Three Greek Plays: Prometheus Bound/Agamemnon/The Trojan Women

by Aeschylus, Euripides, Edith Hamilton (translator)

Three classic Greek tragedies are translated and critically introduced by
Edith Hamilton.

Genres: Plays, Fiction, Classics, Drama, Mythology, Classical Studies, Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Greek Αισχύλος , Esquilo in Spanish, Eschyle in French, Èsquil in Catalan, Eschilo in Italian, Эсхил in Russian.

Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC – c. 456 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the theatre and allowed conflict among them. Formerly, characters interacted only with the chorus.
Only seven of Aeschylus's estimated 70 to 90 plays have survived. There is a long-standing debate regarding the authorship of one of them, Prometheus Bound, with some scholars arguing that it may be the work of his son Euphorion. Fragments from other plays have survived in quotations, and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyri. These fragments often give further insights into Aeschylus' work. He was likely the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy. His Oresteia is the only extant ancient example. At least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians' second invasion of Greece (480–479 BC). This work, The Persians, is one of very few classical Greek tragedies concerned with contemporary events, and the only one extant. The significance of the war with Persia was so great to Aeschylus and the Greeks that his epitaph commemorates his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon while making no mention of his success as a playwright.

Reviews

[Drianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was considering having my students read the Prometheus Bound, so I was looking for a translation for them. I'm not sure this one would really grab them, although it would probably (?) be readable for them.

[Michael Dean Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edith Hamilton passed her own mortal coil when I, Salembard, a lad of but 11 years, was first introduced to performance and rhetoric. To her chorus, I beg pardon for these poor words offered in praise of the muses who by combined charis, combined grace, provided the vision for her singular translations into our modern tongue!

Had she advised me, no doubt, I would have never studied German, nor Spanish, but the ancient fashion of the Greeks she spent a lifetime embracing, offering to the world a light that at four score and ten years, earned her recognition in Athens herself. Those who seek inspiration, heed my counsel, hear her muse. Listen to Professor Hamilton’s words regarding the trials, the duties, and the diligence of good and proper craft, combining appreciation for the arts, of culture, and language. Dear friend, tarry not, move forward, however awkward or uncertain be your progress, into the music of Erato, blessed sister of Eros, poetic muse whose light brings voice to thought human and devine! Translation? Transliteration? Nay, the aesthetic art most high flows loud and shines brightly still. therefore, my true thought springs from the deep, the true Mother Night to inspire beauteous performance and understanding of these Three Greek Plays!

Hamilton offers masterful demonstration and by way of her introductions, the revelation and craft of the translator. Any who find her instruction disappointing, should, I proffer, return another day and try again to hear and understand the wisdom of Euripides and of Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy. Entering the brilliance of such light often comes with momentary loss of vision.

After some reflection, Let us consider the plays. Euripides, The Trojan Women, and Prometheus; and then Agamemnon by Aeschylus.

Here I offer some thematic observations for Hamilton’s rendition of a disturbing and revealing anti-war play by Euripides, The Trojan Women. The towers of Ilium have succumbed to the Greeks. Troy vanquished, suffers the fate of the ancients whose fate casts them from victory into defeat. Experience their anguish as their husbands, their fathers, brothers, and sons are put to death, their wealth seized. Their girls and women await news of their new masters as liberty passes into memory, their situations now reduced to slavery. From highest to the low, The Trojan Women lament and grief the loss of loved ones and their ancient civilization. Join their laments as anxiety becomes unbearable and the women of Troy are reduced to servatude, retaining no measure of rights or value. Consider the plight of victims of war. rewards of the victorious quickly lose any vainglorious trappings so often adorning the victory song of the conqueror. Lessons well received in ancient Athens, who in shock bid the playwright take leave of Attica and flee north to retire and perish an old and poor man, yet rich in memory through the ages, even to our day.

Time for Aeschylus, whose gift of Tragedy and the peculiar style of verse for the Chorus, Hamilton transforms into English for us to apprehend. She arranges threads of her rhythmic verse as fibers before a loom, devotions for the Muses. Each arrangement and conjoining of threads sparks new illuminations as Professor Hamilton’s craft reveals the viewpoint of immortal Prometheus whose sufferings have only begun. He, cruelly pinned to a rock high in the Caucuses holds firm in the justice of his acts. He will be visited by numerous agents of the gods, Zeus ever aware of Prometheus’s rebukes against the folly of the gods of Olympus. Zeus too, whose fate, Prometheus proclaims will be far more desperate than his own after he too will fall. Read or better yet, listen to Hamilton’s rendition of how a titan condemned to suffer the tortures of a vengeful and most-high god, endures, knowing he will know justice and find liberation as his tormentor, in his turn, will fall into desperation.

The final act, the final Aeschylus tragedy could have been a work of a modern feminist playwright. Aeschylus revisits the aftermath of the Greek victory over the Trojans. Agamemnon triumphant, returns home, chief among the kings of Hellas to face downfall by his own queen Clytemnestra whose need for justice and vengeance for his bloody sacrifice of their daughter, Princess Iphigenia when the fleet first set sail to begin the decade of war against Troy. The fruits of victory offer a bitter harvest indeed to those whose power and privilege arise from evil done to others. The queen, like the ancient Prometheus, stands firm, accepting any fate that may befall her, secure in her sense of Justice fulfilled. The craft of Professor Hamilton rings through her English transformation of Aeschylus for our eyes and ears to enter and emerge overwhelmed and amazed with new understanding of the origins of tragedy in the ancient world. We are privileged to read, and as we can hear her transmutation of the play, Agamemnon., a fitting final installment for Three Greek Plays

Five Stars ***** for the gift of eke kai phos, of sound and light, instruction and demonstration of wisdom.
Presented to the reader and hearer by Dean Edwards, AKA Salembard, 2024

[PJ Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly went into this book very skeptical. I've read Greek plays before, and their format tends to make things pretty confusing. But reading this translation by Edith Hamilton kind of puts things into place. I've been able to figure out who says what, who kills whom, and what god or goddess took part in hurting the cast in each play.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is going nose-deep into the world of Greek theater, culture, and mythology. These plays tend to be good places to start if you're looking for examples of different stories connecting. These stories may be ancient, but the feelings that they invoke are most definitely lasting through the ages.

[Cbricephd brice]

The good news is that 2,500 years ago Euripidies wrote, "The Torjan Women," the most powerful anti-war play I've ever read. The bad news: it didn't change anything. We still engage in absolutely absurd wars, whether we destroy nations over an attractive blond, or because we wrongly accuse a leader of attacking us. Perhaps the most telling quotation in this lovely translation by Edith Hamilton: "Their king, so wise, to get what he most hated, destroyed what he most loved ... ."

[Mjm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-have for anyone interested in Greek Drama or the foundation of Western Culture.

I thought I knew THE TROJAN WOMEN and AGAMEMNON inside-out, but my understanding was profoundly deepened when I encountered the Edith Hamilton translation.

Not only is she a woman, a good choice for a translator of two plays about two of the most complex and powerful women in Greek Mythology, Edith Hamilton was one of the most influential Classical Scholars of the 20th century.

[Dukezhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read many translation of Euripides, Trojan Women in particular, sometimes in Greek, and I here state unequivocally that Hamilton's translation is still the best.

(Also quite worthwhile to bookend TW with her Agamemnon)

[Sher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful translation. Simple, powerful, and clear.

[Allan Claydon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trojan women 5*
Agamemnon bound 4* (I was hoping for a different characterisation of Prometheus based on Edith's introduction)
Agamemnon 5*

[Taylor Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far more enjoyable than Sophocles’ work, but that also could have been the translation I read. Greatly increased my sympathy for Helen and my abhorrence for the fickle nature of the gods.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three moving plays about war, treachery and revenge. The Trojan Women focuses on the tragedy of war, its lack of meaning and the devolution of humanity. Prometheus Bound is a very moving play of living a life of virtue, despite the costs. Agamemnon is ultimately about revenge and the futility of war.

I finish with the last words from Prometheus:
"An end to words. Deeds now.
The world is shaken.
The deep and secret way of thunder
is rent apart.
Fiery wreaths of lightning flash.
Whirlwinds toss the swirling dust.
The blasts of all the winds are battling in the air,
and sky and sea are one.
On me the tempest falls.
It does not make me tremble.
O holy Mother earth, O air and sun,
behold me. I am wronged."

[Ayne Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked on theatre of the ancient Greeks after reading "Oedipus Rex" (the play which, I'm sure, is almost every student's introduction to ancient theatre), and was absolutely spellbound by this collection, with "Prometheus Bound" as my favorite of the three. Some things do, indeed, stand the test of time.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

sought this out after fixating on the Robert Kennedy quote from this work. So much is lost in other translations especially the Ted Hughes translations, very flat.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this translation. It's easier to read than some of the others. I also liked the commentary before each play. I've added this to my wish list!

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to Edith Hamilton in translation is a delight. Here are marvelously playable scripts for The Trojan Women, and Prometheus Bound. The clarity of the work, and her obvious enthusiasm in making it clear, make this volume a remarkable resource.

Only Agamemnon comes off a bit rough. In Hamilton's defense, we are made to understand that what is left of the original of that play is a mess. And her introduction warns us that she is working toward honoring a peculiar classical greek form in the choral scenes that is not easily rendered into English.