Heracles and Other Plays

The dramas Euripides wrote towards the end of his life are remarkable for their stylistic innovation and their adventurous plots.Of these plays, Heracles stands apart in its stark portrayal of undeserved human suffering and the malignant power of the gods. In contrast, the Cyclops (Euripides’ sole surviving satyr play) celebrates drink, sex and self-indulgent hedonism. In Iphigenia among the Tuarians, Ion and Helen, Euripides exploits the comic potential to be found in traditional myth, weaving plots full of startling shifts of tone, deception and illusion. Alongside the comedy, however, Euripides always reminds us how quickly fortunes are reversed and invites us to view the world with scepticism and compassion.