This is the first major critical study of three late plays of Euripides: Helen, Andromeda and Iphigenia among the Taurians. Matthew Wright offers a sustained reading of the plays, arguing that they are a thematically connected trilogy. He re-examines central themes such as myth, geography, cultural identity, philosophy, religion, and (crucially) genre. These are not separate topics, but are seen as being joined together to form an intricate nexus of ideas. The book has implications for our view of Euripides and the tragic genre as a whole.

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"This book is the first major critical study of three late (and much-maligned) plays of Euripides. It offers a fresh reading of the plays, which has important implications for the way in which we read not only Euripidean tragedy but also tragedy in general. It deliberately reacts against the unexamined preconceptions on which much existing criticism is based. It also argues at length that the escape-tragedies were produced as a thematically connected trilogy in 412 B.C." "The 'escape-tragedies' (Helen, Iphigenia among the Taurians, and the fragmentary Andromeda) have for a long time been neglected or misunderstood. Critics have tended to find them puzzling, unsatisfactory, or even 'un-tragic'. Matthew Wright re-evaluates the escape tragedies and argues that they are to be taken seriously as a major dramatic and intellectual achievement. In particular, he explores exactly what it means to say that a play is, or is not, 'tragic', and assesses the way in which genre affects our understanding of the plays."--Résumé de l'éditeur.

"This is a study of three late plays of Euripides: Helen, Andromeda and Iphigenia among the Taurians. This book examines central themes such as myth, geography, cultural identity, philosophy, religion, and genre. Matthew Wright presents a new interpretation of the plays, arguing that they are a thematically connected trilogy"--Provided by publisher.

Pollution is ubiquitous in Greek tragedy: matricidal Orestes seeks purification at Apollo's shrine in Delphi; carrion from Polyneices' unburied corpse fills the altars of Thebes; delirious Phaedra suffers from a 'pollution of the mind'. This book undertakes the first detailed analysis of the important role which pollution and its counterparts - purity and purification - play in tragedy. It argues that pollution is central in the negotiation of tragic crises, fulfilling a diverse array of functions by virtue of its qualities and associations, from making sense of adversity to configuring civic identity in the encounter of self and other. While primarily a literary study providing close readings of several key plays, the book also provides important new perspectives on pollution. It will appeal to a broad range of scholars and students not only in classics and literary studies, but also in the study of religions and anthropology.

This book presents a cultural history of the Greek tragedy and its influence on subsequent Greek and Roman art and literature.

This work is the first major commentary on Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris to appear in English in more than 65 years. It offers detailed analysis of a fascinating play that scholars so far had considered mainly as a source of information about Athenian cult and viewed as a romantic adventure story with happy end. Apart from including sober assessments of textual, linguistic and metrical problems, the commentary sheds new light on the play’s treatment of myth, its intricate structure, presentation of character, and place in Euripides’ work. In particular it offers fresh insights into the play’s relationship to the literary tradition, especially its treatment of the crimes of the Pelopids, and its presentation of the complex, ambiguous relationship of humans and gods as well as that of Greeks and barbarians. Unlike most other tragedies, Iphigenia in Tauris does not feature any villain and avoids concentrating on past crimes and their corrosive influence on the characters’ present. The Taurians are not portrayed simply as savage and slow barbarians and Iphigenia, the most intelligent character, fails to transcend her limitations. Religion and cult in both myth and contemporary Athens are a mixture of traditional and invented elements and the play as a whole turns out to be an intriguing and unique experiment in Euripides’ career.