THE TROJAN WOMEN. POWER POINT PRESENTATION ABOUT THE TROJAN WOMEN.

1. THE TROJAN WOMEN
Presenters:
• Claire Notado
• Jeralden P. Lomotos

2. • The Trojan Women
also known as Troades, is a tragedy by
the Greek playwright Euripides.
 the third tragedy of a trilogy dealing with the Trojan War
 The first tragedy, Alexandros, was about the recognition of the Trojan prince
Paris who had been abandoned in infancy by his parents and rediscovered in
adulthood.
 The second tragedy, Palamedes, dealt with Greek mistreatment of their
fellow Greek Palamedes.
 The plots of this trilogy were not connected in the way that
Aeschylus' Oresteia was connected. Euripides did not favor such connected
trilogies.
 The four Trojan women of the play are the same that appear in the final book
of the Iliad lamenting over the corpse of Hector. Taking place near the same
time is Hecuba, another play by Euripides.

3.  It follows the fates of Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra and the other women of
Troy after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed, and their remaining
families about to be taken away as slaves (it runs parallel to the events
in Euripides’ play “Hecuba”). It is often considered one of Euripides’ greatest
works, and among the best anti-war plays ever written.
 Dramatis Personae
o POSEIDON
o ATHENA
o HECUBA
o CHORUS OF CAPTIVE TROJAN WOMEN
o TALTHYBIUS, Herald of the Greeks
o CASSANDRA, daughter of Hecuba
o ANDROMACHE, wife of hector, son of Hecuba
o MENELAUS, King of Sparta

4. Synopsis
The play begins with the god Poseidon lamenting the fall of Troy. He is joined by the
goddess Athena, who is incensed by the Greek’s exoneration of Ajax the Lesser’s actions in
dragging away the Trojan princess Cassandra from Athena's temple (and possibly raping her).
Together, the two gods discuss ways to punish the Greeks, and conspire to destroy the home-
going Greek ships in revenge.
As the dawn comes, the dethroned Trojan queen Hecuba awakens in the Greek camp to
mourn her tragic fate and curse Helen as the cause, and the Chorus of captive Trojan women
echoes her cries. The Greek herald Talthybius arrives to tell Hecuba what will befall her and
her children: Hecubaherself is to be taken away as a slave of the hated Greek
general Odysseus, and her daughter Cassandra is to become the conquering
general Agamemnon's concubine.
Cassandra (who has been driven partially mad due to a curse under which she can see the
future but will never be believed when she warns others), appears morbidly pleased with this
news as she foresees that, when they arrive in Argos, her new master's embittered
wife Clytemnestra will kill both her and Agamemnon, although because of the curse no-one
understands this response, and Cassandra is carried away to her fate.

5.  Hecuba’s daughter-in-law Andromache arrives with her baby son, Astyanax and confirms
the news, hinted at earlier by Talthybius, that Hecuba’s youngest daughter, Polyxena, has
been killed as a sacrifice at the tomb of the Greek warrior Achilles (the subject
of Euripides’ play “Hecuba”). Andromache's own lot is to become the concubine of Achilles'
son, Neoptolemus, and Hecubacounsels her to honour her new lord in the hope that she
may be permitted to rear Astyanax as a future saviour of Troy.
 However, as though to crush these pitiful hopes, Talthybius arrives and reluctantly informs
her that Astyanax has been condemned to be thrown from the battlements of Troy to his
death, rather than risk the boy growing up to avenge his father, Hector. He warns further
that if Andromache tries to cast a curse on the Greek ships, then the baby will be allowed
no burial. Andromache, cursing Helenfor causing the war in the first place, is taken away
to the Greek ships, while a soldier bears the child away to his death.
 The Spartan king Menelaus enters and protests to the women that he came to Troy to
revenge himself on Paris and not to take back Helen, but Helen is nevertheless to return to
Greece where a death sentence awaits her. Helen is brought before him, still beautiful and
alluring after all that has happened, and she begs Menelaus to spare her life, claiming that
she was bewitched by the goddess Cypris and that she did attempt to return
to Menelaus after the spell was broken. Hecubascorns her unlikely story, and
warns Menelaus that she will betray him again is she is allowed to live, but he remains
implacable, merely ensuring that she travel back on a ship other than his own.

6. However, as though to crush these pitiful hopes, Talthybius arrives and reluctantly
informs her that Astyanax has been condemned to be thrown from the battlements of Troy
to his death, rather than risk the boy growing up to avenge his father, Hector. He warns
further that if Andromache tries to cast a curse on the Greek ships, then the baby will be
allowed no burial. Andromache, cursing Helenfor causing the war in the first place, is
taken away to the Greek ships, while a soldier bears the child away to his death.
The Spartan king Menelaus enters and protests to the women that he came to Troy to
revenge himself on Paris and not to take back Helen, but Helen is nevertheless to return to
Greece where a death sentence awaits her. Helen is brought before him, still beautiful and
alluring after all that has happened, and she begs Menelaus to spare her life, claiming that
she was bewitched by the goddess Cypris and that she did attempt to return
to Menelaus after the spell was broken. Hecubascorns her unlikely story, and
warns Menelaus that she will betray him again is she is allowed to live, but he remains
implacable, merely ensuring that she travel back on a ship other than his own.
Towards the end of the play, Talthybius returns, bearing with him the body of little
Astyanax on Hector's great bronze shield. Andromache had wished to bury her child
herself, performing the proper rituals according to Trojan ways, but her ship has already
departed, and it falls to Hecuba to prepare the body of her grandson for burial.
As the play closes and flames rise from the ruins of Troy, Hecuba makes a last
desperate attempt to kill herself in the fire, but is restrained by the soldiers. She and the
remaining Trojan women are taken off to the ships of their Greek conquerors.

7. References
 English translation (Internet Classics
Archive): http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/troj_women.html
 Greek version with word-by-word translation (Perseus
Project): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:19
99.01.0123

8. Thank you for
listening!