Works by Euripides
Alcestis
Alcestis, unlike most tragedies, has a happy ending. Apollo appears at the beginning of the play to shed some light on the current situation; he had persuaded the Fates to allow King Admetus a way to live past his due date because Admetus had been so polite and hospitable to him during his exile. The Fates grant him his request with one condition. King Admetus is on his deathbed and can only cheat death if someone else is willing to die instead of him. His wife Alcestis sacrifices herself for him, but she does not realize that her own death will ruin her husband's life anyway. Heracles, a friend of Admetus, visits the king. Admetus, not wanting to burden his guest with the news of the queen's death, does not inform him of the tragic events and orders his servants to keep silent about it as well. Seeing nothing amiss, Heracles commences the merrymaking and becomes drunk. Finally, the people, upset that they cannot mourn the death of their beloved queen, tell him the truth. Once Heracles hears the truth, he plans to battle Thanatos (Death) at Alcestis' funeral and save her from his clutches. At the last moment, Heracles rescues Alcestis from Thanatos. He brings her to King Admetus and offers her as a new wife. Her face is veiled, so the king reluctantly accepts, not wanting to betray his love to Alcestis so soon after her death. When Admetus finds that the veiled woman is Alcestis, the couple is happily reunited.
Medea
Medea is about the abuse and revenge of the Colchian princess Medea. She marries Jason and the couple live peacefully together at Corinth, producing two sons. After a while, Jason abandons his wife and marries Glauce, the princess of Corinth, instead. His reasons for marrying her are not out of love; he marries her for her status and wealth and hopes to incorporate Medea into his new family as his mistress. Hurt and angry at her abandonment even after ruining her own life at home to be with Jason, Medea plots her revenge against her husband. She faces the predicament posed by her desire to inflict injury on Jason and her love for her children. She ultimately chooses to carry out her retribution by murdering Glauce and her own sons so that Jason may be wifeless and childless. She overcomes her moral scruples and prepares to carry out her vengeance. She delivers a poisoned robe to Glauce as a gift, well knowing that the princess will not be able to resist donning it. Medea soon hears that not only Glauce died in excruciating pain, but King Creon was also poisoned during his attempt to save his daughter. Jason learns of the deaths of Glauce and Creon and races to punish Medea, only to find that his two children have also been killed. After the deed is done, she escapes in Helios' chariot so that Jason could not exact his own revenge. Despite her sadistic revenge, Medea is often seen as a victim of the maltreatment of women rather than a murderer and perpetrator of filicide.
Heracleidae
Heracleidae, or The Children of Heracles, chronicles the adventures of Iolaus and the Heracleidae as they escape from Eurystheus of Argos. Iolaus, the nephew of Heracles, hides and protects Heracles' children from King Eurystheus, who is out to kill them. Iolaus turns to the Athenians for help. He persuades King Demophon, the ruler of Athens, that the reasons for helping him are valid. Demophon supports the Heracleidae, which means war between Athens and Argos. The Argive army invades Athens. The only way the Athenians can triumph in battle is through the sacrifice of a pure virgin of noble blood. Demophon does not want to subject any of his people as human sacrifices, but Macaria, the oldest daughter of Heracles, offers herself up as a sacrifice. Hyllus, a son of Heracles, returns with help. Iolaus, although he is aged and wizened, joins the fracas and is successful; the Athenians have defeated the Argives and Iolaus achieves prominence for his deeds during the battle while growing younger. Eurystheus was given the opportunity to meet Hyllus for single combat, but he refused. He is instead brought before Alcmene, Heracles' mother. The king explains that he did not seek out the children merely for his own enjoyment, but was ordered to do so by Hera. Despite his excuses, Alcmene punishes him by death.
Hippolytus
Hippolytus features Aphrodite as a jealous goddess whose actions cause the suffering of the humans involved. She brings the ruin to Hippolytus, who does not have sexual desires and devotes himself to the chaste goddess Artemis. Aphrodite makes Phaedra, his stepmom, fall madly in love with him. She is ashamed of her incestual love and confides in her nurse, but the nurse informs Hippolytus of his mothers passion. Hippolytus rejects her, and she is so humiliated that she accuses him of rape before committing suicide. Believing her accusation, Theseus, Phaedra's husband, curses Hippolytus, leading to his son's death. However, before Hippolytus dies, Artemis proves his innocence and he forgives Theseus, absolving him from his mistake.
Andromache
Andromache is the widow of the Trojan hero Hector. After the Trojan War, she lives as a slave and concubine of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles. Andromache gave birth to Neoptolemus' son Molossus, but he soon married Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. Hermione grew extremely jealous of Andromache, causing Andromache to hide her son and take refuge in the temple of Thetis. However, Menelaus claims to have taken Molossus and threatens to kill Andromache and her son. They are rescued by Peleus, who delivers them to freedom. After Menelaus' failed attempt, Hermione attempts to kill herself but is saved by a servant. She fears that Neoptolemus will punish her for attempting to kill his other wife and son. Luckily for Hermione, Orestes arrives and takes her away with him at her behest. News arrives, bearing the message of Neoptolemus' death at the hands of Orestes and Apollo. Thetis appears for her grandson's burial and demands that Andromache and Molossus be freed. Andromache is given to Hector's brother, Helenus, and Molossus becomes the first in a dynasty ruling over a region in northwestern Greece.
Sources
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