'Trojan Women (Murray Translation)' Summary

The play opens with Athena and Poseidon discussing their plans to punish the Greek armies for their mistreatment of Cassandra. We then meet Hecuba, the queen of Troy, and her daughter, Andromache, who are forced to witness the devastation of their city and the loss of their loved ones. Hecuba's grief is further compounded when she is informed that her son, Polyxena, will be sacrificed to appease the spirit of Achilles. Cassandra, the prophetess who was cursed by Apollo to be ignored, is taken as a slave by Agamemnon. As the play unfolds, the Trojan women are forced to endure a series of trials and tribulations, including being divided as slaves among the Greek victors. Euripides masterfully uses the women's stories to expose the cruelty and injustice of war, the vulnerability of those caught in the crossfire, and the power of the gods in shaping human destinies. The play culminates with the women's desperate pleas for mercy and their acceptance of their tragic fate, leaving the audience with a profound sense of the enduring pain and suffering that war inflicts on the innocent.