Andromache

Andromache, written in the early years of the Peloponnesian War, shows the effects of war on the conquerors and the conquered. The other main theme is the role and nature of women, explored through the conflict between the contrasting figures of Andromache and Hermione. The play has a bold and original structure, which finds room for paranoia, nymphomania, racialism, blackmail, treachery, mental breakdown, elopement and revenge. The climax is a messenger speech describing the lynching of Neoptolemus in the temple of Apollo at Delphi.