1# Women of Troy 2 3**Euripides (Athens, c. 450 BC)** 4 5## Background 6 7- Set in 415 BC, after Trojan War 8- Inspired by Homer's Iliad - mythical poem by Homer (Greek poet). Final weeks of war. 9-416 BC - Greeks invade Melos (Peloponnesian War). Melians neutral (relationship to Sparta) 10- Athenians believed they were most civilised society 11 12### Trojan War 13 14- Eris, goddess of discord, gives golden apple to Hera, Athena, Aphrodite 15- Zeus sends Eris to decide who has apple 16- Paris/Alexander steals Helen from her husband Menelaus with help of Aphrodite 17- King Menelaus gathers army 18- Helen of Sparta becomes Helen of Troy 19- war lasted 10 years 20- Achilles & Hector killed 21- gods take sides & end war 22- Trojan horse - invented by Athena, executed by Odysseus & Athenians 23- Trojans had banquet at end of war when Trojan horse arrived 24 25### Euripides 26 27- Athenian, 450 BC 28- Golden Age - political/artistic/intellectual reneissance 29- progressive representation of female characters, graphic/uncouth plays 30- critical of society 31- Athens attacked by Sparta >5 times 32 33 34 35 36## Characters 37 38**Poseidon** - (careless) god of the sea, built Troy w/ Apollo 39**Apollo** - god, affair w/ Cassandra in exchange for persistent foresight 40**Athene** - goddess of wisdom - supported Greeks in Battle of Troy 41**Hecuba** - widow of Priam, King of Troy. Old & "grey-haired". 42**Priam** - husband of Hecuba. 50 kids. 43**Alexander** - aka Paris. Son of Priam & Hecuba. Kidnaps Helen from Sparta (most beautiful) 44**Cassandra** - their daughter, a prophetess. Manic. 45**Andromache** - their daughter-in-law, widow of Hector 46**Talthybius** - Greek officer - assigns women 47**Menelaus** - King of Sparta 48**Helen** - his wife, Trojan, imprisoned 49**Chorus** of Trojan women, captured 50**Astryanax** - small boy, Hector and Andromache's son 51**Greek soldiers** 52 53 54 55- *trojan* - native of Troy 56- Epeios (Greek) built Trojan horse to defeat King Priam of Troy (city) 57- Women are captured and enslaved/raped, men are killed 58- "All the women of Troy who've not yet been allocated are in this building here" 59- Poseidon & Athene destroy Greece with help from Zeus 60- Invasion depiction - p.26 61 62 63- Greeks killed astyanax irrationally 64- Women accept their role as slaves 65 66## Quotes 67 68> “The lucky ones are dead” - slug-emdez- NUTZZZZ 69 70> “I won’t sleep on a royal mattress anymore” - Also slugmEem 71 72> “No, no one is happier dead. The living at least have hope. To be dead is to be nothing.” 73 74> “After so many sorrows, and in such despair, words mean nothing” 75 76> "muh slavery" 77 78## Personification 79 80### Hecuba 81 82Complains, representing elderly, voice of Women of Troy. Wise. 83Personifies Troy. Persistence/hope. 84 85### Cassandra 86 87Revenge, irrationality 88 89### Andromache 90 91she ded 92 93### Chorus 94 95Represents pain, magnitude of people. Represents Women of Troy (society). Pleads to Ancient Greeks. 96Effectively narrator (background info etc). Gives more context than Hecuba. 97 98### Talthybius 99 100Brutality, power. Self-serving. Analogy with Auschwitz. 101Conflicted interests - doesn't want to be evil (empathises with women). However, it is his duty to Greeks. 102 103### Menelaus 104 105Power, selfishness, arrogance. 106Blind to his flaws (perhaps naive). 107 108### Helen 109 110Imprisonment. Manipulative. Self-serving. 111 112## Imagery 113 114### Water / Nautical 115 116> "flow with the stream, let the new wind fill our sails, not breast a rinning tide with our fragile prow" (p.9) 117 118- start of play - Poseidon abandons ship 119- water becomes symbol of comfort/peace for women (constant/familiar) 120- symoblism of bodies of water = tears 121 122### Dark & light 123 124### Violence 125 126> "it degrades the decency of speech to put such things into words" (p.53) 127 128- animalistic depictions of Hecuba 129- graphic violent passages (e.g. Astyanax's body - p.35, p.51) 130- uncharacteristic of artistic norms at time of writing 131- comment on brutality/senselessness of war 132- lost innocence/peace/humanity/honour (symbol of Astyanax) 133- loss of common sense / perversion of nature & morality 134- no positive outcome of violence without sacrifice of morality/humanity (e.g. Talthybius) 135- appeal to Athenian audience incl. children 136- war effects everyone (e.g. Astyanax) therefore everyone should see the brutal outcome 137- acknowledgement that children should not be involved 138