murdered by his trusted guardian,
PolymestorIn Greek mythology, Polymestor was a King of Thrace. His wife was Ilione, the eldest daughter of King Priam.Polymestor was also a Greek king of Arcadia....
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
CassandraIn Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy...
, 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
OdysseusOdysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey...
, 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
PolymestorIn Greek mythology, Polymestor was a King of Thrace. His wife was Ilione, the eldest daughter of King Priam.Polymestor was also a Greek king of Arcadia....
. As
HecubaHecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of her children was Hector of Troy...
and the women of
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
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
HecubaHecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of her children was Hector of Troy...
and
AgamemnonIn Greek mythology, Agamemnon / is the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope; the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytemnestra; different mythological versions make him the king either of Mycenae or of Argos...
before leaving the stage.
Impact
Euripides' plays challenged the state-sponsored religious and
political systemA political system is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems. It is different from them, and can be generally defined on a spectrum from left, e.g. communism, to the right, e.g. fascism...
. 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.
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
-Life:He was educated at Princeton University, and Oxford University, and was awarded ten honorary degrees.Arrowsmith translated Petronius’s Satyricon and Aristophanes’ plays The Birds and The Clouds , as well as Euripides’ Alcestis, Cyclops, Heracles, Orestes, Hecuba, and The Bacchae, among...
, 1958 - verse
- Philip Vellacott, 1963 - verse
- Timberlake Wertenbaker
-Biography:Wertenbaker grew up in the Basque Country of France near Saint-Jean-de-Luz. She attended schools in Europe and the US before settling permanently in London. Having been the Royal Court Theatre's writer-in-residence in 1985, she had her most successful play, Our Country's Good, performed...
, 1995 - verse
- Frank McGuinness
Frank McGuinness is an award-winning Irish playwright, translator and poet.-Biography:McGuinness was born in Buncrana, a town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland...
, 2004 - verse
- George Theodoridis, 2007 - full text prose: http://bacchicstage.com/