Euripides' "Suppliant Women" is an unfairly neglected master work by the most controversial of the three great tragedians of Ancient Greece. It dramatises the story of one of the proudest moments in Athenian mythical history: the intervention of Theseus in support of international law to force the burial of the Argives who were killed during their attack on Thebes. But Euripides adds new characters to the story and presents the myth in a different and sometimes ambiguous light. A sense of uncertainty and undercutting pervades this play, which dramatises the sufferings of the innocent in war and then at the end foretells more war. As well as presenting a scene-by-scene analysis, this book will discuss the date and background of the play, whether people and events from contemporary Athens can be glimpsed in the drama; the problems of staging, and finally the story in later tradition.

Ian C. Storey is Professor of Ancient History and Classics at Trent University, Ontario, Canada.