Euripides V: Bacchae, Iphigenia in Aulis, The Cyclops, Rhesus (The Complete Greek Tragedies)

This edition of the presented four plays sets the gold standard for Euripedes translations. Personally, I consider Iphigenia in Aulis and Bacchae are the gems in this volume, though Rhesus and the Cyclops are included (and worthwhile for scholarly reasons). Bacchae is a steadily escalating pressure-cooker of a play, from its opening to its maddening climax (the rewards of impiety in the classical world are often brutal, see Capaneus, but denying a god's divinity to their face is courting disaster). Iphigenia in Aulis is a beautiful, yet sadly altered, story of the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter, required to get the Black Ships underway to their army's destiny at Troy. This sacrifice sets Clytemnestra's hatred for her husband boiling, leading to the events of the Oresteia when he returns. It leads to Achilles' disdain for the Atreides, shown further in the Iliad. It shows Menelaus and Agamemnon at loggerheads, and how tenuous Agamemnon's grip over the army is and will remain. Unfortunately, we do not have the entirety of Euripedes' plays, what we do have is a good sampling of some of the best. This is not the first volume I would purchase of Euripedes (as Medea is my favorite of his), this has two of his best and shows his mastery of dramatic tension.

I'm now retired (though not old enough to have met the playwright!) and have some more time for "remedial humanities." After taking a course in ancient Greek theater, I wanted to read these. It's a very good, readable translation that conveys the spirit of the original. If you're a Euripides fan (and I'm talking to both of you!), you'll enjoy it.

If you're ordering this book for a class just make sure your professor is using the same copy & not an older one because the page numbers change, even the translation is slightly different. For example one instance the older copy said ghosts & this copy used phantoms instead This is something my professor discovered in class. Thankfully his copy is the only older one, but it does cause confusion from time to time so just make sure you take that into account when ordering it or making your students purchase this. Other than that, its a great copy/translation of these works. The introduction before each piece is very informative & insightful. It definitely helped other students less familiar with ancient literature get a better grasping of what to look out for.

The last Euripides book in this great series.

Purchased this book for my theater class and this version of translation was awesome and easy to read. Like the fact that line numbers are listed so it becomes easy to follow up. I also like the huge twist in the plot of Bacchae - it is a must read Greek tragedy and I would love to see it performed on stage.

These plays , referring to the entire collection, are almost contemporary in terms of topics and the translations make them an easy read. I can understand why he was so well received in his time.

This whole collection is great, glad I purchased them all. I didn’t buy the first one through Amazon though as I got it through Online Great Books.

Another fine Lattimore translation of Euripides. This is the best edition of these books to add to your knowledge, your reference library, or both.

Really good translation and introduction. Plus additional text added where original lost or obscure. The notes, however, were very sketchy and only dealt with the latter part, so it assumed a wider knowledge of mythology

Entire series is good for new, English translations of the tragedies. They are easy to read and good for a non-Greek study of the plays. Notes in series are rather pathetic, though and would really benefit from a review and expansion rather than having so many simply say 'Lines missing/corrupted/uncertain.' But, in an English translation I guess notes on Greek text are rather pointless. Still, notes could be expanded to include information on other, more important topics such as imagery and its meaning in the context of Classical Greek society.

These translations published by the U of Chicago Press are a great starting point for anyone interested in Greek tragedy

Good collection of stories, but is it really worth the kindle price? Nope