The Trojan Women. By Euripides. Full Audiobook
"The Trojan Women" is a Greek tragedy written by Euripides. The play is set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, and it focuses on the suffering of the women of Troy. The play begins with the gods Athena and Poseidon discussing the aftermath of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Athena has turned against the Greeks because Ajax, a Greek warrior, raped the Trojan princess Cassandra in her temple. As a result, she has called on Poseidon and Zeus to create stormy seas to punish the Greeks on their journey home. The mortal plot unfolds with the stage showing a ruined wall and a tent containing the recently enslaved women of Troy.

Hecuba, the former queen of Troy, laments the destruction of her city and the horrible treatment her family has endured. The Chorus, made up of her former handmaidens and other noble Trojan women, joins her, and together they sing, wondering what will become of them and which Greeks will be their masters. Talthybius, a Greek guard, enters and tries to inform Hecuba of the death of her daughter, Polyxena. He also announces to the women that they will all be taken as slaves by different Greek men, and so will have to leave their homeland essentially alone.

Cassandra, Hecuba's daughter, who was cursed with the ability to see the future, enters the stage from the tent. She is in a wild, panicked mood — she has seen that Agamemnon will enslave her, and that her enslavement will lead to her death and the death of his entire family. She talks of Agamemnon as her husband, and likens her enslavement to marriage. Because she can see the future, she knows that she cannot fight it, and leaves willingly for Agamemnon's ship.

Andromache, Hecuba's daughter-in-law and wife of the late warrior Hector, enters carrying her baby Astyanax. She and Hecuba sing a song of mourning together. Andromache reveals that Greek soldiers killed Polyxena. She tries to comfort Hecuba by arguing that it is better to be dead than to be alive and suffering. Andromache is taken away to the ship of her new master, but before she goes Talthybius informs her that she cannot take her baby. A panel of Greek warriors has decided Astyanax must die, because if he were to live and grow into a man he could pose a potential threat to his Greek captors. Devastated, Andromache gives Astyanax to Talthybius, and the two exit the stage.

The play ends with Hecuba being taken away to the ship of her new master, Odysseus. The Chorus sings a final song, lamenting the fate of the Trojan women and the destruction of their city. The play is a powerful commentary on the horrors of war and the suffering of innocent people caught up in its wake. It is a timeless classic that continues to resonate with audiences today.

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More: Euripides, The Trojan Women, Greek tragedy
Troy, Hecuba, Cassandra
Andromache, Menelaus, Helen of Troy
Poseidon, Athena, Gilbert Murray
Edward P. Coleridge, LibriVox Audiobooks, myths
legends, fairy tales, tragedy

00:00:00 Preface
00:04:10 Introductory Note
00:09:11 Characters In The Play
00:10:21 The Trojan Women

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