A Classics and Ancient History Blog: Trojan Women- Getty Villa

Monday, August 8, 2011

Trojan Women- Getty Villa

For the month of September 2011, The Getty Villa is performing the Trojan Women. Unfortunately, I am broke and have no real means of obtaining $38.00 tickets. Perhaps for my birthday? We shall see. I am looking that the 8:00 pm performance September 24th.

The Trojan Women was written by Euripides during the Peloponnesian War as a parallel between Melos and Athens.

* Melos and Athens, as accounted by Thucydides, in 416 BC Athens attacked Melos for not paying tribute or joining the Athenian alliance against Sparta. The Melians had claimed Spartan descent, but had remained neutral during the war. In 416, the taking of the island occurred after several months of seige warfare. The seige was lead by Tisias and Cleomedes. The Melians refused to join the Delian League and pay tribute and the Athenians saw it fit to execute all the men of the island and enslave the women and children.

The Trojan Women was the third tragedy of the three set starting with 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.

* Palamedes , according to Apollodorus' "Epitome",

Agamemon sent Palamedes to retrieve Odysseus, who had sworn to defend the marriage of Helen and Menelaus. Odysseus did not wish to fight, and he pretended to be insane and plowed his fields with salt. Palamedes guessed what was happening and put Telemachus in front of this plow. Thus, Odysseus stopped working and revealed his sanity.

According to Fabulae, by Hyginus

Odysseus never forgave Palamedes for sending him to the Trojan War.. When Palamedes advised the Greeks to return home, Odysseus hid gold in his tent and wrote a fake letter reportedly from Priam. The letter was found and the Greeks accused him of being a traitor. Palamedes was stoned to death.

A painting of Palamedes before Agamemnon by Rembrandt 1626

The Trojan Women seems to be a very tragic play about the aftermath of Troy demise. I am intrigued and wish to read it. I wish I was proficient enough to translate in quicker.