This book is a critical study of three late plays of Euripides. It offers a reading of the plays, which has important implications for the way in which we read Euripidean tragedy and tragedy in general. It re-evaluates the escape-tragedies (Helen, Iphigenia among the Taurians, and the fragmentary Andromeda) and argues that they are to be taken seriously as a major dramatic and intellectual achievement. The book also argues that the escape-tragedies were produced as a thematically connected trilogy in 412 BC. The book assesses the ways in which genre affects our understanding of the plays. It a ... More

This book is a critical study of three late plays of Euripides. It offers a reading of the plays, which has important implications for the way in which we read Euripidean tragedy and tragedy in general. It re-evaluates the escape-tragedies (Helen, Iphigenia among the Taurians, and the fragmentary Andromeda) and argues that they are to be taken seriously as a major dramatic and intellectual achievement. The book also argues that the escape-tragedies were produced as a thematically connected trilogy in 412 BC. The book assesses the ways in which genre affects our understanding of the plays. It also examines the plays' treatment of central themes such as myth, geography, cultural identity, philosophy, and religion. These are not separate topics but are seen as being joined together to form an intricate nexus of ideas. The escape-tragedies emerge as being serious, dark, pessimistic plays which raise some disturbing questions about the human condition.