Besides, you are a born woman:feeble when it comes to the sublime,marvelously inventive over crime.Oh Medea, you emerge as the force in this tumultuous collection and such a distinction is not lost on the gore-spattered pages where it take an epic hero to return a lost love from the dead to a shitbag husband (Alcestis) and then later a hallucination to inspire an incestual dismemberment (Bacchae). My reading of Medea is anchored by her being foreign-born, a stranger whose displacement is opened

~2500 years later, still hard to top the thrill of women inflicting grotesque violence on their children. Wonderful stuff. Sparse, just a few characters and a chorus speaking on stage. Richly specific, with that distinctive rhythm of Greek tragedy keeping you rooted in that sense of place. And the imagery is just so vivid and universal. “The Bacchae” is a bit less accessible at a first pass. The comeuppance for an arrogant man’s hubris requires no added explanation, but the presentation of Bacch...

Alcestis was sweeter than I expected... and how is it that everyone ended up happy? A very misleading play to start the collection with but I still enjoyed it. 3.5 stars.Medea! Jesus Christ. A perfect story of vengeance and the consequences of being an asshole with a crazy wife. Absolutely hated when she k***** her own k*** but you know what? She had the last laugh. I also know this is only a variation of the myth and she doesn't always do... that. 4.5 starsFinally, The Bacchae. Pentheus did not...

Exactly what it says on the tin. There is no additional commentary in this edition, it is just the three plays listed above. Spoilers aheadAlcestis- A man trades his wife for eternal life and then realizes that that life without his wife is unbearable. Hercules takes a break from his labors to punch death in the face- this is the best part of the play and happens off screen.Medea- probably Euripides most famous play. I was familiar with the plot before picking this up and im not all that familia...

Fucking beautiful actually 4.2 because I’m not always fucking with this translation but Euripides still pulled through as usual. The Bacchae is genuinely one of the most terrifying and haunting and incredible pieces of art that I think exists. All three are must reads tho

Alcestis - 3 starsMedea- 5 starsThe Bacchae- 3 stars

Alcestis 3.5Medea 5The Bacchae 5

The BacchaeDionysus, the god of wine, prophecy, religious ecstasy, and fertility return to his birthplace in Thebes in order to clear his mother's name and to punish the insolent city-state for refusing to allow people to worship him. The background to his return is presented in the prologue, in which Dionysus tells the story of his mother, Semele, once a princess in the royal Theban house of Cadmus. She had an affair with Zeus, the king of the gods, and became pregnant. As revenge, Zeus's jealo...

Having read The Bacchae for a class and enjoyed it greatly, I took the time to read the other two stories and was not dissapointed in the least! Euripides presents us with three very fascinating tales, all tragic in their own ways. I can't help but question the theory that frames tragedy as Greeklike "tragedy of necessity" ("It is is shame it had to happen, but it in fact had to happen this way") vs. the Christian "tragedy of opportunity" ("It is a shame it had to happen, because it truly could

A review from my old blog...This is my first time reading any of the classic Greek plays. I have to say that I was not disappointed. I have read the Iliad and the Odyssey before and appreciated the great writing evident within but the gore really turned me off.The plays by Euripides are free from gore but not from classical mythology and the great writing. The pathos of the husband in the first play (I forget the names) losing his wife yet still remembering to show hospitality is such a great st...

Of all the collections of Greek plays I've read so far, this one was probably my least favorite. I really liked Alcestis, Medea was alright, and I disliked The Bacchae. These felt a lot darker than Sophocles or Aeschylus - the vivid imagery and gore involved probably attributed to that. Medea and Agave both go on something of a murderous rampage and it is just horrific. I think it was difficult to be sympathetic to these characters, too, due to the emotionless way they kill (of course, that chan...

Though I'd read "Medea" and "Bacchae" before, this was my first leap into Euripides' lesser-known "Alcestis." Loved all three! Compared to his competitors (Sophocles and, to a lesser extent, the aged--scratch that, DEAD--Aeschuylus), Euripedes seems much more... casual. Rather than leaning his weight on the Choruses' exhaustive declamations (*ahem* Aeschulyus) or crafting interrogative "stagey" dialogue among his characters to share the plot, the playwright seems to enjoy the process of allowing...

I read The Bacchae years ago, when I was in college. I always liked Euripides' progressive attitude towards women. When so many contemporaries wrote disdaining things about women, he took a much more equal view. I enjoyed reading these.Despite many writers' (or translators') instances on only hearing plays read out loud, the existence of subvocalisation (hearing the words you read in your mind in your own voice) makes that less necessary.

Only having read The Bachae, I don't know if I would read the other two. Of course, Euripides is one of the more wild and crazy mythological writers, but I found some of the reading to be more of a chore than an entertaining experience. Perhaps it is the "tragedy" that I was not a fan of; when the main characters wind up exiled and turned to serpents or sacrificed at the hands of their mother for a bitter god who couldn't leave any disbelievers alone (even if they *were* his own family).

My comments address THE BACCHAE.I have no idea what this play means for I do not understand the cult of Dionysus or the unbridled id released in this story. Even more than the other Greek plays I have read, this one needs a guide but I have found no one who seems to truly understand it. I suppose I enjoyed the story two stars worth, but the third is awarded on the basis of the potential pleasure of coming to understand this story better.

Three plays of Euripides is a collection of three plays, Alcestis, Madea, The Bacchae. In Alcestis the main message is that we are in debt to death, in Madea Medea kills two people and finally in Bacchae it is the story of Dionysus. If you want to read more about Dionysus read The Birth Of Tragedy.

I enjoyed reading these, I wondered if I'd be able to comprehend them but I believe I did well. The ending on Alcestis seemed abrupt but then I spose there really wasn't much to wrap up. I think it would have been pretty cool to have seen these performances in their day. The plays were Alcestis, Medea and The Bacchae

Medea is my favorite Euripides play. I included it in my thesis, and I teach it in my Introduction to Humanities class. Many people misunderstand Medea. I think it's an excellent example of feminism.

Only read Bachae

Medea will absolultely make the hair on your arms stand up. She is one powerful woman who does hideous things when she is offended. It is the worst case scenario of a woman scorned.

read for western civ lit. i love this era

SO dramatic. as a result of that, engaging. these are like greek soap operas.

I had to read Medea for Western Humanities and she is CRAZY!

Greek Tragedies: Volume III

Oh, the perfidy and hypocrisy of Jason and King Creon! This is an amazingly good translation.

Only read Medea and The Bacchae but I couldn't find the Paul Roche translations on Goodreads by themselves.