Medea and other Plays

Resumen del libro

Four plays which exemplify his interest in flawed, characters who defy the expectations of Greek society, Euripides' Medea and Other Plays is translated with an introduction by Philip Vellacott in Penguin Classics.The four tragedies collected in this volume all focus on a central character, once powerful, brought down by betrayal, jealousy, guilt and hatred. The first playwright to depict suffering without reference to the gods, Euripides made his characters speak in human terms and face the consequences of their actions. In Medea, a woman rejected by her lover takes hideous revenge by murdering the children they both love, and Hecabe depicts the former queen of Troy, driven mad by the prospect of her daughter's sacrifice to Achilles.

Electra portrays a young woman planning to avenge the brutal death of her father at the hands of her mother, while in Heracles the hero seeks vengeance against the evil king who has caused bloodshed in his family.Philip Vellacott's lucid translation is accompanied by an introduction, which discusses the literary background of Classical Athens and examines the distinction between instinctive and civilized behaviour.

Biografía del autor

Antonio Guzmán Guerra es Catedrático de Filología Griega de la Universidad Complutense; ha trabajado ampliamente sobre el teatro griego y ha traducido al castellano los historiadores de Alejandro; es autor entre otras obras dentro de esta editorial de la Vida de Alejandro y César de Plutarco, Alejandro Magno y reciente-mente Introducción al teatro griego.