Medea

A bold new translation of this shockingly modern classic work by Forward Prize-winning poet, Robin Robertson

The purpose of translation is to set a play free. This is just what Robin Robertson does. In his lucid, free-running verse, Medea's power is released into the world, fresh and appalling, in words that seem spoken for the first time.

The greatest works demand constant re-translation to meet the changing culture of the age, and Robin Robertson has given us a Medea fit for our times; his elegant and lucid free translation of Euripides' masterpiece manages the trick of sounding wholly contemporary but never merely 'modern' - and will be an especially lucky discovery for those encountering the play for the first time.

Robertson is master of the dark and wounded, the torn complexities of human relations, and Medea offers a perfect match for his sensibilities. This is an urgent, contemporary and eloquent translation

This version of Medea is vivid, strong, readable, and brings triumphantly into modern focus the tragic sensibility of the ancient Greeks

His version of Medea feels newly minted thanks to the pitch perfection of his linguistic choices. Robertson's skill lies in bringing the words of a long dead Greek to life, not merely to live but to cavort in the mind's ear

Robin Robertson is a fine poet and one well-matched to the task of making an English version of Euripides's great play. The tough but musical vernacular line he has found brings home the brutality and ineffable sadness of Medea in a way that seems perfectly-pitched for a modern audience

Robertson's achievement is to make the dialogue flow without losing the unsettling poetry of the original

It's 2,400 years old, yet it is so compelling and absolutely modern

One of the main virtues of this fine translation is Robertson's ear for the verbal brutality committed by the estranged Medea and Jason on one another during their confrontations. Another is Robertson's sensitivity to the seascapes and imagery of Euripides that dominate the play... Closer examination reveals how much thought has gone into its making...These subtleties support Robertson's claim, in the introduction, that his main concern was "to provide an English version that is as true to the Greek as it is to the way that English is spoken now..." It certainly deserves to be staged. It would provide a more attractive basis for a performance text of the original play than anything else currently on offer

In Robertson's translation poetry abandons its usual mellifluousness for pithy simplicity...The combustion of language and sound is enough to release the beauty in the text

[Robertson's] version of Medea feels newly minted thanks to the pitch perfection of his linguistic choices. Robertson's skill lies in bringing the words of a long dead Greek to life, not merely to live but to cavort in the mind's ear

Euripides is thought to have lived between 485 and 406 BC. He is considered to be one of the three great dramatists of Ancient Greece, alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles. He is particularly admired by modern audiences and readers for his characterization and astute and balanced depiction of human behaviour. Medea is his most famous work. 
 
Robin Robertson is from the north-east coast of Scotland. He is the author of three collections of poetry: A Painted Field (1997), winner of the 1997 Forward Poetry Prize (Best First Collection), the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Prize and the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award; Slow Air (2002); and Swithering (2006). He is also the editor of Mortification: Writers' Stories of their Public Shame (2003). In 2004, he was named by the Poetry Book Society as one of the 'Next Generation' poets, and received the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Robin Robertson's third poetry collection, Swithering (2006), was shortlisted for the 2005 T. S. Eliot Prize and won the 2006 Forward Poetry Prize (Best Poetry Collection of the Year). In 2013 Robin Robertson was awarded the Petrarca-Preis. He lives and works in London.

THE ACCLAIMED TRANSLATION BY ROBIN ROBERTSON (FORWARD PRIZE, MAN BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLIST 2018) 
 
Euripides' Medea, the brutally powerful ancient Greek tragedy that reverberates down the centuries, has been brought to fresh and urgent life by one of our best modern poets. 
 
Medea has been betrayed. Her husband Jason has left her for a younger woman. He has forgotten all the promises he made and is even prepared to abandon their two sons. But Medea is not a woman to accept such disrespect passively. Strong-willed and fiercely intelligent, she turns her formidable energies to working out the greatest, and most horrifying, revenge possible... 
 
Suitable for the general reader as well as for students and performers. 
 
'In Robertson's lucid, free-running verse, Medea's power is released into the world, fresh and appalling, in words that seem spoken for the first time' Anne Enright 
 
'This version of Medea is vivid, strong, readable and brings triumphantly into modern focus the tragic sensibility of the ancient Greeks' John Banville 
 
'Robertson's achievement is to make the dialogue flow without losing the unsettling poetry of the original' Financial Times

Orestes and Other Plays

pides (c.485-406 BC) is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive.

Written during the long battles with Sparta that were to ultimately destroy ancient Athens, these six plays by Euripides brilliantly utilize traditional legends to illustrate the futility of war. The Children of Heracles holds a mirror up to contemporary Athens, while Andromache considers the position of women in Greek wartime society. In The Suppliant Women, the difference between just and unjust battle is explored, while Phoenician Women describes the brutal rivalry of the sons of King Oedipus, and the compelling Orestes depicts guilt caused by vengeful murder. Finally, Iphigenia in Aulis, Euripides' last play, contemplates religious sacrifice and the insanity of war. Together, the plays offer a moral and political statement that is at once unique to the ancient world, and prophetically relevant to our own.

The Bacchae and Other Plays

The volume that completes our new 4-book collection of Euripides plays.

EURIPIDES (C.484-406 B.C.) was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles; he is the youngest of the three. He is believed to have written 92 dramas, but only 19 of them are now known. 
 
 
John Davie is Head of Classics at St Paul's School in London. 
Richard Rutherford is Tutor in Greek and Latin Literature at Christ Church, Oxford.

Through their sheer range, daring innovation, flawed but eloquent characters and intriguing plots, the plays of Euripides have shocked and stimulated audiences since the fifth century BC. Phoenician Women portrays the rival sons of King Oedipus and their mother's doomed attempts at reconciliation, while Orestes shows a son ravaged with guilt after the vengeful murder of his mother. In the Bacchae, a king mistreats a newcomer to his land, little knowing that he is the god Dionysus disguised as a mortal, while in Iphigenia at Aulis, the Greek leaders take the horrific decision to sacrifice a princess to gain favour from the gods in their mission to Troy. Finally, the Rhesus depicts a world of espionage between the warring Greek and Trojan camps.

Three Plays

Philip Vellacott's verse translations convey the poetic eloquence of the original texts

One of the greatest playwrights of Ancient Greece, the works of Euripides (484-406 BC) were revolutionary in their depiction of tragic events caused by flawed humanity, and in their use of the gods as symbols of human nature.

One of the greatest playwrights of Ancient Greece, the works of Euripides (484-406 BC) were revolutionary in their depiction of tragic events caused by flawed humanity, and in their use of the gods as symbols of human nature. The three plays in this collection show his abilities as the sceptical questioner of his age. Alcestis, an early drama, tells the tale of a queen who offers her own life in exchange for that of her husband; cast as a tragedy, it contains passages of satire and comedy. The tragicomedy Iphigenia in Tauris melodramatically reunites the ill-fated children of Agamemnon, while the pure tragedy of Hippolytus shows the fatal impact of Phaedra's unreasoning passion for her chaste stepson. All three plays explore a deep gulf that separates man from woman, and all depict a world dominated by amoral forces beyond human control.

Electra and Other Plays

Five of Euripides' boldest and most moving tragedies,all focussing on strong female characters

Of all the ancient Greek tragedians, Euripides was the most sensitive to the lives of women and other outcasts in Athenian society, and Electra and Other Plays collects five plays demonstrating his talent for bringing to life their plight. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by John Davie with an introduction and notes by Richard Rutherford. 
 
Written during a period overshadowed by the fierce struggle for supremacy between Sparta and Euripides' native Athens, these five plays are haunted by the shadow of war - and in particular its impact on women. In Electra the children of Agamemnon take bloody revenge on their mother for murdering their father after his return from Troy, and Suppliant Women depicts the grieving mothers of those killed in battle. The other plays deal with the aftermath of the Trojan War for the defeated survivors, as Andromache shows Hector's widow as a trophy of war in the house of her Greek captor, and Hecabe portrays a defeated queen avenging the murder of her last-remaining son, while Trojan Women tells of the plight of the city's women in the hands of their victors. 
 
John Davie's compelling translations are accompanied by an introduction by Richard Rutherford describing the tragic genre and Euripides innovations, along with a chronology, prefaces to each play, notes, a bibliography and a glossary of names. 
 
Euripides (c.485-07 BC) was an Athenian born into a family of considerable rank. Disdaining the public duties expected of him, Euripides spent a life of quiet introspection, spending much of his life in a cave on Salamis. Late in life he voluntarily exiled himself to the court of Archelaus, King of Macedon, where he wrote The Bacchae, regarded by many as his greatest work. Euripides is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive. 
 
If you enjoyed Electra and Other Plays, you might like Euripides' Medea and Other Plays, also available in Penguin Classics. 
 
'The most intensely tragic of all the poets' 
Aristotle

Euripides (c.485-406 BC) was already a controversial figure in his own lifetime, regarded as a 'clever' poet, associated with philosophers and intellectuals. He is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive. 
 
 
John Davie was born in Glasgow in 1950, and educated at Glasgow University and Balliol College, Oxford. Dr Richard Rutherford was born in Edinburgh in 1956 and has been tutor in Greek & Latin Literature at Christ Church College, Oxford, since 1982.

Written during a period overshadowed by the fierce struggle for supremacy between Sparta and Euripides' native Athens, these five plays are haunted by the shadow of war - and in particular its impact on women. In Electra the children of Agamemnon take bloody revenge on their mother for murdering their father after his return from Troy, and Suppliant Women depicts the grieving mothers of those killed in battle. The other plays deal with the aftermath of the Trojan War for the defeated survivors, as Andromache shows Hector's widow as a trophy of war in the house of her Greek captor, and Hecabe portrays a defeated queen avenging the murder of her last-remaining son, while Trojan Women tells of the plight of the city's women in the hands of their victors.

Greek Tragedy

Bringing together the masterpieces of classical tragedy in one volume, this is the ideal single-volume introduction for theatre goers, actors, general readers, and students of Classics, English Literature, and Drama.

AESOP probably lived in the middle part of the sixth century BC. A statement in Herodotus gives grounds for thinking that he was a slave. 
 
 
Simon Goldhill (introducer) is Professor of Greek at Cambridge University and a Fellow of King's College where he is Director of Studies in Classics. He has published widely on many aspects of Greek literature, especially tragedy. He is in great demand as a lecturer all over the world, and is a frequent broadcaster on radio and television on classical matters. 
 
Shomit Dutta (editor) was educated at University College Oxford, and King's College London, and has taught classics at Radley College and Harrow School, and Oxford. He is also a freelance arts reviewer, and has published a translation of Sophocles' Ajax (Cambridge).

Agememnon is the first part of the Aeschylus's Orestian trilogy in which the leader of the Greek army returns from the Trojan war to be murdered by his treacherous wife Clytemnestra. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex the king sets out to uncover the cause of the plague that has struck his city, only to disover the devastating truth about his relationship with his mother and his father. 
Medea is the terrible story of a woman's bloody revenge on her adulterous husband through the murder of her own children.

Medea and Other Plays

A collection of four of the finest Greek plays

Medea/Hecabe/Electra/Heracles 
 
Four devastating Greek tragedies showing the 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. 
 
Translated with an Introduction by PHILIP VELLACOTT

Euripides was an Athenian born in 484BC. A member of a family of considerable rank, he disliked performing the public duties expected of him, preferring a life of introspection.  He was not a popular figure, and at some point (and for a reason unknown) he went into voluntary exile at the court of Archelaus, King of Macedon.  He died c.407BC and is thought to have written around ninety-two plays, of which seventeen survive.

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 (c.485-407 BC) 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.

Alcestis/Medea/The Children of Heracles/Hippolytus 
 
'One of the best prose translations of Euripides I have seen' Robert Fagles 
 
This selection of plays shows Euripides transforming the titanic figures of Greek myths into recognizable, fallible human beings. Medea, in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by killing her children, is one of the most shocking of all the Greek tragedies. Medea is a towering figure who demonstrates Euripides' unusual willingness to give voice to a woman's case. Alcestis is based on a magical myth in which Death is overcome, and The Children of Heracles examines conflict between might and right, while Hippolytus deals with self-destructive integrity. 
 
Translated by JOHN DAVIE

Euripides (c.485-406 BC) is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive. 
John Davie is Head of Classics at St Paul's School in London. 
Richard Rutherford is Tutor in Classics at Christ Church, Oxford.

That proud, impassioned soul, so ungovernable now that she has felt the sting of injustice&rsquo; 
 
&lsquo;Medea&rsquo;, in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by killing her children, is one of the most shocking and horrific of all the Greek tragedies. Dominating the play is Medea herself, a towering and powerful figure who demonstrates Euripides&rsquo; unusual willingness to give voice to a woman&rsquo;s case. &lsquo;Alcestis&rsquo;, a tragicomedy, is based on a magical myth in which Death is overcome, and &lsquo;The Children of Heracles&rsquo; examines the conflict between might and right, while &lsquo;Hippolytus&rsquo; deals with self-destructive integrity and moral dilemmas. These plays show Euripides transforming the awesome figures of Greek mythology into recognizable, fallible human beings. 
 
John Davie&rsquo;s accessible prose translation is accompanied by a general introduction and individual prefaces to each play. 
 
Previously published as Alcestis and Other Plays

Heracles and Other Plays

Euripides (c.485-406 BC) is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive. John Davie is Head of Classics at St Paul's School in London. Richard Rutherford is Tutor in Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. Together they have translated and edited 'Alcestis &amp; Other Plays' and 'Medea &amp; Other Plays' for Penguin Classics.

Heracles/ Iphigenia Among the Taurians/ Helen/ Ion/ Cyclops: Of these plays, only 'Heracles' truly belongs in the tragic sphere with its presentation of underserved suffering and divine malignity. The other plays flirt with comedy and comic themes. Their plots are ironic and complex with deception and elusion eventually leading to reconciliation between mother and son in 'Ion', brother and sister in 'Iphigenia', and husband and wife in 'Helen'. The comic vein is even stronger in the satyric'Cyclops' in which the giant's inebriation and subsequent violence are treated as humorous. Together, these plays demonstrate Euripides' challenge to the generic boundaries of Athenian drama.

The plays of Euripides have stimulated audiences since the fifth century BC. This volume, containing Phoenician Women, Bacchae, Iphigenia at Aulis, Orestes, and Rhesuscompletes the new editions of Euripides in Penguin Classics.

Euripides

Robin Robertson

‘Euripides’s Bacchae is one of the most powerful poems in Greek literature...one of the hardest texts in Western literature to translate. The astute Scottish poet Robin Robertson has already shown with his Medea, published in 2008, that he can translate Euripides into chiselled English poetry ripe for theatrical delivery. Bacchae is even better. In the choral odes, sung by the titular Bacchants, he has radiantly evoked the ritual solemnity, supported by assonance and percussive drive, that makes these sung poems so otherworldly. The dialogue is taut, volcanic and often exquisitely beautiful... Euripides deserves to have his exquisite verse transformed into modern speech, and in Robertson I believe he has found a poet who can do that. This translation cries out for realisation by multiple voices on radio or in live theatre

Robin Robertson is the great Euripides translator of our time. The clarity and power of his Medea is unmatched, and his Bacchae is just as direct, unhindered and fluid, perfect for revealing such madness.

I can recommend the clarity of the translation...Robertson maintains a robust and exuberant style. It’s time to brush up on our Greek theatre and here’s a stunning chance

I portray men as they should be, but Euripides portrays them as they are

This stunning translation, by the acclaimed poet Robin Robertson (Forward Prize, Man Booker shortlist 2018), has reinvigorated Euripides' devastating take of a god's revenge for contemporary readers, bringing the ancient verse to fervid, brutal life. 
 
Dionysus, god of wine and ecstasy, has come to Thebes, and the women are streaming out of the city to worship him on the mountain, drinking and dancing in wild frenzy. The king, Pentheus, denouces this so-called 'god' as a charlatan. But no mortal can deny a god and no man can ever stand against Dionysus. 
 
'The dialogue is taut, volcanic and often exquisitely beautiful... Euripides deserves to have his exquisite verse transformed into modern speech, and in Robertson I believe he has found a poet who can do that.' Edith Hall, Literary Review

Euripides

Praise for Bacchae

‘Euripides’s Bacchae is one of the most powerful poems in Greek literature...one of the hardest texts in Western literature to translate. The astute Scottish poet Robin Robertson has already shown with his

Robin Robertson is the great Euripides translator of our time. The clarity and power of his Medea is unmatched, and his Bacchae is just as direct, unhindered and fluid, perfect for revealing such madne ...

I can recommend the clarity of the translation...Robertson maintains a robust and exuberant style. It’s time to brush up on our Greek theatre and here’s a stunning chance

‘Euripides’s Bacchae is one of the most powerful poems in Greek literature...one of the hardest texts in Western literature to translate. The astute Scottish poet Robin Robertson has already shown with his

Robin Robertson is the great Euripides translator of our time. The clarity and power of his Medea is unmatched, and his Bacchae is just as direct, unhindered and fluid, perfect for revealing such madne ...

I can recommend the clarity of the translation...Robertson maintains a robust and exuberant style. It’s time to brush up on our Greek theatre and here’s a stunning chance

‘Euripides’s Bacchae is one of the most powerful poems in Greek literature...one of the hardest texts in Western literature to translate. The astute Scottish poet Robin Robertson has already shown with his

Robin Robertson is the great Euripides translator of our time. The clarity and power of his Medea is unmatched, and his Bacchae is just as direct, unhindered and fluid, perfect for revealing such madne ...

I can recommend the clarity of the translation...Robertson maintains a robust and exuberant style. It’s time to brush up on our Greek theatre and here’s a stunning chance

Books by Euripides

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter