Hekabe

by Euripides, Yılmaz Onay (Translator)

Hekabe, Troya Savaşı'nda yenilen ve öldürülen Kral Priamos'un, büyük yıkımlar görmüş, bahtsız karısı Hekabe'nin öyküsüdür. Savaşta oğlu Hektor'u da kaybetmiş olan Hekabe, savaş sonrası esir düşer; ancak çekeceği acılara yenileri eklenir.

Galip Yunan tarafı, savaşta kaybettikleri kahramanları Akhilleus'un ruhunu yüceltmek için, Hekabe'nin kızı Polüksena'yı kurban edeceklerdir. Savaşta zarar görmesin diye altınlarla birlikte Trakya Kralı’nın korumasına emanet ettikleri küçük oğlu ise, altınlara sahip olmak amacıyla Trakya Kralı tarafından öldürülüp cesedi denize atılır. Hekabe, Trakya Kralını ve oğullarını tuzağa düşürüp kralı kör eder ve onun iki oğlunu öldürür.

Hekabe, sevdikleri yüzünden çektiği acılar için zalimlerden alınan korkunç intikamın tragedyasıdır.

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

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 425

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

[Dream.M · Rating 5 out of 5]

وقتی آثار تراژدی‌نویسان یونان باستان را می‌خوانیم، زنان را اغلب در حاشیه می‌بینیم، سایه‌هایی زیبا یا روح هایی اهریمنی، که اغلب نقششان پایان می‌پذیرد پیش از آن‌که آغاز شود. آخیلیوس، با تمام عظمتش، زنان را بیشتر به صورت عناصر تزئینی یا قربانیان بی‌صدای تقدیر تصویر می‌کند (در آگاممنون، کلوتایمنسترا تنها از دل خون شوهرش می‌تواند صدایی پیدا کند). در آثار سوفوکل، حتی آنتیگونه، که آن‌همه قدرتمند بود، باز در چهارچوب اخلاقی مردانه گرفتار است و تراژدی‌اش بیشتر جنبه اطاعت دارد تا عصیان.
اما اوریپید با زنان تروا و هکوب، چهارچوب ها را می‌شکند. او صحنه را نه فقط به زنان می‌دهد، که جهان‌بینی اثر را از درون، زنانه می‌سازد. زنان تروا، کاملا بدون قهرمانان مرد، فقط با بازماندگان زن روایت می‌شود؛ صحنه‌ای که در آن هکوب، آندرومک و کاساندرا، نه تماشاگر وقایع، که رقم‌زنندگان آن‌اند. آن‌ها تاریخ را از جایگاهی که تاریخ‌نگاران مرد انکار کرده‌اند بازگو می‌کنند.

درحقیقت نقطه‌ اوج جسارت اوریپید در هکوب است. زنی که در دیگر تراژدی‌ها می‌بایست تا پایان داستان فقط بگرید، در اینجا برخاسته، طرح انتقام می‌چیند و عدالت را نه با قانون یا خدایان، که با اراده‌ شخصی‌اش اجرا می‌کند. چنین سطحی از عملگرایی زنانه، نه در آثار آخیلیوس و نه در تراژدی‌های سوفوکل دیده نمی‌شود. حتی مدئا، زن دیگری در آثار خود اوریپید، اگرچه می‌کُشد، اما خشمش همچنان آلوده به طرد عشقی است؛ هکوب اما با عقل، خشم را هدایت می‌کند، و این عقلانیت، عاطفی، هولناک و باشکوه است.

اوریپید، برخلاف هم‌عصرانش، زن را فقط تزئینی نمی‌بیند؛ بلکه انسانی با حق انتخاب، با وجدان، با صدایی که می‌تواند هم بگرید، هم فریاد بزند، و اگر لازم باشد، حکم صادر کند می‌بیند.
در ادبیات مردانه‌ عصر او، زن یا مفعول بود، یا دیو صفت. اما در هکوب و زنان تروا، زن، راوی است، متهم است، قاضی است، و قربانی‌ای است که دیگر حاضر نیست بیش‌از‌این در قربانگاه بماند.

خواندن این دو نمایشنامه، آن هم در دل سنتی که زنان را خاموش می‌خواست، گویی تماشای فروپاشی یک امپراتوری ذهنی‌ است و این کار را تنها اوریپید تواتست انجام دهد. آنهم نه به زبان خطابه، بلکه به زبان درد. نه برای ما، بلکه علیه ما. و این، بعقیده من بزرگ‌ترین کنش فمینیستی ادبیات کلاسیک است.
..................
پیشنهاد میکنم اول زنان تروا از اوریپید رو بخونید بعد هکوب رو ، چون مکمل همدیگه محسوب میشن

ششمین کتاب از همخوانی هفت‌روز‌هفت‌نمایشنامه

[Maede · Rating 4 out of 5]

My god! Zeus, do you watch over human lives? Or do we cling to such belief in vain, when Chance, blind Chance, rules us till we die?

از بهترین تصمیم‌هایی که امسال گرفتم خوندن ایلیاد و اودیسه بود که انگار در دنیایی رو به روم باز کرده که کاملاً به روم بسته بود. مثلاً خوندن همین نمایشنامه‌ها و لذت بردن ازشون فقط اینجوری ممکن بود

هکابه نمایشنامه‌‌ایه که توسط اورپید در حدود سال ۴۲۴ قبل از میلاد نوشته شده و در مورد مادر هکتور و همسر پریامه. داستان از پس خرابه‌ی های تروی شروع میشه. از جایی که زنان تروی برده‌ی یونانی‌ها شدن و ملکه‌ی سابق تروی هم حالا یکی از اون‌هاست. زنی که نه تنها خیلی از فرزندانش و همسرش رو از دست داده، حالا آزادیش هم ازش گرفته شده. آیا این زن می‌تونه از این هم بدبخت‌تر بشه؟


اورپید همین ایده رو امتحان می‌کنه و دو فرزند دیگرش رو هم ازش در طول نمایش می‌گیره. پولوکسنا دخترش روی قبر آکیلیس قربانی میشه و آب جنازه‌ی پولیدروس پسر کوچکش که به دوستی سپرده شده بوده تا از خطر جنگ‌ در امان باشه رو هم به ساحل میاره


هکابه نمایش قدرت زنانه و از این جهت بسیار متفاوته. زنان در نمایشنامه‌ی اورپید زیبا و ضعیف نیستند. اون‌ها رنج‌دیده اما قوی هستند و انتقامشون رو می‌گیرند. اورپید حتی واقعیت وجود خدایان رو هم زیر سوال می‌بره و می‌پرسه که شاید جهان رو فقط شانس و احتمال کنترل می‌کنه. تمام این‌ها رو هم البته با نثری شاعرانه و زیبا انجام میده. در نهایت میشه گفت این اثر از پیشگامان آثار زنان و صد جنگه

من هم متن اصلی رو خوندم و هم اجرای بسیار خوب بی‌بی‌سی از این نمایش رو گوش کردم
کتاب رو می‌تونید از اینجا دانلود کنید
Maede's Books

۱۴۰۳/۳/۲۰

[Seyed Hashemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

حقیقتا می‌خواستم حتی شده به مختصری از هکوب بنویسم، ولی رسِ وجودم کشیده شده و خسته‌تر از این هستم که در مورد چیزی بنویسم که واقعا کم ازش می‌دونم و برای نوشتن ازش باید زحمت بکشم.

ولی در مجموع، المان‌های روایی اثر و مشخصا فهمیدن روایت در این اثر با توجه به بوطیقای ارسطو قطعا فعالیتی مهم و اصیله.
سامان تراژدی در این اثر هم که مشخصا مهمه.
بازنمایی‌های اثر هم مهمه مخصوصا اگه بخوایم هکوب رو در قیاس با دیگر تراژدی‌ها و مشخصا تراژدی‌های هم عصر خودش بفهمیم...

خلاصه کارهایی می‌شه کرد.

ترجمهٔ غلامرضا شهبازی هم که واقعا خوبه. کلا این‌که کنتراتی نشر بیدگل یه خیلی از تراژدی‌های باستان رو اومده و ترجمه کرده خیلی زیادی ارزشمنده. واقعا گنیجه ارزشمندی با فارسی است.

زیاده حرفی نیست.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Για μένα ο Ευρυπίδης είναι ο κορυφαίος τραγωδός κι αυτή μου η πεποίθηση ενισχύεται κάθε φορά που διαβάζω κάποιο έργο του.Έμεινα έκπληκτη διαβάζοντας τους παρακάτω στίχους,τους οποίους βρήκα πολύ πρωτοποριακούς για την εποχή τους:

"Ω!Δία,τι να πω;Τάχα φροντίζεις
για τους θνητούς ή έχουμε του κάκου
τη γνώμη αυτήν την ψεύτικη,θαρρώντας
πως υπάρχουνε θεοί κι η τύχη μόνο
τα πάντα κυβερνά για τους ανθρώπους;" (μετάφραση Τάκης Ρούσσος)

Κι άλλους θα μπορούσα να γράψω πολλούς,όχι απαραίτητα πρωτοποριακούς,αλλά σίγουρα βαθιά αληθινούς-θα προτιμήσω όμως να σας προτρέψω να διαβάσετε αυτή την τραγωδία,η οποία δείχνει το πώς οι συμφορές μπορούν να μεταβάλλουν έναν άνθρωπο και να αλλάξουν την καλοπροαίρετη φύση του σε εκδικητική.

[Όπως πάντα,οι εκδόσεις Κάκτος έχουν κάνει εξαιρετική δουλειά στην εισαγωγή,τη μετάφραση και τα σχόλια.]

[Brodolomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Naš Euripid, čovečni,“ da parafraziram stih Elizabet Baret Brauning, najkrvaviji je i meni najdraži od tragičke trijade, iako su me klasičari često pokušavali ubediti da je slabiji i od Eshila i od Sofokla. Delom je to zbog toga što se Euripid ne uklapa uvek u uzvišene definicije tragedije, tragičnog i tragičnog junaka. pa je nekako od titule “najtragičniji” stigao do pozicije pesnika kojem je, za ono što je želeo da izrazi, bio potreban novi žanr, ali se nije uspeo izmaći iz okvira istog. Upravo u tom rascepu nastaje cela potonja tragička tradicija evropske književnosti, od Seneke, preko Šekspira i Rasina, pa do tragične opere 19. veka.

„Hekaba“ je smeštena neposredno posle završetka Trojanskog rata. Pobednik je poznat, trojanski muškarci i dečaci su poklani, a žene i devojčice, uključujući i trojansku kraljicu Hekabu, su odvedene u roblje. To ne znači da je gotovo sa mrtvima. Naprotiv, Euripid podseća da nakon svakog rata, sukob se nastavlja - pobijeni traže da budu dostojanstveno sahranjeni, proslavljeni i osvećeni. Stoga, dramsku radnju ovde ne pokreću živi nego mrtvi – duh Polidora, Hekabinog sina, ubijenog od strane tračkog kralja Polimestra, i duh Ahileja, koji zahteva žrtvovanje Poliksene, Hekabine kćerke.

Vrhunac tragedije nije ni u smrti Polidora ni u smrti Poliksene, već u Hekabinoj osveti nad kraljem Polimestorom time što ubija njegovu decu. U staroj Grčkoj, čin ubijanja dece izazivao je manju moralnu uznemirenost nego danas, posebno ako je ono sprovedeno po principu “oko za oko” i kada dolazi kao kazna za kršenje gostoprimstva. Za razliku od Sofoklovih junaka, koje tragedija (Simona Vejl bi rekla nesreća) pretvara u svetačke figure dostojne da im se celivaju ruke, Euripidovi likovi postaju baš strašni, monstrumi, a samim time i čovečniji. Tragedija ipak manjinu pretvara u svece. Uglavnom ljudi usled nesreće postaju još gori nego što su bili. Ovde majka koja pati za sopstvenom decom, postaje čedomorka tuđe. I to je osveta, ali nije pravda. Pravda za Hekabu ne postoji, a nesamerivost tuge za mrtvom decom je i dalje menja, kako kaže mit, sve dok je ne pretvori u nešto izvanljudsko – besnog psa.

Pročitao sam četiri različita prevoda. Baš je uzbudljivo pratiti nijanse razlika.

A) Prvi je prevod Nikole T. Đurića, oca Miloša N. Đurića. Ispevan je u desetercu. Dugo je postojala ideja da se grčka antika treba prevesti u metru srpske epske poezije. I kad smo kod roditelja koji tuže nad smrću svoje dece u rat, potresno je da na izdanju Grčkih tragedija iz 1948. kao posveta stoji: "Seni svoga jedinca Rastka. M. Đurića, svšenog maturanta, koji u odbrani otadžbine junački pogibe 8. 4. 1945. god posvećuje svoje prevode Miloš N. Đurić".

Nikola Đurić ovako prevodi završni deo Polidorovog monologa s početak tragedije:

"O, majko moja, nekad kraljica
A sada jadna, zarobljenica,
U sreći nekad, u bijedi sad.
Po volji bogu nekom sve je to."

A ovako Nikola prevodi završne stihove hora trojanskih robinja sa kojim se završava tragedija:

"U luke, drage, i u šatore,
Da produžimo službu nemilu!
Neslomiva je ljudska sudbina!"


B) Drugi prevod je načinio Branko Pleša, reditelj i glumac koji je, između ostalog, prvi tumačio i Openhajmera na filmu. Prevod je nastao povodom postavke Hekabe u Jugoslovenskom dramskom pozorištu sedamdesetih

Pleša ovako prevodi završni deo Polidorovog monologa s početak tragedije

"Jao! O majko moja, nekad sjajna kraljice,
u ropstvu sad si tužna zarobljenica.
A sreća - gde je sad! Za radost negdanju
osvećuje ti se svirepo neki bog."

Pleša ovako prevodis Stihove koje izgovara hor trojanskih robinja sa kojima se završava tragedija:

"U luku, drage, u šatore idite
da primite na ruke lance robovske!
Crna je sudbina!"

C) Za prevod na engleski želeo sam da uzmem prevod Gilberta Mareja, najvećeg stručnjaka za Euripida na ostrvu s početka 20. veka, a i sam je pisao komade sa pacifističkom porukom. Međutim, izgleda da nije preveo Hekabu. Stoga sam uzeo prevod uDajan Arnson Svarilen američke savremene prevoditeljke. Prepev je u metru.

Dajan ovako prevodi zavRšni deo Polidorovog monologa s početak tragedije:

"O Mother, from a royal household—you
who look upon your day of slavery—
some god has counterpoised your former joy
with all the weight of what you suffer now."

A ovako Dajan prevodi završne stihove hora trojanskih robinja sa kojim se završava tragedija:

"Let us go to the tents, friends; let’s go to the harbor;
it’s time to take up the toils of our masters.
Compulsion is brutal."

D) Za kraj sam uzeo prevod kanadAkse pesnikinje En Karson, autorke "Autobiografije crvenog". Kako kaže, Euripid je za nju Lars fon Trir antičkog sveta i u laptopu ima poseban dokument u kome redovno dopisuje zbog čega joj je Euripid neprijatan. Prevod je u slobodnom stihu.

En ovako prevodi završni deo Polidorov monologa s početak tragedije:

"O mother! You went from a house of kings to a day of slavery.
Your grief is as great as your splendor was:
some god is weighing the one out equal to the other"

A ovako En prevodi završne stihove hora trojanskih robinja sa kojim se završava tragedija:

"Go to the harbor, go to the tents, dear women.
Now we taste the work of slaves.
Hard is necessity."

[Stratos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Είναι μέχρι να ξεπεράσεις το ... βάρος των αρχαίων αυτών τραγωδιών που σε κληρονομεί το σχολείο. Τότε αρχίζει να απολαμβάνεις το κείμενο, τη σοφία των τραγωδών αλλά και την διαχρονικότητα των κειμένων. Το πόσο επίκαιροι είναι οι αρχαίοι μας.
Η καταπληκτική αυτή σειρά των εκδόσεων ΚΑΚΤΟΣ που την ξεκίνησα τριάντα χρόνια πριν μέσα από προσφορά της πάλαι ποτέ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΤΥΠΙΑΣ, όχι μόνο την απολαμβάνω μέχρι σήμερα αλλά σταδιακά την συμπληρώνω. Είναι εκδόσεις ζωής.....
Η Εκάβη είναι η επιτομή της δυστυχίας. Χάνει τον άντρα της Πρίαμο από τους Έλληνες, θυσιάζουν την κόρη της Πολυξένη ενώ σκοτώνεται και ο γιός της από τον άνθρωπο που τον φιλοξενούσε όταν είδε η πλάστιγγα της νίκης έγερνε υπέρ των Ελλήνων.
Τέτοια βιβλία στον βομαρδισμό των σημερινών εκδόσεων λειτουργούν και ως φιάλες οξυγόνου σε μια ολοένα δυστοπική κοινωνία...

[رزی - Woman, Life, Liberty · Rating 5 out of 5]

بین سه نمایشنامه‌ای که روایت زنان بازمانده‌ی تروا بود این غم‌انگیزترینش بود🥲

هکوب: آه! هیچ آدمیزادی آزاد نیست! آگاممنون، تمامی آدمیزادگان برده‌اند! بردگان زر، بردگان سرنوشت، بردگان هیاهوی انبوه مردمان، بردگان قوانین نبشته! اینها همه او را از انجام دادن کارهایی که خواهان آن است بازمی‌دارد.

هکوب در «زنان تروا» هم نقشی محوری داره اما این نمایشنامه رو به تمامی و کمال صاحب می‌شه و هولناک‌ترین تجربه‌ها رو از سر می‌گذرونه و در نهایت به قوس شخصیتی چشمگیری می‌رسه. از زنی گریان و نالان که از تخت شاهی به بردگی رسیده، تبدیل به زنی انتقام‌جو می‌شه که دیگه تسلیم سرنوشت نیست و فعالانه دست به کُنش می‌زنه تا عدالتی رو که ازش دریغ شده، خودش اجرا کنه.

انتهای نمایشنامه تحلیلی ترجمه شده که درباره اهمیت اون به‌ویژه امروز و پس از تجربه‌ی جنگ‌های مدرن توضیح داده، اون رو با «هملت» مقایسه می‌کنه (هملت هم شاهزاده‌ایه که پیش‌تر ارج و قربی داشت و حالا می‌خواد انتقام عادلانه پدرش رو بگیره). درباره پیشینه نمایشنامه در یونان باستان و جنگ‌ها و رسوم جنگ، مهمان‌نوازی و خاکسپاری توضیح داده و به مهم‌ترین مضمون نمایشنامه هم پرداخته: زنان! و کنش جمعی خشونت‌آمیز زنانه.

[David Sarkies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A betrayal of hospitality
2 Mar 2012

It looks like Goodreads has taken the Latin title for this play (Hecuba) to which Philip Vellacott, the translator of the version that I read, takes serious offence. Personally, being a Philhelline (a lover of Greek culture) I pretty much agree with him. This is not a Roman play, it is a Greek play, and as such I believe they should use the Greek title (and names).

This play is set during the Trojan War. While scholarship refers to only one epic cycle (that of the Trojan War) I believe that there is more than one (such as the Theban cycle), though I will go into more detail when I return to the Library of Greek Mythology. However, the Trojan War is considered to be the last of the Greek mythological cycle (a collection of stories – sort of like a modern day series) set in the Mycenean Period. The cycle itself is probably the longest and most complex of the mythological cycles, and is also the most popular. When I think of all of the surviving plays that we have the Trojan War is the setting for more than half of them. The only other myths that receive more than one play would be the Theban Cycle (the story of Oedipus and the aftermath) and Heracles (and even then there are only two plays). The Trojan War cycle begins with the judgement of Paris, where he is asked to decide who is the most beautiful god, and when he choses Aphrodite she gives him Helen as his wife. The problem is that Helen is married to King Menelaus of Sparta, so when he kidnaps Helen the Greeks all gather together, form a coalition, and set sail for Troy. The cycle then goes through the stories of how they get to Troy, the war itself, and then the voyage home. The cycle concludes with Odysseus' wanderings and his homecoming. The only surviving epic poems (The Iliad and the Odyssey) both occur during the Trojan War cycle.

The reason for the popularity of the Trojan War probably has a lot to do with many of the surviving plays being written after the Persian Wars. The Trojan War cycle deals with a conflict between the Greeks and the inhabitants of Asia Minor, or the people of the East. I suspect that the Trojans were somehow connected with the Hittites, though I have no real proof. Anyway, the Persian Wars also arose out of a conflict between East and West and in a way we begin to see a shift from the civilisations of the Middle East to Europe. In a sense civilisation is moving westward, and we see this as it shifts from the Middle East to Greece, then to Rome, then to Western Europe, then to England, then to the United States, and now we are seeing a further shift to the west, over the pacific, to China. Sooner or later it is going to go full circle and return to the Middle East.

Hecabe is set after the fall of Troy but before the voyage home. Once again the winds do not favour the Greeks. Achillies' ghost then appears and tells them that if they wish to return home they must offer him a sacrifice, and he chooses Priam's youngest daughter Polyxena. However, Priam's youngest son, Polydorus, has also been murdered. Before Troy fell Priam gave the king of Thrace (Polymestor) a pile of treasure to hold in trust for his son, and then sent his son to stay with him. However, Polymestor's greed overcame him, killing Polydorus and keeping the gold for himself. This happens prior to the play and is outlined at the beginning by the ghost of Polydorus.

The play appears to be set in three parts (though they are not acts as we understand them, a Greek play is continuous, broken only by the choral interludes). The first part involves the decision to sacrifice Polyxena and Hecabe's (the Queen of Troy) sorrow over the decision. The second part begins after Polyxena's death and involves the discovery of Polydorus' body and Hecabe's revenge against Polymestor, and the final part involves the judgement of Agamemnon when he is asked to mediate the dispute between Hecabe and Polymestor.

Now, Thrace covers the region to the north of the Aegean Sea and is a flat plain bordered by mountains to the North, Macedonia to the west, the Aegean to the South, and the Borsophorous to the East. The Thracians did speak Greek, though with a heavily accented dialect, and were considered barbarians (non-Greeks) by the inhabitants to the south. They are also described as nomads and horsemen. In this play it is indicated that they were allies of Troy, however Polymestor appears to have switched sides when it became apparent that Troy was defeated.

Initially I was going to consider that the theme of the story is similar to that of Medea: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. iIn part it is true. However, as we arrive at the end it becomes clear that the real theme involves a breach of hospitality. In the Greek World it was expected that one shows kindness and hospitality to strangers. In fact, it appears that this was the ancient's idea of what truly defined a civilisation (and in many cases it is still practised today – one can travel to some of the most dangerous parts of the Middle East yet be secure in the knowledge that no harm will come to you because of the overriding principle of hospitality). I did notice this when I was in Western Europe. The more I learn about the Modern Greeks, the more I notice that they are actually quite unlike the Europeans further to the west. In Greece they welcome strangers and are very warm and kind to them. That was what I found when I was in Greece, however when I travelled over the Adriatic to Italy I discovered that such principles of hospitality were non-existent. In fact, on my journey across Europe it was evident that the principle of hospitality is really only played out in Greece.

There are two elements to Agamemnon's decision regarding Polymestor. The overriding principle is that he breached the principle of hospitality, and because of that it was decreed that his punishment was justified. However, it was the determination that Polymestor had intended to keep the gold for himself (and this is supported by him accepting Hecabe's lie about more treasure being buried in Troy and his decision to take it). However, it is the final lines of the play that demonstrate that Polymestor simply does not accept Agamemnon's decision as in his anger he speaks of the fate of both Hecabe (she suicides) and Agamemnon (he is murdered by his wife and her lover), though it is interesting that they do not believe him.

I want to finish off with a little word on Greek Drama. It appears that it evolved from the art of storytelling. Initially bards would travel the land and stay in villages in return for telling stories. It is likely that when one arrived the village would gather around and hear his stories and in return the village would clothe and feed him. Drama evolved from this through poetry recitals when Thespis decided to add a second actor where a dialogue could be created. Greek drama confirms to unity of time and place: the entire play occurs in one location and the action occurs within a single day. Most of the action takes place off stage and the background is explained by one of the actors. Anything that occurs outside the unity is conveyed to the audience by the actors or the chorus.

Finally, once again we see how Euripides moves away from what is expected of Greek drama. Most of the playwrights, when writing about the Trojan War, focus it around the Greeks and put the Trojans out of the picture. They are the enemy and remain the enemy. However Euripides has turned this concept around by making the Trojan not only the focus of the play, but also generating sympathy. Further, once again we see the woman take the leading role and being demonstrated as the person who has been wronged. This is not necessarily Euripidean as Sophocles also uses this in Antigone (and we see the same with the Electras). In a way, Aesychlus and Sophocles would be seen as the Steven Spielburg and Ron Howard of the ancient world (they follow the traditional lines) where as Euripides would be the, say, Martin Scorsesee (because he breaks with tradition, but is able to maintain his reputation despite this). In a way, I am glad that the volume of Euripidean plays managed to survive antiquity giving us a much broader collection of plays than the other playwrights (I believe we have nineteen of them as opposed to seven).

[Evripidis Gousiaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Είμαι σε γνωστό πολυκατάστημα στον χώρο με τα βιβλία περιμένοντας να περάσει λίγη ώρα γιατί έχω ραντεβού με έναν φίλο. Ψάχνω να βρω ποιο βιβλίο θα χαζέψω για να σκοτώσω λίγο την ώρα μου. Επιλέγω το συγκεκριμένο με σκοπό να διαβάσω τις πρώτες σελίδες για να πάρω μια ιδέα από την γραφή του Ευριπίδη μιας που δεν είχα διαβάσει έως τότε.
...
Το βιβλίο τελειώνει. Έχω αργήσει στο ραντεβού. Και είμαι στο ταμείο με 4 βιβλία του Ευριπίδη.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

هفت روز- هفت نمایشنامه. نمایشنامه‌ی ششم

[Yas · Rating 5 out of 5]

هکوب، تیره بخت‌ترینِ زنان~

اووف اوریپید. آتیش میزنی، چه سوز و گدازی.
این نمایشنامه ادامه نمایشنامه زنان ترواست.

و پایان اوریپید خوانی𓇢𓆸
در آخر میخوام بگم اوریپید کلا یه چیز دیگه بود. جلوتر از هم دورانی‌های خودش...

[Anisha Inkspill · Rating 3 out of 5]

{3.5 stars}

This is not a happy read, where grief becomes vengeance in the name of justice.

As a play this is not an entertaining read but there are moments where I could feel Hecuba’s pain in her grief and loss, insurmountable pain that is added to when she discovers a trusted friend had murdered her young defenceless son. In revenge she blinds this friend and kills his two sons, then she eloquently argues her action, this is what’s surprising, why this play is worth reading, even in the depths of her grief reasoning and rational do not fail her.

[RK Byers · Rating 4 out of 5]

couldn't avenge her husband or most of her children but got gangster when she found out her baby boy was murdered!

[Giorgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Che belle le donne troiane che vogliono sangue e lo ottengono, che gli uomini siano d'accordo o meno ♥

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Translation by George Theodoridis

"Those who are fortunate should not believe that fortune will stay with them forever."

"All men are slaves, Agamemnon! Slaves to money, to Fate, to the cries of the masses, to the written laws!"

This play is set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, and stars Hecuba, the former queen of Troy.

I read this right after reading Andromache, which is worth reading, but I think Hecuba is the better of the two; it’s tighter and more dramatic. Like Medea, this play is about the revenge of oppressed women, but unlike Medea she doesn’t quite get away with it, although she doesn't actually face any repercussions in the play itself; the consequences of her actions are only foretold.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is possible that the Ancient Greeks wrote some of the first anti-war literature that the world has known. This seems surprising in two respects – the society of ancient Greece was hardly renowned for its humanity and pacifism, and the plays were written by the victors rather than the defeated.

Actually a good deal of anti-war literature is written by the winning side. They too sustain heavy losses and much damage from war, and they have the extra burden of guilt to expiate. In the case of ancient Athens, it was their victory over Melos during the Peloponnesian War. The Athenians dealt with the loser by executing the men and enslaving the women, actions that would be considered war crimes now.

Of course that was a much harsher age than our own, but for the sensitive dramatists of Athens, the war was a stain on the city’s conscience, and they used tales about the behaviour of the Greek army in the aftermath of the Trojan War as a metaphor for the atrocities committed by their own state against Melos.

Euripides wrote about this in more detail in his play, The Trojan Women. Hecuba is a more focused play concentrating on just two events that happened to the former Queen of Troy after the Greeks obtained victory. By this stage, Troy had been destroyed and most of the male members of the royal family were dead. For the females a life of slavery was all that remained.

What better symbol of the horrors of warfare then than a bereaved mother? Her sons have been slaughtered, her daughters sacrificed or given over into sex slavery. Wars are initiated and run by men following male standards of honour and combat, and women must suffer from the consequences of that, powerless to change the outcome.

The play sees the removal of Hecuba’s final two crutches that give her comfort. To honour and appease the dead Achilles, the Greeks must carry out a human sacrifice, and their choice is Polyxena, one of Hecuba’s surviving daughters.

Hecuba has another son Polydorus hidden from the Greeks, but what she does not know is that his guardian Polymester has taken advantage of the defeat of Troy to murder the boy, and take the royal family’s gold that went with him. It is only when Polydorus’ body is washed up on the shore that Hecuba realises her loss and appeals to Agamemnon, leader of the victorious Greek army to give her justice.

One of the curious aspects of Hecuba is that the Greek army performs many appalling deeds, but the men that we meet are not on a personal level monsters. We may call them hypocrites, but I don’t think that is quite right.

Odysseus is the man who insists on Polyxena’s sacrifice, but the shame-faced warrior refuses Hecuba’s plea to be killed with Polyxena, even though this might have been a mercy to the old Queen, because he thinks he has enough blood on his hands. The Greek herald Talthybius is moved to tears during the sacrifice, and tells Hecuba that most of the Greeks were too, and needed to be steadied by Polyxena herself, who wanted only to die.

Later Agamemnon comes to see Hecuba to arrange for the burial of Polyxena, but he also is gentle and concerned for the Queen. When she informs him of the murder of her son, he agrees to turn a blind eye while she murders one of his allies.

What we see here are men who are not without humanity and a sense of ethics, but who are trapped by the rules of war. For motives of honour, pragmatism and duty, they have no choice but to follow their code of conduct, whether it means enslaving women, murdering children or sharing out the rewards of their spoils from Troy.

It would be too much to say that the Greeks are as much victims as the Trojans. They are certainly not. However they are as much imprisoned by the conventions of war as the people that they triumph over. As Hecuba observes:

“A free man? There is no such thing! All men are slaves;
Some, slaves of money; some, of chance; others are forced,
Either by mass opinion, or the threatening law,
To act against their nature.”

The Greeks act against their nature because they need to appease their armies, and maintain their loyalty. To fail to pay tribute to Achilles would send out a signal that the Greeks do not value their allies. To fail to share out money and slaves would be to deprive their allies of any incentive to fight with them again. Even for Agamemnon to dole out legal justice to Polymester would look bad, as it would mean taking the side of an enemy against an ally.

As a result, Agamemnon can only let Hecuba take a less direct route to justice by delivering Polymester into her hands. This leads to the plays’ most problematic moment. Hecuba and the Trojan women exact their revenge by blinding Polymester and murdering his two children, who are both young enough to be held in the arms of the women.

As often in Euripides, an act of revenge is so appalling that it exceeds the original offence. Revenge does not bring justice, but only more suffering. War has dehumanised the victims as well as the victors, and it brings only the ease of bitter satisfaction.

This satisfaction is made all the more bitter when the blinded Polymester repeats prophecies that Hecuba will be turned into a dog before she dies, and that her surviving daughter Cassandra will also be murdered soon. It is a reflection of the demeaning effect of conflict that the worst act performed in the play is done by a Trojan and not a Greek.

Hecuba is another powerful and bleak work by Euripides. Few plays better capture the conflict between public duty and private ethics.

[Sinem]

metin ne kadar iyiyse çeviri o kadar kötü. mitoloji yoluna baş koymadıysanız uzak durun. umarım en kısa zamanda düzgün bir çevirisi basılır.

[Elly · Rating 5 out of 5]

read in 2017: philip vellacott translation:

I was a god, in all except mortality.

the strength of polyxena, the sorrow and rage of hecuba, the softer side to agamemnon, the harsh reality given by odysseus. the horribly announced prophecies left hanging in the air like smoke. this was brilliant.

This is my last goodbye to you, my own dear mother. Now I am going into the dark.

read in 2022: diane svarlien translation:

then murder me together with her; pour a double blood-offering to the earth.

loved it just as much, if not more, this time. so awfully sad. polyxena is remarkable. the men are oddly sympathetic.

i’m going now, mother, i’m going down below.

[İlkim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tüm Yunan mitolojisinin en bahtsız karakteri Hekabe.

[Ehsan Jafari Nia Parizi · Rating 4 out of 5]

این اولین نمایشنامه ی عمرم بود که در سن ۳۹ سالگی خوندم. عجیب منو جذب کرد تا نمایشنامه های بیشتری بخونم.

[Laleh · Rating 5 out of 5]

توانایی اوریپید در نوشتن و ترکیب چندین عنصر مثل مرگ،انتقام،قتل،زنانگی،نقد به قوانین،نسل کشی،جنگ و..ان هم به صورت همزمان همیشه من رو در حیرت و لذت مداوم قرار میده.
هکوب،شهبانوی تروا، مفلوک ترین زن،کسیست که از تراژدی های از سر گذرانده اش هرچه بگوییم کم است. کسی که مرگ فرزندان،از عرش به فرش درامدن،و در نهایت به سگ تبدیل شدنش در اثار دیگر اوریپید همیشه چالش و زیبایی خاص خودش را به همراه داشته.
در این اثر هم شاهد مرگ دو فرزندش پولیکسنه و پولیدروس و خیانت دوستش پلیمستر و انتقام او از پلیمستر بودیم.
در نهایت نمایشنامه با بیان اینده‌ی اگاممنون و هکوب توسط پلیمستر به پایان رسید که بسیار جالب بود.
متن دائما در اوج بود و کوتاه بودن ان موجب راحتی برای خواندن در یک نشست بود.
در نهایت به نظر من هکوب یکی از شجاع ترینِ زنان و همینطور مفلوک ترین انهاست.

[louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ octobre 2024 ]

the saddest play i have read so far. son impuissance m'a tellement touché, it's like things continuously happen to her and she can't do anything about it because of this bigger-than-herself institution that you HAVE to respect

i find it interesting how (and this is only the third play i've read from euripides) it focuses on hecuba, a non-Greek character --> est-ce qu'il nous fait une lettres persanes? je sais pas mais j'arrête pas d'y penser avec medea aussi genre is he trying to tell us something about Greek society....... food for thought

"If I could, I’d grow tongues in my arms and hands // and hair, in the soles of my feet— a thousand tongues // all talking, all crying together, in one voice clinging //
to your knees, begging you, imploring you" (837ff)

[Liam O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A source text for The Burnt City by Punchdrunk

Short but brutal. Feels like there could have been another act? New to Greek tragedies, feels almost like a minimalist war-based form of Shakespeare.

[نوري · Rating 2 out of 5]

معذرة.. عندما تفوق الآلام حد الإحتمال، فلا ملامة لمن يهرب من حياته التعسة.

[Joseph Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is the publishing industry pushing Girlbossification-Origin-Stories with ethical heroines when we still have classic stories of women plotting good ol’ fashioned bloody massacre left to tell? #makefeministlitbloodyagain

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Εκάβη (Hecuba) is definitely one of the most tragic Greek plays! Euripides chooses Hecuba as a protagonist for this play, the former queen of Troy!

A queen that circumstances and war made her a slave. A woman with so many sons and daughters stays "motherless" at the very end.

In Iliad, the three characters that made me feel really sad for Troy and for Hector's death were Cassandra, Andromache and of course Hecuba. A woman that should be idolised, a woman that kept living after she saw her own children die! If that doesn't spark a feeling of yours then I question your humanity.

That being said, you already must have guessed how enjoyable read this was. Was it the best tragedy Ι have ever read; No!

It was great and refreshing to see a writer focusing into the life of the Trojan women after the big fall of Troy! The only thing that not exactly surprised me but made me question the reason behind it is Agamemnon's new personality! I am not a big fan of Agamemnon, I don't want to use the word "hate" because I think it's too passionate but I am going to say that I found him being stupid all the time in Homer's Iliad! Euripides' Agamemnon is more likeable!

Euripides knows how to catch your attention and keep you going and going much deeper into the story!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely not as dramatic as Medea but still a freaking good play.

I loved a lot of Hecuba's lines in this and how surprisingly feminist it was for the time.

[Maan Kawas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful but very painful tragedy by the great Ancient Greek playwright Euripides! The play is centered on the miserable and wretched life of Hecuba, King Priam of Troy’s wife, after the sacking of Troy, and having her taken to be a slave to the Greeks (Odysseus in Euripides’ tragedy The Trojan Women. The play shows the devastating and tragic consequences of war, along with humiliation and bitterness and losses. The themes of the play are many, such as the misery wars can bring on people and cities, the bitterness of losses of children, vengeance, self-centeredness (e.g. Agamemnon), ingratitude (e.g. Odysseus), greed, opportunism, and the power of the situation, which can make a victim a villain or a murderer. Unlike other Ancient Greek tragedies, we do not see fate or gods’ intervention in the sorrows of the people, but we see people hurting each other and causing tremendous harm to each other. I loved Agamemnon’s attitude towards Hecuba, which showed a kind of sympathy and understanding to Hecuba’s degrading situation in life and the associated tragic life events she was facing. The language is poetic and beautiful, and the tragedy is so moving and enchanting.

[Yann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malheur aux vaincus, dit Brennus aux romains vaincus, avant que Camille ne vienne les sauver. Troie a été prise par la cautèlerie d’Ulysse, et pour ses habitantes, la perte de la liberté s’ajoute à celle des êtres chers. Mais pour Hécube, c’est aussi la royauté qu’elle quitte, avec son époux et ses nombreux fils qui ont péris sous les murs de Troie. Seul lui reste Polydore, le cadet, envoyé chez Polymnestor, roi de Thrace, pour y être protégé, avec un trésor, de la rapacité des Achéens. Mais son fantôme vient lui annoncer la trahison de l’hôte, qui a succombé à la soif de l’or, et le cadavre de son fils rejeté par la mer lui confirme la sombre prémonition. C’est trop pour cette femme, qui fomente alors une vengeance terrible contre le traitre : il sera aveuglé, attiré dans un piège, victime de son avidité. La rage d’Hécube la transforme en chienne, ainsi que le relate Ovide, dans les métamorphoses.

[Illiterate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fate as unpredictable chaos. The aftermath of war. The mighty have fallen. Despair and revenge.