Trojan Women (Coleridge Translation)

Regarded by modern playwright Ellen McLaughlin as perhaps the greatest antiwar play ever written, Euripides The Trojan Women, also known as Troades, is a poignant tragedy that resonates deeply even today. Written in 415 BC against the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War, this powerful work reflects on the devastating events surrounding the capture of Melos, where the Athenians brutally subjugated its people. This year was also marked by the notorious desecration of the hermai and the Athenians ill-fated second expedition to Sicily—events that likely influenced Euripides’ writing. The Trojan Women is the final act of a trilogy that also includes Alexandros, which explores the fate of the Trojan prince Paris, and Palamedes, which addresses the unjust treatment of the Greek hero Palamedes. Unlike Aeschylus connected trilogies, Euripides chose to present these stories independently at the Dionysia, where he ultimately secured second prize, overshadowed by the little-known tragedian Xenocles.