Gilbert Murray's Euripides: The Trojan Women and Other Plays Book

Ever see those newsreels of the last days for U.S. forces in Vietnam? Evacuating some of the local citizens who had helped us, but, without enough room for them all, leaving some behind to fend for themselves at the hands of the Viet Cong. Horrible stuff. That's what The Trojan Women reminded me of; all the last horrible details at the end of a war, seen from the losing side. Hecuba, queen of Troy, suddenly widowed, now facing a life of slavery to the Greeks and the unpleasant futures of her children -- she stands vividly depicted here, every inch a queen, every bit a woman, and thoroughly tragic and too intelligent to let the audience avoid even one little bit of the grim and grisly aspects her fate. Sounds rough, and it is, but also so bright with truthful characterizations and conflicts that it is still an excellent read. That Euripides was able to have this play performed at one of the Athens festivals just before the city-state was committing to a terribly misjudged assault on Sicily is remarkable. Also remarkable is that this play was written over 2,400 years ago and is still convincing and gripping. Customs have changed (a little), but people have not.