Euripides I: Alcestis

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Euripides I contains the plays "Alcestis," translated by Richmond Lattimore; "Medea," translated by Oliver Taplin; "The Children of Heracles," translated by Mark Griffith; and "Hippolytus," translated by David Grene. Our discussion will focus on Alcestis, which occupies a famously ambiguous space between tragedy and satyr play. By replacing the traditional fourth-slot farce with a domestic drama centered on sacrifice and resurrection, Euripides challenges our expectations of Greek drama. Lattimore’s translation preserves this tonal friction, particularly the tension between Admetus’s controversial grief and the heroic, yet boisterous, intervention of Heracles.

In this highly anticipated third edition, Mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most have carefully updated the translations to bring them even closer to the ancient Greek while retaining the vibrancy for which our English versions are famous. This edition also includes brand-new translations of Euripides'…