Euripides’ Trojan Women: The Fall of Troy in Greek Tragedy

In “Trojan Women”, the Athenian playwright Euripides highlights an aspect of the Trojan War neglected by Christopher Nolan in “The Odyssey”: the true horror of Troy’s capture and destruction. In this episode, Emily and Cam break down Euripides’ play. Produced at Athens mere months after the Athenians captured Melos (where the Athenians killed all of the men and enslaved the city’s women and children), Euripides’ play offers a powerful and moving depiction of war’s impact on its victims by exploring the suffering and heroism of three Trojan women: Hecuba, Cassandra, and Andromache.Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:https://havetogawilltravel.comIf you liked this episode, buy us a coffee:Our Ko-Fi pageLinks to previous episodes mentioned in this show:Our episode about Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey.Our episode about Sophocles’ Philoctetes.Watch Michael Cacoyannis’ film version of the Trojan Women on Daily Motion.Cover image adapted from a photo of George Romney’s “Lady Emma Hamilton as Cassandra”, taken by Jan Arkesteijn (Wikimedia Commons).----------00:10 - Introduction02:16 - Content Warning!02:53 - Euripides’ Trojan Women02:56 - Euripides and his work06:49 - The Play’s Context: the Peloponnesian War and the sack of Melos11:12 - Plot Synopsis11:14 - Poseidon and Athena hatch a scheme13:16 - Talthybius, Hecuba, and the Allotment of the Captives to Agamemnon, Neoptolemus, and Odysseus15:09 - Cassandra16:05 - Andromache17:16 - The agon: Menelaus, Helen, and Hecuba21:57 - The funeral of Astyanax and the death of Troy23:00 - War and Suffering: Hecuba and Talthybius23:26 - Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey and Euripides’ Trojan Women: a difference in perspective25:09 - The Pain of Hecuba, Cassandra, and Andromache (and a digression on Odysseus)29:35 - Hecuba: Leadership and Resilience33:11 - The Empathy of Talthybius39:23 - Agency and Humanity39:46 - The women as heroes39:54 - Cassadra’s vengeance40:42 - Andromache, Neoptolemus, and Astyanax41:57 - Hecuba43:04 - Helen and Talthybius45:04 - Fortune is Fickle45:51 - Greek literature and the instability of fortune48:00 - Agency again: fate and choice50:57 - The Victors and their Comeuppance51:20 - Nolan’s view on war and society52:12 - Euripides and the wrath of the gods54:54 - Digression: Michael Cacoyannis’ “Trojan Women”, featuring Irene Papas55:53 - Athens and the Trojan Women56:53 - Empathy for the victims of warfare57:32 - Euripides as Cassandra?59:11 – Final Thoughts and Wrap-up