The Trojan Women by Euripides — Read

One of Euripides' most widely performed plays today, The Trojan Women was initially performed in 415 BC during the Peloponnesian War and 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 that year. It was the third tragedy of a trilogy of dealing with the Trojan War, with the first play, Alexandros, concerning the recognition of the Trojan prince Paris, who had been abandoned in infancy by his parents and rediscovered in adulthood. The second tragedy, Palamedes, dealt with the Greeks' mistreatment of Palamedes. The trilogy was presented at the Dionysia along with the comedic satyr play Sisyphos. Euripides won second prize at the City Dionysia for his effort, losing to the obscure tragedian Xenocles, whose works are now largely lost, surviving only in small fragments.

The tragedy follows the fates of the women of Troy after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed and as their remaining families are about to be taken away as slaves. The drama is celebrated for its in depth exploration of grief, while the Greeks continue to add to the sufferings of the Trojan women, as their young children are brutally murdered, their homes burnt to the ground and they are parcelled off as concubines to the victorious Greek commanders. One of the principal sufferers is Queen Hecuba, who the Greek herald Talthybius arrives to tell that she and her children will be taken away with the Greek general Odysseus, while Cassandra, her daughter, is destined to become the conquering general Agamemnon's concubine.