Strap in for a murderously good time

I did not expect this rather murderous collection of Greek plays by Euripides to be relatable. Maybe it was the translation, but these four plays made easy and interesting reading.

Summary

• Medea: Jason (of golden fleece fame) leaves his wife and children to marry a princess. Medea, driven mad with rage and sadness plots a swift and bloody revenge. This play looks at balance between the emotions and the rational mind, as well as pondering the inevitable outcome of revenge.
• Hecabe: Hecabe is the wife of the King of Troy, and the story starts with her and her two remaining children in captivity on the shores of their ruined home. But sorrow is not yet over for Hecabe, who will face further loss before the play is over. Hecabe looks at the result of revenge, and the dark places grief can take us.
• Electra: This is another play that relates indirectly to the Trojan War. Electra is the daughter of Agamemnon, who was slaughtered by his wife (Electra’s mother) and her lover on his return from the war. Electra is nurturing revenge, while waiting for word of her brother, who was sent away in order to save his life. Will he return? If he does, will Electra find the strength to carry out her doubly dark plan of revenge? And what will be the result if she succeeds?
• Heracles: The King of Thebes, father of Heracles and his daughter-in-law (wife of the same) are captured by a sneaky traitor. Heracles (the original Greek of Hercules) is off in the nether world, potentially dead. Will he return to save his father, wife and children before they are killed? In this play, we look at the strange vagaries of the gods and what we do when life throws us a curveball.

Pessimistic, murderous and yet, enjoyable

All of these plays focus on the outcome of revenge. Euripides highlights that revenge always ends in further bloodshed and sorrow, regardless of how justified it might seem. Given this theme, the plays contain murder, matricide, infanticide and accidental death. Not, one might say, the most light-hearted of dramatic content.

And yet, I found them quite enjoyable. The plays flowed easily, with realistic dialogue and interesting characters. They aren’t light reading, but they are certainly interesting. I would like to see them acted, to get their full effect.

These plays come from a pagan world, untouched by the mercy of Christianity. It’s a fascinating look into a world that had not heard the Word that has since changed how we (at least in the Western world) approach revenge, death, loss and the meaning of life.

This takes me to 14 books out of the 23 in 2023 challenge. Bit of a cheat, you say, given they’re short plays all in one book? It’s my challenge so I make the rules. 😉