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Euripides · c. 480-406 BC

Rhesus

Ῥῆσος
Ancient Sources / Euripides / Rhesus

Read our guide to Rhesus

Rhesus is a short tragedy handed down under Euripides' name, though many scholars doubt that he wrote it. It dramatises Book 10 of the Iliad, the night raid of Odysseus and Diomedes, but from the Trojan side: the Trojan sentries wake Hector, Dolon sets out as a spy, the Thracian king Rhesus arrives too late to help, and he is killed in his sleep with his famous horses taken. The sections follow the play's own units (prologue, parodos, episodes, choral songs and exodos) and keep the standard line numbers of the Greek text.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 21 passages, about 8800 words in English.
Translator
Edward P. Coleridge (1891)
Edition
Greek text: Gilbert Murray (ed.), Euripidis Fabulae, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913, as digitised by Perseus. English: Edward P. Coleridge, The Plays of Euripides, London: George Bell and Sons, first published 1891 (Bohn's Classical Library; the Perseus header records a later printing)
Cite as
Euripides, Rhesus 1 (by line number)

Contents · 21 passages

  1. 1–51Prologue: the sentries wake Hector with news of the Greek fires361 words
  2. 52–104First episode: Hector believes the Greeks are fleeing and arms528 words
  3. 105–148First episode: Aeneas advises sending a spy416 words
  4. 149–183First episode: Dolon volunteers to spy and names his reward356 words
  5. 184–223First episode: Hector promises Achilles' horses; Dolon sets out398 words
  6. 224–265First choral song: prayer for Dolon's success; a shepherd arrives256 words
  7. 266–318Second episode: a shepherd announces that Rhesus is coming511 words
  8. 319–387Second episode: Hector grudgingly accepts Rhesus; the Chorus welcomes him543 words
  9. 388–421Third episode: Rhesus arrives and Hector reproaches him340 words
  10. 422–453Third episode: Rhesus explains his delay and boasts312 words
  11. 454–517Third episode: Rhesus asks to face Achilles; Hector describes Odysseus596 words
  12. 518–564Hector assigns Rhesus a post; the Chorus changes the night watch313 words
  13. 565–594Fourth episode: Odysseus and Diomedes find Hector's bivouac empty310 words
  14. 595–626Fourth episode: Athena sends them against Rhesus283 words
  15. 627–674Fourth episode: Athena, as Aphrodite, deceives Paris430 words
  16. 675–727Fifth episode: the sentries challenge Odysseus and let him pass463 words
  17. 728–803Exodos: Rhesus' wounded charioteer tells of the night attack679 words
  18. 804–855Exodos: the charioteer accuses Hector446 words
  19. 856–881Exodos: Hector defends himself and blames Odysseus283 words
  20. 882–949Exodos: the Muse mourns her son Rhesus574 words
  21. 950–996Exodos: the Muse's prophecy and Hector's orders443 words

More by Euripides

English translation by Edward P. Coleridge (1891). Original text: Greek text: Gilbert Murray (ed.), Euripidis Fabulae, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913, as digitised by Perseus. English: Edward P. Coleridge, The Plays of Euripides, London: George Bell and Sons, first published 1891 (Bohn's Classical Library; the Perseus header records a later printing).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.