Rhesos

by Euripides, Richard Emil Braun (Translator)

The story of a futile quest for knowledge, this ancient anti-war drama is one of the neglected plays within the corpus of Greek tragedy. Euripides' shortest tragic work, Rhesos is unique in lacking a prologue, provoking some scholars to the conclusion that the beginning of the play has been lost.
In this exciting translation, Rhesos is no longer treated as a derivative Euripidean work, but rather as the tightly-knit tragedy of knowledge it really is. A drama in which profound problems of fate and free will come alive, Rhesos is also an exploration of the perversion of values that come as the result of war. Charged with a striking immediacy, this play is contemporary in the questions it raises, and eternal in its quest for truth.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Drama, Mythology, Fiction, Theatre, Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 432

About the author

Euripides (Greek: Ευριπίδης) (ca. 480 BC–406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the Suda says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (Rhesus is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined—he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.

Reviews

[Ali Ahmadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

برخلاف همه‌ی تراژدی‌های دیگر یونانی، رسوس تنها موردی‌ست که هنوز اتفاق نظری بر سر نویسنده‌اش وجود ندارد. عده‌ای می‌گویند که اوریپیدس آن را در جوانی نوشته و بعدتر پسرش ویرایشش کرده و احتمالن دوباره روی صحنه برده. دیگران بر این باورند که اصل نمایش مربوط است به درام‌پردازی ناشناس که یکی دو قرن قرن بعد از اوریپیدس زندگی می‌کرده، اما ارادتی فراوان به سبک نوشتاری او داشته. به هر حال کل دعوا بیشتر از همین چند خط برای ما اهمیتی ندارد.

تراژدی در کمین است
رسوس که بود؟ پادشاهی افسانه‌ای از تراکیه (خاکی که امروزه بین ترکیه، یونان و بلغارستان مشترک است)،‌ که پدرش رودخانه بود و مادرش فرشته‌ی الهام. رفیق ترواییان و هکتور، که البته ده سال طول کشید تا دعوتشان را لبیک بگوید. رسوس شخصیتی حاشیه‌ای در ایلیاد است. وجود دارد، تنها برای اینکه قبل از ادای جمله‌ای، و در خواب، کشته شود و مرگش برگ برنده‌ی دیگری باشند بر کارنامه‌ی زرین اولیس حیله‌گر. اوریپیدس مثل همیشه مترصد فرصت‌های این چنینی و شخصیت‌های فرعی‌ست. در این تراژدی رسوس فرصت حرف زدن دارد و چه حرف‌هایی هم می‌زند. ادعا می‌کنه که اگر یک روز به او فرصت بدهند آشیل و آژاکس را به دنیای زیرین می‌فرستد. ادعایی که البته یک خدا —آتنا— هم آن را تایید می‌کند. همین می‌شود دلیل حمله‌ی شبانه‌ی اولیس و دیومدس به خیمه‌های تراکیه‌ای‌ها. مرگ رسوس از یک اتفاق کم‌اهمیت در ایلیاد تبدیل می‌شود به یک تراژدی در این نمایشنامه، البته یک تراژدی معمولی: قهرمانی که ادعای بزرگی دارد، خدایی که نمی‌خواهد او به هدفش برسد، و در نهایت سوگواری دوستان و اعضای خانواده بر جوان‌مرگ شدن او. فرمولی که در آن خبری از کاتارسیس و بازی‌های باخت‌باخت نیست، اما به هر حال جواب می‌دهد.

ستاره‌های گودریدز، فانوسکای خاموش
چند خطی در میانه‌ی کار هست که در عین بی‌ربطی به پیرنگ، بسیار به‌جاست و نشانی از ذوق مرغوب نویسنده. در سپیده‌دمی، نگهبان تروایی، دو همکار خوابیده‌اش را بیدار می‌کند. سوال این است که پاسِ بعدی با چه کسی‌ست، اما صحبت بی‌دلیل می‌کشد به بلبلی که شروع کرده به آواز خواندن، چوپانی که گوسفنداش را بیرون آورده و نی می‌زند، و ستاره‌هایی که در خوشه‌ی پروین می‌درخشند. یک فراز هومری و غیردراماتیک که احتمالن خواندنش بیشتر از دیدنش روی صحنه لذت‌بخش است و در تضاد شدید با قبل و بعد قرار دارد. (در ترجمه هم کل نمایشنامه به سه صحنه تقسیم شده و این بخش کوتاه صحنه‌ی دوم نام گرفته. اما در حقیقت این تراژدی هم مثل همه‌ی تراژدی‌های دیگر یونانی در یک صحنه‌ اجرا می‌شده و تقسیمات این چنینی بعدتر به اثر وارد شده‌اند.) در حقیقت میخواستم به کتاب دو ستاره بدهم اما دیدم بهتر است یکی از ستاره‌های بالای سر نگهبان‌ها را قرض بگیرم برای اینجا‌‌.

خیرش به خودش نرسید، اما به ما چرا
در اواخر قرن هجدهم میلادی، ژان باپتیست اودبِر، طبیعی‌دان فرانسوی، بی‌دلیل خاصی نام یک میمون را رسوس گذاشت. این نام باقی ماند و میمون رسوس شد یکی از مهم‌ترین بازیگران ناخواسته‌ی علم در صد سال گذشته. مثلن عامل Rh (که از اسم رسوس گرفته شده) را استفاده کردند برای تقسیم‌بندی گروه‌های خونی (مثبت و منفی). خود میمون هم کمک زیادی به کشف واکسن‌های فلج اطفال و آبله و داروهای ضد ایدز کرد و اولین پستانداری بود که رفت به فضا. به‌نظر می‌رسد که رسوس در هیچ حالت دیگری نمی‌توانست اینقدر برای بشریت مفید باشد.

[Laleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستانِ شبی پر ماجرا،که روایتگر قتل،جنگ،حیله گری و ...است.یک تراژدی آتنی به تمام معنا.
داستان پر از جنب و جوش بود و رخداد ها سریع اتفاق میوفتاد و شاید هم شخصیت ها زیاد ساخت و پرداخت نشده بودند(البته که همه‌ی شخصیت ها فارغ از این نمایشنامه افراد معروفی در ادبیات یونان هستند اما برای کسی که صرفا این نمایشنامه رو بخونه هیچ پیشینه و اطلاعاتی در راستای آشنایی با شخصیت ها وجود نداره.)
اما اخرین سوال: اگر اوریپید نویسنده این متن نیست پس چه کسی این اثر را خلق کرده است؟
شک و شبه در رابطه با اینکه رسوس از اوریپید باشه زیاد وجود داره.

[Ezgi T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okulda öğrendiğim bir şeyi hayatımda kullanabilmek çok güzel bir şey. Humanities dersinde okuduğumuz bütün o metinler olmasaydı tahminen Resos'tan pek bir şey anlamazdım fakat karakterler hakkında az çok bir fikrim olduğundan gayet keyif aldım. Birkaç yerde kafamı karıştıran noktalar olmadı mı, oldu, ya da hiçbir fikrimin olmadığı karakterler yok muydu, vardı. Ama onları da Google amcanın yardımlarıyla tamamladım.

Bir ara da Yakarıcılar'ı okumayı istiyorum, bakalım ne ara zamanım olacak. :')

[Roya · Rating 2 out of 5]

[5]

نمایشنامه‌ی کوتاهی بود که برای درک اتفاقات چندان نیازی به پیش‌زمینه و اطلاعات اولیه نداره.
داستان در یک شب در میان سپاهیان تروایی روایت میشه.
اما آیا سرنوشت رسوس رو خودش به واسطه‌ی غرورش رقم زد یا به دست خدایان رقم خورد؟
آیا اگر آتنه دخالت نمی‌کرد، داستان عوض میشد؟
اصلا آیا "سرنوشت" معنی داره؟

[David Sarkies · Rating 3 out of 5]

If not Euripides, then Who?
6 October 2018

One annoying thing about this play is that when I typed the name into Goodreads I ended up with a whole heap of books on monkeys. The other thing is that this particularly ancient Greek tragedy seems to be rather obscure. I would say that it was written by Euripides but it turns out that there is an awful lot of doubt as to his authorship. In fact it seems as if the only reason it had been lumped with his works is because the original compilers simply assumed that it was one of his. The problem is that there is debate, even now, as to whether he wrote it, though the fact that we have it suggests that there might be some credence because it would have come down to us as a part of the volume of Euripedan plays that managed to escape the destruction of the ancient world.

The play is set during the Trojan War, though if I hadn’t had mentioned that and you guessed then chances are that you would have been right, namely because out of all of the settings of the plays that we have, the Trojan War, and the events surrounding it, seem to be pretty common. Then again, the subject seemed to be pretty popular among the Greeks, and I suspect that that probably had a lot to do with Homer and his writings, though no doubt they would have had access to a lot of other things that we don’t have access to.

So, the play is set during one of the scenes in the Iliad, where Odysseus is going on a scouting mission into the Trojan camp. At the same time Rhesus, the king of Thrace, arrives to assist the Trojans. However, the Trojan’s aren’t all that happy because the Thracians basically took their time to turn up. Well, Rhesus has an excuse of his own, namely that he happened to be fighting his own war with the Scythians, and they couldn’t spare any troops to assist the Trojans. Anyway, Odysseus rocks up, and is about to kill Hector, when one of the pesky gods (Athena) gets in the way and tells him that he can’t kill Hector, but he can go to town on Rhesus, which he does.

That’s a rather interesting event, the fact that the deus-ex-machina happens in the middle of the play as opposed to the end, which is what one would expect in Euripides’ plays. It also turns out that Rhesus is the child of a muse, who is rather upset that her son has been killed, and desires to exact revenge on all those involved. Hmm, it seems that Odysseus has added another divine enemy to the list of divine enemies that seems to be lining up waiting to exact some form of punishment on him.

I can’t say that this was a particularly delightful play, but it is one that I can now add to the collection that I’ve read. Mind you, the only version that I have of it happens to be a part of a collection that was given to me by some lady at church, namely because she didn’t feel that this particular collection would be appropriate to send to Africa to form a part of a school. I’d probably disagree, considering the library of one of the Bible Colleges that I did a couple of subjects at had some very interesting books amongst their collection. Then again, some Christians seem to want to censor any works that don’t line up with their own doctrine – Harry Potter comes to mind, as does a number of other works of literature.

However, the whole Euripidean authorship is something that intrigues me, which is why I suspect it was never included among the Penguin collections that I happen to have. If it was Euripidean, then so be it, but if it wasn’t, it actually adds to our collection of playwrights from the ancient world. The problem is that we don’t know who wrote it, or when it was written. It could quite well have been written during that period of Athenian history when the empire was in decline, and the great playwrights had become a distant memory. Maybe the author wanted it to be attributed to Euripides, just in case it survived, or maybe was using Euripides’ plays as a template to write his own. In fact, it could be the case that the only reason the plays of the great Tragedians survived was because they were actually written down and kept, where as the lesser known playwrights were forgotten, simply because the plays were not transcribed to paper, and like the Doctor Who episodes of old, were thrown out because they needed the space.

[Negin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...شاید خدایی که نگاهبان ماست به ما پیروزی عطا کند.."
یکم برام... "کم و ناقص" بود... به نظرم هنوز شروع نشده تموم شد و این ناامیدکننده است؛ تازه انگار شُک اینجوری جمع و جور شدن داستان کم باشه، تهش تازه اومدن متعلق بودن داستان به اوریپید رو هم زیر سوال بردن! عجب بابا!

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ésta es una tragedia que muy probablemente no pertenezca a Eurípides. Es una obra que no contiene tal vez un gran componente trágico mas bien dramático.
Incluye el pasaje justo de acción por parte de Diómedes y Odiseo, en que se encargan de Dolón y posteriormente del Rey de Tracia Reso, hijo de la musa Trepsícore y el río Estrimón.
Todo esto visto más del lado troyano en el cual desfilan una gran cantidad de personajes como Héctor, Paris, Eneas y el propio Reso. Éste, que acaba de llegar de Tracia explica a un enfadado Héctor la causa de su demora y jura acabar con el mismísimo Aquiles con su poderoso ejército.
Corto, no tan espectacular con poca intensidad trágica pero amena y diversa.

[Mert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puanım 4/5 (%73/100)

Ey çocuk doğuranlar, bahtsızlar, ölümlülerin acıları! Her kim sizi kötülük olmadan düşünüyor, çocuksuz bir yaşam sürdürsün, doğurduğu çocukları gömmesin diye.

Resos Homeros'un İlyada'sına ek olarak yazılmış bir oyun niteliğindedir. Oyuna adını veren Resos'tan çok Hektor daha ön plandadır. Tek oturuşta bitirebileceğiniz oldukça kısa bir kitap. İçinde çok fazla olay olmasa da Truva Savaşı ve Antik Yunanistan'a ilgi duyanların okuması gereken bir kitap. Benim için Euripides koleksiyonumda güzel bir parçadır Resos. Euripides benim için en iyi oyun yazarlarından. Dili, tonu, işlediği temalar, karakterler ve onların harika gerçekçi özellikleri gibi birçok özellikten dolayı eserlerinden oldukça zevk alıyorum. Buna rağmen Resos diğer kitaplarına göre daha az sevdiğim bir kitap oldu. Okumanız gereken fakat öncelik vermeniz gereken bir kitap değil. Medea veya Bakkhalar gibi daha ünlü kitaplarıyla başlayabilirsiniz.

Ben öldüreyim, sen de atları kaçırırsın.
Çünkü kurnazlıkta ustasın, akıllıca düşünüyorsun.
İnsanın en fazla yararlı olduğu işi yapması gerekir.

Truva Savaşı sırasında Hektor dinlenirken Koro tarafından uyandırılır. Yunan kamplarında büyük bir ateş yanmaktadır. Hektor da aceleyle oraya saldırmak ister fakat Aineias tarafından durdurulur. Bunun yerine bir casus gönderip neler olduğunu öğrenmenin daha akıllıca olacağını söyler. Dolon adlı bir savaşçı gönüllü olur ve kurt kılığında kampa casusluk için gider. Bu sırada uzun yıllar sonra Trak kralı Resos yardıma gelir. Hektor Resos'un geç gelmesine her ne kadar sinirlense de onun ve ordusunun gücünü bildiği için onu iyi karşılar. Troyalıların kampına doğru giderken Dolon ile karşılan Oddyseus ve Diomedes onu öldürür. Amaçları Hektor'u öldürmektir fakat onu bir türlü bulamazlar. O sırada Athena kendini gösterir ve Hektor'un kaderinin onların elinde olmadığını söyleyip onları Resos'un kampına yönlendirir. Diomedes Resos'u öldürür ve bu sırada Odysseus da atları kaçırır. Böylece Musalardan(İnsanlara ve tanrılara ilham veren 9 tane peri) birinin oğlu olan Trak Kralı Resos'un sonu gelir. Bu olaydan sonra kargaşa çıkar ve Resos'u öldürenin Hektor olduğu ortaya atılır. Fakat kısa bir süre sonra Resos'un annesi olan Musa ortaya çıkar ve gerçeği açıklar. Resos'un zaman içinde bir tanrı olarak dirilip herkesten uzak bir mağarada yaşayacağını da söyler ve oyun burada biter.

[Viktor · Rating 4 out of 5]

*pulls up to Hector, prince of Troy*
* boasts he will win the Trojan War in a single day (this war has been undecided for nine years)*
*gets murdered the very next scene*

Rhesus the goat fr

[Garrett Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today I achieved a goal I've been working on for a long time. I've been trying to more or less read the Great Books of the Western World in chronological order (not all of them though, I couldn't care less about reading some of the ancient science and math books on there), and one of the first things after Homer's epics is to read the entire extant Greek tragedies. This is not as easy as it sounds, since the fact is when you read a few Greek plays you've essentially read them all. To read them all is another matter, and I must briefly pat myself on the back for sticking to it and finishing it. God knows how much I wanted to just move on and read some Plato and Virgil. But I completed all of the surviving plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. I would say out of all of them I liked Sophocles more by far, but I greatly enjoyed certain plays by both Euripides and Aeschylus. I know for a fact that I can now easily pick out Greek tragedy tropes in other works (I'm actually surprised at the extent of the use of comparing a work to a "Greek tragedy" when in fact most of the time there's nothing really similar to the Greek form of tragedy) and know better what more modern authors are referencing when they refer to mythological characters. So I feel this venture has been quite worthwhile, and I'm glad it's over with so I can move onto the next thing. Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Virgil, Ovid, Tacitus, etc. here I come!

[Caterina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homeros'un İlias'ında onuncu kitapta geçen hikayenin tragedya versiyonu...

Ilias'ta Akhilleus'un troya savaşına katılırsa öleceği kehaneti üzerine Resos'un kehaneti... Ilias'ın en enteresan, üzerine tartışılan bölümüne daha derinlik kazandırması anlamında mutlaka okunması gereken bir eser.

Ilias'ı okumadan, Resos'a başlasanız bir şey kaybeder misiniz? Kesinlikle hayır. Ama iki eseri de okursanız kazanımınız daha fazla olur. Bir nefeste biten bir mitin içinde hayatın en basit gerçeği var...

O gerçeğin ne olduğu da okuruna kalsın. :)

[Sam Bolton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Translator: John Davie.

Euripedes put 0% of his pussy into this

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iliad fanfic.

[Mika Auramo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhesos on dramaturgisesti mielenkiintoinen näytelmä, ja lienee epävarmaa, onko se ylipäätään Euripideen kirjoittama, sillä siinä on senlaatuisia piirteitä. Dramaturgia on rakennettu poikkeuksellisesti neljän näyttelijän varaan, eli yhden vaihtuessa myös kohtaukset etenevät.

Mielenkiintoista on myös, että nimihenkilö Rhesos, Traakian myyttinen kuningas, surmataan, ennen kuin hän edes pääsee osallistumaan troijalaisten puolella taisteluun kreikkalaispiirittäjiä vastaan. Protagonisti Hektorin hamartia eli erehdys on se, ettei tämä onnistu pitämään hengissä auttajaansa. Mukana on myös eriskummallinen tapaus, kun Pallas Athene muuntautuu Afroditeksi puijatessaan kreikkalaisten vastustajia.

Näytelmä sijoittuu Troijan kaupungin liepeille sodan päätöksen lähetessä, ja tapahtumien kesto on muutamien yön tuntien pituinen. Kreikkalaisten puolella ovat juonimassa Odysseus ja Diomedes, ja troijalaisia ylimyksiä edustavat Hektor ja Paris sekä muutamia Hektorin sotilaita. Kuoron roolia saavat toimittaa sotilaat ja palvelijat.

Tapahtumat lähtevät liikkeelle, kun Hektorin upseeri Dolon kiskaisee sudentaljan niskaansa ja lähtee vaanimaan kreikkalaisten metkuja suunnatessaan nelinkontin kohti vihollisen leiritulia. Athene pistäytyy näytelmässä pariin otteeseen: ensimmäiseksi hän jymäyttää orjana Rhesosta ja toiseksi Afroditeksi muuttuneena Parista. Lopulta runottaret tulevat estradille surkuttelemaan Rhesoksen ja vakoojan kohtaloa. Siihen näytelmä päättyykin, kun Hektor miehineen ovat käymässä kohti kohtalosta taistoaan aamun valjetessa.

[Apteris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most amusing part of this play is when Dolon haggles with Hector about the reward he will get for the perilous spying mission he's about to go on:

Hector. So be it: an honest rule. Do thou lay down
 What guerdon likes thee best—short of my crown.
Dolon: I care not for thy crowned and care-fraught life.
Hector: Wouldst have a daughter of the King to wife?
Dolon: I seek no mate that might look down on me.
Hector: Good gold is ready, if that tempteth thee.
Dolon: We live at ease and have no care for gold.
Hector: Well, Troy hath other treasures manifold.
Dolon: Pay me not now, but when the Greeks are ta'en.
Hector: The Greeks! . . . Choose any save the Atridae twain.
Dolon: Kill both, an it please thee. I make prayer for none.
Hector: Thou wilt not ask for Ajax, Îleus' son?
Dolon: A princely hand is skilless at the plough.
Hector: 'Tis ransom, then? . . . What prisoner cravest thou?
Dolon: I said before, of gold we have our fill.
Hector: For spoils and armour . . . thou shalt choose at will.
Dolon: Nail them for trophies on some temple wall.
Hector: What seeks the man? What prize more rich than all?

By the end of the play, events are less happy. The most moving part is the scene where the Muse mourns her son. (Names omitted to not spoil, although it will be seen easily enough from context who that is.)

A quick read, but definitely worthwhile.

[Kahveci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oyunun adı Resos olmasına rağmen, odakta Troyalı kahraman Hektor bulunuyor. Resos’un hikayesi Hektor, Odysseus ve diğer karakterlerin gölgesinde gelişiyor; bu da Resos’un karakterinin kendi oyununda bile tam anlamıyla öne çıkamadığına dair ironik bir durum yaratıyor.

***Spoiler içerir***

Hektor, Resos’un Akhilleus gibi en güçlü Yunan kahramanını bile rahatlıkla yok edebileceğini düşünmektedir. Ancak, Yunan tarafının en kurnaz savaşçısı Odysseus, sadık dostu Diomedes ile birlikte gece yarısı Hektor'u öldürmek üzere Troya ordusuna sızar.

Homeros'un İlyada'da sürekli bahsettiği Tanrıça Athene yine Akhaların tarafında oyuna girer onlara Hektor'un ölümünün başkasının elinden geleceğini, ama Resos’un savaşmak üzere Troya'ya geldiğini ve uykudayken onun başını kesebileceklerini söyler.

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the translation by Richard Emil Braun:

Setting up this play as the story of a futile quest for knowledge, as Braun does in his introduction, begs to be reconsidered. Especially for anyone who might want to stage the play.

This is Euripides' take on Book 10 of the Iliad, from the Trojan side. The action centers on an act of ultraviolence that takes place on a night of mutual spying during the Trojan War. The closest thing we get to a protagonist is Hector. Rhesus does not actually show up until very late in the play and then has only one scene. Euripides does us a great favor by letting us meet him at all (he is asleep in Homer's gruesome telling). Another gift of the author are the two wonderfully contrasting personas of Athena and the Muse toward the end of the play

There is much to be learned from Braun's observations, particularly about the reversal of civilized norms, and the implications of Euripides' choices; however, any production that starts the play as a quest for knowledge is doomed to fail.

Hector states his goals very clearly in the first scene, and immediately runs into the obstacles — both strategic and physical — that he must overcome. The combination of his abilities or inabilities set against the grave given circumstances of the war produces a set of choices that lead to reckless destruction.

We may argue about the characters' actions and motivations. We may argue about when Euripides deliberately diverges from Homer and why. These and more arguments may bring us toward some of Braum's concerns about knowledge versus instinct, but, please, do not start there. There is much more to be mined.

I will be looking another translation of this play. This one feels jagged. I cannot tell if it is the play or the translation that I am responding to.

I will say that the arrival of the Muse at the end is a great payoff for anyone who sticks with it.

[Lancelot Schaubert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I feel like if we wrote about the Revolutionary War as often as the Greeks wrote about Troy, we'd probably be just as sad in the end.

I... really don't know where to shelve this because it was probably the most distracted and the longest between breaks of any of them. In this episode of Gyro Westerns, Odysseus becomes a horseswipe. That's pretty much it.

3/5 would not do again.

No seriously, though, I think my favorite line in Coleridge's version is "the rattle of steel harness on the chariot-rails" and bits like "cure thee of thy hurt"

Most importantly, there's an entire passage at the end about wolves riding horses and it's completely feasible that Stephen King got the core idea for Wolves of the Calla from this, just from a bald reading of that pericope.

WORDS LEARNED

louring
gainsay
targe
serried

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED: there's an app called easy define that defines FULL LISTS of new words. Someday this week, I'm going to type in all the words from the backs of all the books from the last two years and post them on my site:

https://www.easydefine.com/

[Alp Turgut · Rating 3 out of 5]

İlyada'da geçen ufak bir olayı bira daha detaylı bir şekilde okuyucuya sunan "The Rhesos / Resos", Kral Resos'un Odysseus ve Diomedes tarafından talihsiz bir şekilde öldürülmesini konu alıyor. Euripides'in diğer tragedyalarına göre daha hafif bir oyun olan "Resos"da asıl anlatılmak istenen ise savaşın, daha doğrusu hayatın adil olmayışı. Basit hikayesi ve zayıf kurgusuyla diğer tragedyaların yanında biraz sönük kalsa da Euripides'in eseri olması sebebiyle kesinlikle okunması gerek orası kesin.

20.08.2014
İstanbul, Türkiye

Alp Turgut

http://www.filmdoktoru.com/kitap-labo...

[Dmk · Rating 1 out of 5]

No wonder that there are constant disputes about Euripides' authorship of this play. This play is just lame.
There's almost no plot and what there is, is not catchy. Yes, it's usual for tragedies to have less in terms of plot in order to have more in terms of poetry, dialoque and argumentation but frankly those people are just talkig. No greatness in here.

[Kadir Kılıç · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resos'u okudum. Oyunda, Troya Savaşı sırasında Troya'nın yanında savaşa girmek için gelen Trakyalı Kralı Resos'un trajik ölümü anlatılıyor.

Oyun güzel yazılmış ama ilgi çekici konusuna rağmen bir olmamışlık havası hakimdi kitapta. Ayrıca Hector'dan da sürekli olarak kral diye bahsedilmiş ama gerçekte Hector prensti.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK so this play is 100% hot nonsense but it's also like good?????

[Cooper Ackerly · Rating 4 out of 5]

fanfiction, also Spinoza and organic unities! and the Muse punishing Odysseus by... immortalizing him via epic poetry?

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some sixteen extant classical Greek tragedies that find their inspiration in myths and stories of the House of Atreus and the Trojan War, and more specifically in the Illiad. Rhesos is less well known than others in this group perhaps due to a question of authorship for not all scholars agree that Rhesos was written by Euripides. And not all critics have been kind to Rhesos. One recently wrote (1972) that it was a play "to see, to enjoy, and to forget." I have no opinion on the question of authorship, but I do take issue with dismissive criticism and maintain that Rhesos is a well imagined Greek tragedy.

The classical Greek tragedians did not simply retell traditional stories. Although the Rhesos playwright began with an episode from Book X of the Illiad, he reimagined it. Hector in Rhesos, for example, is not the Hector we know from the Illiad. In the play he is emotionally volatile, foolishly brave, swayed by the options of others, suspicious, and indecisive. He leads from behind.

Odysseus is the character most often reimagined by the tragedians. Depending upon the play he is wise or merely clever, brave or cautious, cruel or kind, selfish or generous. In Rhesos he is the Greek most feared by the Trojans, more so than Agamemnon or even Achilles. In the Illiad Odysseus leads a scouting party behind Trojan lines to the camp of King Rhesos and his Thracian army where others in the party kill sleeping Rhesos and his court while Odysseus stands by. In Rhesos it is a murderous and cruel Odysseus who does the killing while others stand by.

The stagecraft is brilliantly imaginative. The setting is a Trojan bivouac near the Greek encampment. It takes place over one night beginning in darkness and ending with the dawn. The only light is that of Trojan campfires and the distant fires of the Greeks. The sentries' reports are vague and confused, and the darkness magnifies speculation and mistrust. An Athenian audience would see the play performed in daylight so it would have to imagine the darkness in its mind's eye. Today, this play performed in a modern theater with lighting effects, would be amazing.

[Jason Furman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have now read all 15 of the extant Greek tragedies set in the world of the Trojan War (nearly half of all of the extant Greek tragedies). This one, attributed to Euripides but with substantial debate, is the only one that is weak. It is also the only one that is straight out of the Iliad--the episode where Dolon is captured by Odysseus and Diomedes who then turn the tables and end up killing Rhesus (the king of the Thracians) and a bunch of Thracians. It is somewhat interesting to read this episode from the Iliad from the perspective of the Trojans but only somewhat--there are no moral dilemmas, powerful speeches, interesting plot, powerful drama, or anything else to this. (Note, I read the Richard Lattimore translation in The Complete Greek Tragedies

In general I really enjoyed the fifteen plays I read. Other than this one they all worked around the story of the Iliad, either depicting events before the war (e.g., Iphigenia at Aulis), during the war (Philocetes), but mostly after the war (8 of the plays--mostly notably the Oresteia--are about Agamemnon's return, his murder by Clytemnestra and her murder by Orestes and Electra). Several show events or their aftermath from the Trojan perspective (including this one and Andromache, Hecuba and the Trojan Women). I loved how they all centered around the same event but provided different perspectives, changed ways to understand the characters, watching them be unsympathetic in one version and sympathetic in another. Like the Iliad and the Odyssey, the ability of the Greeks to not privilege their own side or worldview but try to see things through the eyes of other people--and in the case of these male playwrights often through the eyes of women--was particularly impressive and stands in contrast to other ancient literature.

[Ethan Hulbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Iliad comes Rhesus - but okay actually Rhesus takes place DURING like book 10 of the Iliad, I just chose to read it afterwards to not break up my Homer.

Note that I read the James Morwood Oxford World Classic version, which was a great translation.

The play itself was pretty mid though, and it's debatable if it was even by Euripides. Definitely his worst if it was him, but who knows.

Dolon departs the camp of Troy on a spy mission (which we see the conclusion to in Iliad - he is captured, spills his guts out, and then ... spills his guts out). The mighty Trojan ally Rhesus arrives with his whole army - he's a pompous rich king with bells and whistles and he shows up SO late, the day before Troy is thinking they're about to win, just to join in and take credit, rather than fighting with them for the last DECADE of war. Hector's like "wow thanks SOOO much for joining JUST NOW" but Rhesus says he didn't really know Troy was all that threatened.

Hector's like "yeah we've basically got this won but sure you can join in, set up camp over there and let's sleep it off and tomorrow with your army we'll DEFINITELY kill all the Greeks," Rhesus goes and settles camp with his big army, and he's so confident that he doesn't even post guards.

The Greek spies at night - Odysseus and Diomedes - sneak in, using the password they got from Dolon before killing him, and basically massacre Rhesus's whole army in their sleep, including Rhesus off-screen, and even steal his nice horses. Damn. Just like that.

The next morning, Rhesus's Muse mom comes in and weeps for him from on high, and Hector is pretty embarrassed, but is like "no matter, we'll kill the Greeks today anyway!" and the play ends. (They very famously do NOT kill the Greeks that day so the irony works.)

It didn't really offer much for me. There wasn't a lot of angst or drama or emotion, though it did have some humorous moments. It wasn't bad, but just didn't stand out as a highlight by any means.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see why some scholars don't think that this is by Euripides: it lacks his usual style, and it's just plain and forgettable.

It tells a story from the Iliad that we are used to seeing from the Greek perspective but now from the Trojan perspective: the story of how the Trojans sent a spy to the Greek camp, who was in turn killed by two Greek spies (Odysseus and Diomedes), and then the way that the Greek spies kill the Thracian king Rhesus. Odysseus, Diomedes, and Athena get some screen-time here, and this is the best part of the play. But for the most part, we see Hector's interactions with the Trojan spy, Dolon, and Thracian king, and the way that he responds to their deaths. There isn't that much to say, really. I suppose that it was an interesting creative choice to show the Trojan perspective (a new take on an old tale!) but honestly, there's not much here. I most of all liked seeing Athena trick Paris (called here 'Alexander') into thinking that she was Aphrodite, a Trojan ally/patron. That was certainly the most fun part of the play, and pretty revealing about Greek theology: the way that she is able to trick and deceive the Trojans, allowing Odysseus and Diomedes to kill Rhesus.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rhesus, a “transmitted play” of Euripides, meaning, roughly, a play that has no existing manuscript ascribable to Euripides, though there are historical referents that could tie the play back to him. Still, debate rages today (oh, those scholarly rages!) as to who wrote the play, and if, in fact, Euripides did as some believe.
The play takes place during the Trojan War, as Odysseus and Diomedes secret themselves into the Trojan camp. It mirrors the tale told in part of Book X of Homer’s ‘Iliad’, so I won’t bother with any sort of summary. Suffice it to note the differences from Homer: Dolon is less important, Rhesus is more important, Hector is less capable, and the focus is more on the Trojan perspective.
Seriously, who hasn’t read Homer’s ‘Iliad’???

To me, an uninteresting episode to craft a play around - um, Homer already covered this! - and never a popular play historically. Its provenance likely playing a part in it being passed over, mostly.

[Gokhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Resos’un Tanrıların ve Musaların arasında süren gizli savaşta yok yere yitip gittiği, kendisi savaşçı bir kral olsa da söz konusu Hellenler olduğunda “bilgelikle” anılan Athena’nın tanrısal müdahalesi ile dengeleri kendi lehine çevirmek adına hiç düşünmeden onu öldürttüğü ve hem insanların hem de tanrıların arasındaki savaşa bir kürek kömür daha attığı cadı kazanının mitolojik hikayesidir.

Oyun, Athena’a satirik bir gönderme için mi, Troya savaşının küçük bir kesitinde yer alan bir karakteri ağıtla onurlandırmak için mi yoksa savaşçı olmasına karşın ölüme uykusunda kavuşan aynı karakteri yermek için mi yada farklı bir şey için mi yazılmış bilinmez ancak, Resos’un altını dolduramadığı büyük bir yanlışının olmadığı bir durumda durduk yere yok olup gitmesi çok adilane gelmiyor. Herhalde Resos’un yazgısı da, oyunun beslendiği İlyada destanının Hector, Diomedes gibi büyük karakterlerinin yanında böylece yok olup gitmesiydi.

[Giuliano Verardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tragédia passa-se quando os gregos forjam a fuga de Troia.
Eneias convence Heitor a não atacar precipitadamente e enviar um espião, que será Dólon.
Dólon pede como recompensa pelo seu serviço as éguas de Aquiles, presente de Poseidon.
O espião é morto; Atena aparece diante de Diomedes e Odisseu e os incita a matarem Reso.
O Cocheiro avisa ao coro e lamente a morte de Reso, testemunhada por ele; os dois assassinos escaparam com os cavalos roubados.
O Cocheiro acusa Heitor pelo crime, pois duvida que um argivo pudesse cometê-lo.
Aparece a Musa, mãe de Reso, que revela que o filho foi morto por Odisseu por ordens de Atena.