Greek Tragedies 3: Aeschylus: The Eumenides; Sophocles: Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus; Euripides: The Bacchae, Alcestis

The Complete Greek Tragedies #3

by David Grene (Editor, Translator), Richmond Lattimore (Editor, Translator), Mark Griffith (Editor)

Greek Tragedies, Volume III contains Aeschylus’s “The Eumenides,” translated by Richmond Lattimore; Sophocles’s “Philoctetes,” translated by David Grene; Sophocles’s “Oedipus at Colonus,” translated by Robert Fitzgerald; Euripides’s “The Bacchae,” translated by William Arrowsmith; and Euripides’s “Alecestis,” translated by Richmond Lattimore.

Sixty years ago, the University of Chicago Press undertook a momentous project: a new translation of the Greek tragedies that would be the ultimate resource for teachers, students, and readers. They succeeded. Under the expert management of eminent classicists David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, those translations combined accuracy, poetic immediacy, and clarity of presentation to render the surviving masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in an English so lively and compelling that they remain the standard translations. Today, Chicago is taking pains to ensure that our Greek tragedies remain the leading English-language versions throughout the twenty-first century.

In this highly anticipated third edition, Mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most have carefully updated the translations to bring them even closer to the ancient Greek while retaining the vibrancy for which our English versions are famous. New introductions for each play offer essential information about its first production, plot, and reception in antiquity and beyond. In addition, each volume includes an introduction to the life and work of its tragedian, as well as notes addressing textual uncertainties and a glossary of names and places mentioned in the plays.

In addition to the new content, the volumes have been reorganized both within and between volumes to reflect the most up-to-date scholarship on the order in which the plays were originally written. The result is a set of handsome paperbacks destined to introduce new generations of readers to these foundational works of Western drama, art, and life.

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

344 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 1960

About the author

David Grene (1913-2002) taught classics for many years at the University of Chicago.

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read Greek Tragedies if not for at least the ability to write hilarious Oedipus quotes on mother's day cards (if you have that sort of black humour) and to make jokes about getting your anagorisis. It's nice to experience the origin of the "fatal flaw" horribly misinterpreted by Shakespeare teachers the world over (Greeks saw this as "to miss" something - hamartia - like Oedipus just not getting the signs that maybe he was in an uncool relationship with his mother) rather than to have a deep psychological flaw (like good ol' analysis paralysis Hamlet).

[Laura (Reading is a Doing Word) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great set of Tragedies.
Philoctetes and the Bacchae were my favourites but all in all a great collection.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This final installment of the series was a solid read, and not redundant like vol. 2. All except the Eumenides were compelling reads, with The Bacchae being my favorite.

Many of these plays didn't feel quite so solidly tragic as the stories in vol. 1, but it was still a great read for someone looking to expand my horizons.

I recommend to everybody, particularly if you've read earlier volumes of the series, or if you're looking for a Greek tragedy read.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished the Eumenides - I think it's fair to call this a kangaroo court.

Finished Oedipus at Colonus - I think that it's nice to actually meet Polyneices, since there's so much talk about him in Antigone; it's also amusing, how in Oedipus the King they go on and on about how nothing could be as bad as what Oedipus has done to Thebes, but then in this play after he's wandered for twenty years or so he comments that he's probably been punished enough, seriously though folks.

Now they're all done - I really loved Philoctetes the best. The Bacchae is totally gruesome, and I think Euripides is super emotional.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of the culture and/or literature of Ancient Greece, then this book is pretty much a must-read. It has five of the greatest surviving Greek tragedies from three of the most famous playwrights of the ancient world. More than that, the translations are superb and the notes, when needed to be included, are quite helpful,resulting in some of the best versions of these works that can be found anywhere. For those unfamiliar, I can also say that the stories are truly good in their own right, even all these centuries after they were written.

[Gary Drum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading The Eumenides. I do not have much of a background with the ancient Greek playwrights and did not know the back story very well, but it was an interesting read. Really enjoyed the language.

[Jesse Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great translation. Great notes. Insightful works all.

[Peter Olofsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great books. Love the Eumenides, Bacchae and Oedipus at Colonus, altough it is very weird that Oedipus at Colonus wasn't included in Vol. 1.

[Bill V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read three of the Greek tragedies volumes by Grene, which I believe is all of them. I've enjoyed all three volumes. It has been years since I read the first two volumes so as a result my memory of them is a bit vague but this may be the best of the three. The last volume read very quickly (as did the others) and all the stories were very entertaining.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourites were The Eumenides and Alcestis, especially where two parties verbally spar or debate and you get to see how the ancient Greeks viewed the right and wrong or different sides of a topic. I also like reading The Bacchae after learning more about mystery cults in the ancient world.

[kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for greek mythology class

[Christine Walsvick · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I tell you, as you cherish your own life, all other people cherish theirs." - Euripides

"Much that the gods achieve is surpise." - Euripides

[Jaseena AL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating : 3 stars