Explore "Heracles" by Euripides on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
This tragedy was first performed in c. 416 BC at the City Dionysia festival and is the second of two surviving tragedies by Euripides where the family of Heracles are suppliants, the first being Heracleidae (Heracles' Children). The play narrates how Heracles is tragically driven insane, murdering his wife and children in a frenzy.
As the play opens, Amphitryon outlines the ancestral history of Heracles' and Lycus' families. Lycus is ruling Thebes unlawfully and is about to kill Amphitryon, and Heracles' wife Megara and their children. Heracles is unable to help his family, as he is in Hades engaged in the last of his twelve labours, bringing back the monster Cerberus that guards the gates. The family has taken refuge at the altar of Zeus, where they are forbidden to enter their palace and are watched closely, preventing any escape.