Euripides Trojan Women Flashcards
Context of Trojan Women
It was composed in 415 BCE, the fifth century, by Euripides.
It was composed in democratic Athens, for an Athenian festival
Composed during the Peloponnesian War.
Composed in and for imperial powers
Summary of Trojan Women
Begins with two deities, Poseidon and Athena, celebrating the destruction of Troy. Cassandra (who insists her future is good, even though her mom, Hecuba, sees it as terrible) due to her becoming the slave of Agamemnon. Andromache tells Hecuba about the slaughter/ sacrifice of Polyxena on the tomb of Achilles but insists that her situation is even worse than Polyxena’s (because she’s alive facing slavery to Achilles’ brutal son Neoptolemos).
Talthybius, the messenger, tells Andromache that the Greeks, led by Odysseus, have decided to kill little Astyanax. Menelaus comes to collect Helen and promises to kill her eventually (but we know he won’t). Hecuba and Helen have a legalistic debate (Euripides models this kind of scene on cases in law courts and debates in the democratic Assembly) about whether it’s all Helen’s fault.
Helen says it wasn’t her fault for mentioning the goddess for the Judgement of Paris, and she tried to escape but couldn’t. Hecuba argues that it is Helen’s fault and she fell in love with Paris due to his looks and that the goddess has nothing to do with it. Hecuba mentions that nobody saw her tried to escape and she seem content in Troy.
Talthybius brings in the body of little Astyanax, on his dead daddy’s shield, for Grandma Hecuba to care for in death - the only care the baby can get now. The women lament and prepare to be led away into slavery, to different parts of the Greek world by their new enslavers.
Characters of Trojan Women
Hecuba
Talthybios
Cassandra
Andromache
Helen
Who is Hecuba?
Queen of Troy
Who is Talthybios?
The Greek messenger who keeps bringing Hecuba yet more bad news
Who is Cassandra?
Hecuba’s prophetic doomed daughter
Who is Andromache?
Hecuba’s beloved daughter in law, widow of Hector
Who is Helen?
Hecuba’s hated daughter in law, that causes all this mess of the Iliad
What is Athenian tragedy?
A verse drama with music and dancing by the Chorus in the orchestra
Performed entirely by male actors, with 3 actors playing all the parts.
The actors were masked and open air
Performed in Tetralogies (3 tragedies)
Performed at a religious/civic festival in honor of Dionysos
Who is Dionysos?
Son of Zeus by a mortal Theban women, Semele
God of wine, theater, transformation
What does the phrase “Nothing to do with Dionysos” mean?
This means “totally irrelevant” because Athenian tragedies- always performed in the festival to Dionysos - did not usually feature Dionysos himself, or have anything directly to do with this deity
