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ethandickler's review against another edition
Cydmnestria has no sense of civic duty
penny_p's review against another edition
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
saramaryy's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
helgamharb's review against another edition
3.0
None of mortals is prosperous or happy to the last, for none was ever born to a painless life.
Written between 408 and 406 BC, the play revolves around Agamemnon's decision to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis in order to be able to set sail and fight against Troy.
witherskeleton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
siraels's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
This one took me a bit longer to read and it might have been a little boring at times but overall I liked it. Ever since learning about Iphigenia's fate in school, I want to learn more and Orestea hasn't given it to me. This book did. I liked reading about her and especially about her relationship with Clytamneistra. It is sweet to see that even in the Ancient Greece parents valued and loved their children so much.
This one took me a bit longer to read and it might have been a little boring at times but overall I liked it. Ever since learning about Iphigenia's fate in school, I want to learn more and Orestea hasn't given it to me. This book did. I liked reading about her and especially about her relationship with Clytamneistra. It is sweet to see that even in the Ancient Greece parents valued and loved their children so much.
ryjoja's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
twhitehead's review against another edition
5.0
Read the translation by Charles Walker, it was pretty good.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
4.0
some things about this play that make me feel fucking insane:
-> that achilles is so naive here. this isn't the achilles of the iliad. we can see how he gets there (and we'd better be able to see it, because euripides was writing after homer), but we can also tell he's far younger and far more naive, a man trained as a weapon who has yet to see innocent blood start spilling. (he is also such a little freak lmfao. "keep in mind one simple fact: i never lie" okay you weird little demigod murder machine)
-> clytemnestra begging agamemnon not to kill their daughter and alluding to the murder everyone knows is coming after this play. and BEGGING him not to do it, because then she'll have to do it. "for the gods' sakes, don't force me to take this hard line against you, or force yourself to do the same to me," she says, and she's saying: don't make me do this. don't make me do this to you. because if you sacrifice my daughter, i know how i am going to answer, and i don't want you to make me do it.
-> the fact that agamemnon KNOWS IT'S COMING. he knows that if he does this he's doomed. he knows. and he can't bear the idea of killing his own daughter. but he also doesn't have a CHOICE!!! the agamemnon lines in this play made me CRAZY like this man's entire deal is not having a choice because the gods have backed him into a corner but then he somehow still makes the worst choice despite not having one
-> that iphigenia doesn't speak for herself for the first half of the play. which is probably partially an actor constraint thing, but still, ouch. she's at the center of everything, she's the titular character, and her silence drives home how much she's just a pawn in the war effort, passed between her mother and her father and achilles and the army alike.
-> and then when she DOES speak, she draws on a heroic code worthy of any greek warrior. in aeschylus's description of her death, the men have to drag her kicking and screaming and gagged to the altar. but here she decides to die for the glory of greece. yeah, she's making an Uwu Womanly Sacrifice For The Men, but she's also choosing to start the trojan war. she's dying knowing full damn well she's the reason it's happening at all, and they're going to remember her name forever.
anyway. bites wires (translations read: paul roche)
-> that achilles is so naive here. this isn't the achilles of the iliad. we can see how he gets there (and we'd better be able to see it, because euripides was writing after homer), but we can also tell he's far younger and far more naive, a man trained as a weapon who has yet to see innocent blood start spilling. (he is also such a little freak lmfao. "keep in mind one simple fact: i never lie" okay you weird little demigod murder machine)
-> clytemnestra begging agamemnon not to kill their daughter and alluding to the murder everyone knows is coming after this play. and BEGGING him not to do it, because then she'll have to do it. "for the gods' sakes, don't force me to take this hard line against you, or force yourself to do the same to me," she says, and she's saying: don't make me do this. don't make me do this to you. because if you sacrifice my daughter, i know how i am going to answer, and i don't want you to make me do it.
AGAMEMNON: A dangerous glory, and ambition however sweet lies close to grief.
-> the fact that agamemnon KNOWS IT'S COMING. he knows that if he does this he's doomed. he knows. and he can't bear the idea of killing his own daughter. but he also doesn't have a CHOICE!!! the agamemnon lines in this play made me CRAZY like this man's entire deal is not having a choice because the gods have backed him into a corner but then he somehow still makes the worst choice despite not having one
AGAMEMNON: I am clamped to a doom I cannot shake off.
-> that iphigenia doesn't speak for herself for the first half of the play. which is probably partially an actor constraint thing, but still, ouch. she's at the center of everything, she's the titular character, and her silence drives home how much she's just a pawn in the war effort, passed between her mother and her father and achilles and the army alike.
-> and then when she DOES speak, she draws on a heroic code worthy of any greek warrior. in aeschylus's description of her death, the men have to drag her kicking and screaming and gagged to the altar. but here she decides to die for the glory of greece. yeah, she's making an Uwu Womanly Sacrifice For The Men, but she's also choosing to start the trojan war. she's dying knowing full damn well she's the reason it's happening at all, and they're going to remember her name forever.
IPHIGENIA: So sacrifice me and sack Troy. That will be my memorial through the ages. That will be my marriage, my children, and my fame. ... Conduct me as a sacker of cities.
anyway. bites wires (translations read: paul roche)