Translated by Robert Emmet Meagher

Description

This monograph and selective anthology serve to introduce the most immediately accessible and compelling playwright of the ancient Greek theater. The only volume of its kind available, it provides a rich selection of core plays and a substantial introduction to the full scope of the Euripidean corpus.

In "Mortal Vision" Meagher endeavors to strike the core of what he takes to be Euripides' abiding concerns: war, the plight of women, and the awful mystery of the gods. The five plays selected for inclusion here embody those concerns as fully and powerfully as any in the Euripidean repertoire. Finally, in "Revel and Revelation," Meagher looks back at Euripides' consummate masterwork, the Bakkhai, as a definitive response to the ancient quip that Athenian drama has little or nothing to do with Dionysos. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Special Features

• A monograph on Euripides entitled "Mortal Vision: the Wisdom of Euripides"
• Five plays in translation: Hekabe, Helen, Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia in Tauris, and Bakkhai
• A concluding essay entitled "Revel and Revelation: the Poetics of Euripides"

Author Bio

Robert Emmet Meagher has won critical acclaim from actors, directors and scholars who have commissioned, read and performed his translations of ancient Greek plays in the United States, Great Britain and Ireland. His unmatched skill in eliciting the power and passion of Greek drama is a synthesis of innate dramatic sensibilities, academic brilliance and an interdisciplinary approach. Since completing his doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, Meagher has taught literature, drama, epic, comparative religion, theology and philosophy as a visiting professor, a guest lecturer and a full-time professor. Actress Irene Papas who has commissioned three translations from him praises Meagher's "true sense of dramatic construction...his dialogue is always sharp, frequently daring, and invariably extremely actable." The late Michael Joyce of Dublin's Samuel Beckett Center and the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain called him "the finest living translator of ancient Greek Drama." Other books include: Euripides Helen, Mortal Vision: The Wisdom of Euripides, Helen: A Study in Myth and Misogyny, Euripides Bakkhai, Euripides Hekabe, and Aeschylus Seven Against Thebes.

Comments and Reviews

The translations have a sinewy directness that communicates much of the plays' immediacy and power...Those who wish to stage one of these plays should give M's translations serious consideration.

— James Morwood
The Classical Outlook

Robert Meagher's able translation and insightful introduction illuminate Euripides' tale as never before, showing that the past is not past, and that the darkest and brightest truths never change....highly recommended.

— Wisconsin Bookwatch

Meagher is an eloquent translator and experienced producer of Greek drama, and his polished poetic language makes the play more accessible to modern audiences...

— Katerina Zacharia,
University College London
The Classical Review

A book surely destined to become a historical point de depart in thought and understanding — a remarkable achievement! ... There is in Meagher a rare touch of genius. He is not only a great scholar, but a great humanisit in the full, positive sense of the word.

— Germaine Bree
Wake Forest University

In Robert Emmet Meagher's translations, Greek drama springs to life with poetic immediacy, elevating the past into a timeless present. He renders Euripides not only readable but extremely actable.

— Michael Cacoyannis
Director, Iphigenia and Zorba the Greek