Euripides, Volume IV. Trojan Women. Iphigenia among the Taurians. Ion (Loeb Classical Library No. 10) [Hardcover]

Euripides (Author), David Kovacs (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0674995740 | ISBN-13: 978-0674995741

One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides (ca. 485-406 BCE) has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here, in the third volume of a new edition that is receiving much praise, is the text and translation of three of his plays.

Trojan Women, a play about the causes and consequences of war, develops the theme of the tragic unpredictability of life. Iphigenia among the Taurians and Ion exhibit tragic themes and situations (the murder of close relatives). Each ends happily with a joyful reunion.

As in the first three volumes of this edition, David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text and an admired new translation that, in the words of Greece and Rome, is "close to the Greek and reads fluently and well;" his introduction to each play and explanatory notes offer readers judicious guidance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Over the past decades, Kovacs has published widely on Euripides and can undoubtedly be called one of the specialists in the field of Euripidean manuscripts today. He shows his expertise by a masterly handling of the introductions as well as of the editorial work...All in all, it must be concluded that Kovacs both in his capacity as editor and translator not only meets, but surpasses the expectations put on him. I can only agree with Kevin Lee, who concluded in his review on the two first volumes by saying: 'I look forward to seeing the next stages of Kovacs' important task.'"
--Elke Steinmeyer (Scolia Reviews )

Kovacs's translations are in fairly literal...and yet very readable English prose. Both experts and generalists will benefit from the work of this experienced Euripidean scholar.
--John E. Thorburn (Religious Studies Review )

Kovac's translation is a tour de force...In general, the notes accompanying the translation, explaining such things as geographical and mythological names, are judiciously chosen, concise, and crystal clear...I have nothing but praise for [Kovac's] scholarship, and the lucidity of his writing, both as translator and commentator. [This volume] should be [the] standard translation for many years to come.
--John Davidson (Scholia Reviews )

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek (translation)
Original Language: Greek

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Loeb Classical Library (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674995740
• ISBN-13: 978-0674995741
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Product Images, May 28, 2010

By 

Anonymous - See all my reviews

This review is from: Euripides, Volume IV. Trojan Women. Iphigenia among the Taurians. Ion (Loeb Classical Library No. 10) (Hardcover)

I purchased 3 copies of this volume of Euripides as gift presentation books for 3 of my graduating acting students, who had all performed major roles in our own production of THE TROJAN WOMEN earlier this year. I was EXTREMELY annoyed to find, upon receiving the books, that a large, non-removable adhesive paper label (reading "NEW TRANSLATION") had been plastered across the paper cover of each book. Each label was dirty, smeared and misaligned--one was half torn off the cover; all were impossible to remove with damaging the book cover. An extremely disappointing situation--these books are now completely inappropriate to give as graduation awards.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read With A Grain of Salt, January 8, 2007

By 

L. Burke (Hinsdale, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Euripides, Volume IV. Trojan Women. Iphigenia among the Taurians. Ion (Loeb Classical Library No. 10) (Hardcover)

Solid, reliable parallel text versions of three plays by Euripides. The translator presents a highly questionable view of The Trojan Women in his Introduction to the play. He claims the drama has no connection with "current events" in the Peloponnesian War, while it's next to incredible that a Greek play has no political subtext. Readers should seek out alternative readings of The Trojan Women.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three later plays by Euripides provided in English and Greek, April 23, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Euripides, Volume IV. Trojan Women. Iphigenia among the Taurians. Ion (Loeb Classical Library No. 10) (Hardcover)

This volume from the Loeb Classical Libary offers up parallel English translations and original Greek texts for three classic Greek tragedies by Euripides: "Trojan Women," "Iphigenia Among the Taurians," and "Ion."

As preparations were made for the ruinous expedition against Syracuse, Euripides wrote "The Trojan Women," as a plea for peace. In this play the Greeks do more than enslave women: they have already slain a young girl as a sacrifice to the ghost of Achilles and they take Astyanax, the son of Hector, out of the arms of his mother so that he can be thrown from the walls of Troy. Even the herald of the Greeks, Talthybius, cannot stomach the policies of his people, but is powerless to do anything other than offer hollow words of sympathy. The play also has a strong literary consideration in that the four Trojan Women--Hecuba, Queen of Troy; Cassandra, daughter of Hecuba and Priestess of Apollo; Andromache, widow of Hector; and Helen--all appear in the final chapter of Homer's epic poem the "Iliad," mourning over the corpse of Hector. Of all the Achean leaders we hear about in Homer, only Menelaus, husband of Helen, appears. He appears, ready to slay Helen for having abandoned him to run off to Troy with Paris, but we see his anger melt before her beauty and soothing tones. "The Trojan Women" also reminds us that while we think of Helen as "the face that launched a thousand ships," she was a despised figure amongst the ancient Greeks and there is no satisfaction in her saving her life. The idea that all of these men died just so that she could be returned to the side of her husband is an utter mockery of the dead.

Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease the goddess Artemis, but at the last minute the sacrifice was replaced with a stage. In "Iphigenia Among the Taurians" the dramatist explains the young girl was taken to a temple of Artemis in Tauris. The play takes place many years later as Iphigenia's brother Orestes, trying to appease the Furies for his crime of matricide, is ordered by the god Apollo to bring the statue of Artemis from Tauris to Athens, who have a tradition of sacrificing strangers. This play is really more of a tragicomedy than a traditional Greek tragedy consisting of a key scene of recognition ("anagnorisis") and a clever escape by the main characters. The recognition scene between Orestes and Iphigenia is well done, and atypical since there is joy in the "anagnorisis" rather than pain or death. "Iphigenia Among the Taurians" takes place after the Orestia trilogy by Aeschylus and one of the more interesting elements of this play is the idea that Orestes had been hallucinating when he was seeing the Furies pursuing him. This is a rather rational explanation for his behavior following the murder of Clytemnestra and Aegithus. The key thing here is that you simply have to understand the entire background of the characters, both in terms of "Iphigenia at Aulis" and "The Orestia," to really understand this play.

In "Ion" Apollo, the god of truth, brutally rapes a helpless young girl, Creusa, and then abandons her. Creusa has a son, whom she abandons in a cave; when she goes back to find the child, he is gone. Years later she marries Xuthus, a solider of fortune who becomes king of Athens. At the start of the play Xuthus and Creusa are childless and go to Delphi for aid. There they are told that Ion, a young temple servant who has been raised from infancy, is the son of Xuthus. Creusa, outraged that Apollo let their own son die but preserved the life of a child begotten by Xuthus on some Delphian woman, tries to have Ion killed. Of course, in reality, Ion is her own child, abandoned in that cave. Condemned to death by the Delphians, Creusa escapes Ion's vengeance by taking refuge at Apollo's altar. There the priestess presents the tokens that allow Creusa to recognize Ion as her own son. Telling him the truth about his father, Ion tries to enter the temple to demand of Apollo the truth.

The common denominator for these plays is that they represent the last period of the career of Euripides, when his lyrics became much more emotional, which become quite powerful in plays like "Trojan Women" and "The Bacchae." The other key theme is the cynicism of Euripides towards the gods in general, and Apollo in particular; in addition to apparently wanting Orestes to die in Taurus, the God of Truth lies about being the father of Ion.