The Complete Greek Tragedies, Volume 3: Euripides [Hardcover]

Euripides (Author), David Grene (Editor), Richmond Lattimore (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1992 | Series: Complete Greek Tragedies

The Grene and Lattimore edition of the Greek tragedies has been among the most widely acclaimed and successful publications of the University of Chicago Press. On the occasion of the Centennial of the University of Chicago and its Press, we take pleasure in reissuing this complete work in a handsome four-volume slipcased edition as well as in redesigned versions of the familiar paperbacks.

For the Centennial Edition two of the original translations have been replaced. In the original publication David Grene translated only one of the three Theban plays, Oedipus the King. Now he has added his own translations of the remaining two, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, thus bringing a new unity of tone and style to this group. Grene has also revised his earlier translation of Prometheus Bound and rendered some of the former prose sections in verse. These new translations replace the originals included in the paperback volumes Sophocles I (which contains all three Theban plays), Aeschylus II, Greek Tragedies, Volume I, and Greek Tragedies, Volume III, all of which are now being published in second editions.

All other volumes contain the translations of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides for the most part from the original versions first published in the 1940s and 1950s. These translations have been the choice of generations of teachers and students, selling in the past forty years over three million copies.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Grene (1913–2002) taught classics for many years at the University of Chicago. He was a founding member of the Committee on Social Thought and coedited the University of Chicago Press’s prestigious series The Complete Greek Tragedies.

Richmond Lattimore (1906–1984) was a poet, translator, and longtime professor of Greek at Bryn Mawr College.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226307662
• ISBN-13: 978-0226307664
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 1.9 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,591,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A dazzling diversity on the same topic March 15, 2012

By C. Ackerman

Format:Hardcover

The third volume of the University of Chicago's The Complete Greek Tragedies gives us slightly more than half of Euripides' extant plays (with the remaining in the fourth and final volume). After the haunting, almost proto-plays of Aeschylus and the almost formally perfect plays of Sophocles, the switch to Euripides is a shock, and if these plays are any indication, Euripides enjoyed shocking. These plays, many of which are in effect a theme and variations on the Trojan War, show a favoritism toward the obscure versions of the stories (e.g., in which Helen went to Egypt while a doppelganger-like phantasm went to Troy in her stead) and toward simply making things up (you'll have to see for yourself). Indeed, the editors are so certain that one play will surprise that they put the introduction after the play to avoid ruining any of the reading pleasure with spoilers.

That we have significantly more plays of Euripides than from Aeschylus or Sophocles is both a strength and weakness. On one hand, by the end of this volume, we start to see some irritating ticks, like misogynistic speeches (which get repetitive), long, dull choral speeches (to give actors time to change masks?), murdered sons and daughters (painful reading if you have a kid yourself), and deus ex machina (which always seem like a cop out). On the other hand, Euripides' sheer playfulness with what we consider `Greek mythology' is a lot of fun, especially after having seen how Aeschylus and Sophocles previously handled the same material. Even on his own, Euripides seems capable to twisting these stories left and right. Menelaus (Helen's husband) in one play is an absolute villain and in another, a romantic hero with whom it's easy to cheer for. (Several of the stories are definitely not tragic in any modern sense, and one of them has a great line that is still funny almost 2,500 years later, which is awe inspiring.)

As I said with the second volume, this series is good in pulling everything together but weak on providing supporting material. The introductions, except insofar as they spell out what exactly the original audience would have already known about the stories, are generally useless, and the textual support is in another book apparently. And the plays do need explanation. I've been reading a lot of Greek works recently, so I know what is meant by the Euxine Sea and who `Pallas' is, but if I were to reread this five years from now, I probably wouldn't.

Furthermore, not all the translators have the same craft. There are some weird lines occasionally, like `For all your blather I don't care a hoot.' That feels jarring anachronistic.

But in short, these plays are not easy reads but they are rewarding. Whether you read this series probably depends on how much you enjoyed Greek myth when you were first exposed to it. If you were indifferent, then you would likely find these plays more work than they're work. If you fell in love with the stories, then you have to read this series before you die.

This review is based on the 1955 edition.