Medea and Other Plays

Euripides, along was Sophocles and Aeschylus, is largely responsible for the rise of Greek tragedy. It was in the 5th Century BC, during the height of Greece's cultural bloom, that Euripides lived and worked. Of his roughly ninety-two plays, only seventeen tragedies survive. Both ridiculed and lauded during his life, Euripides now stands as an innovator of the Greek drama. Collected here are four of Euripides' tragedies: "Alcestis", "Medea", "The Heracleidae", and "Hippolytus". "Alcestis" follows Ardemus' attempt to rescue his beloved wife Prince Alcestis in Hades. "Medea" tells the horrific tale of a woman who seeks revenge on her husband by killing her children. "The Heracleidae" is a tragedy of justice and virtue involving the children of the great Heracles. Lastly, "Hippolytus" tells of Hippolytus, son of Theseus, and his tragic fall at the hands of Phaedra. For the lover of drama and the ancient world, this collection is not to be missed—Euripides is seen here in all of his valor and brilliance.