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Euripides · c. 480-406 BC

Trojan Women

Τρῳάδες
Ancient Sources / Euripides / Trojan Women

Read our guide to Trojan Women

The Trojan Women was staged in 415 BC. Troy has fallen, and the captive women, among them the old queen Hecuba, wait in the ruins before the Greek ships sail, while lots are cast for their fate as slaves. The play shows the last day of Troy, with the doom of Cassandra, Andromache and her little son Astyanax, and the trial of Helen before Menelaus, ending with the burning of the city. 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, 26 passages, about 11600 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, Trojan Women 1 (by line number)

Contents · 26 passages

  1. 1–47Prologue: Poseidon bids farewell to ruined Troy396 words
  2. 48–97Prologue: Athena and Poseidon plan to wreck the Greek fleet493 words
  3. 98–152Hecuba's lament among the ruins345 words
  4. 153–229Parodos: the captive Trojan women come out of the tents555 words
  5. 230–293First episode: Talthybius announces the allotment of the captives531 words
  6. 294–340aFirst episode: Cassandra enters with a torch333 words
  7. 341–405First episode: Cassandra sings her marriage song and foretells Agamemnon's doom642 words
  8. 406–461First episode: Cassandra foretells the wanderings of Odysseus620 words
  9. 462–510First episode: Hecuba collapses in despair465 words
  10. 512–567First choral song: the wooden horse and the sack of Troy356 words
  11. 568–602bSecond episode: Andromache arrives with Astyanax305 words
  12. 603–633Second episode: Hecuba and Andromache on death and hope297 words
  13. 634–685Second episode: Andromache's speech on slavery505 words
  14. 686–739Second episode: Talthybius announces the death sentence on Astyanax547 words
  15. 740–781Second episode: Andromache's farewell to her son408 words
  16. 782–858Second choral song; Talthybius takes Astyanax away499 words
  17. 860–894Third episode: Menelaus arrives to take Helen347 words
  18. 895–965Third episode: Helen defends herself665 words
  19. 966–1032Third episode: Hecuba answers Helen644 words
  20. 1033–1059Third episode: Menelaus decides to take Helen to Argos272 words
  21. 1060–1117Third choral song: Zeus and the fall of Ilium364 words
  22. 1118–1155Fourth episode: the body of Astyanax is brought on Hector's shield348 words
  23. 1156–1206Fourth episode: Hecuba mourns Astyanax554 words
  24. 1207–1250Fourth episode: Hecuba buries Astyanax392 words
  25. 1251–1286Exodos: Talthybius orders the burning of Troy344 words
  26. 1287–1332Exodos: the Trojan women are led away to the Greek ships370 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.