For almost three thousand years, The Iliad and The Odyssey have thrilled people with tales of adventure in ancient Greece. The stories of Helen and Paris, the Greek gods, the Trojan War, Achilles and of Odysseus ten year quest to return home after the war are known all over the world among all cultures. But so much about the life of the man responsible for those epic poems remains a mystery that for a while some scholars doubted he even really existed....

"This survey of works about the Trojan War, Greek mythology and the tradition of Troy stories provides a background that helps readers appreciate the ancient and continually recreated tales."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes a brief biography of the author, thematic and structural analysis of the work, critical views, and an index of themes and ideas.

Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer's timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized...

Combines a general introduction and a detailed commentary to make insights of recent Homeric scholarship accessible to students and general readers as well as to classicists.

'Revenge is a kind of wild justice ... ' (Francis Bacon). Euripides' Hecuba is dominated by the vengeance which Hecuba takes on the faithless Polymestor, and explores in a complex and profound manner the potential of revenge as a subject for tragedy. The sacrifice of Polyxena is in counterpoint to the revenge action; the whole is set in the chaotic aftermath of the fall of Troy. The combination of plots creates one of Euripides' most effective dramas,...