num_pages: 307
description: "Heracles", "Iphigenia Among the Taurians", "Helen", "Ion", and "Cyclops": Of these plays, only "Heracles" truly belongs in the tragic sphere with its presentation of underserved suffering and divine malignity. The other plays flirt with comedy and comic themes. Their plots are ironic and complex with deception and elusion eventually leading to reconciliation between mother and son in "Ion", brother and sister in "Iphigenia", and husband and wife in "Helen". The comic vein is even stronger in the satyric "Cyclops" in which the giant's inebriation and subsequent violence are treated as humorous. Together, these plays demonstrate Euripides' challenge to the generic boundaries of Athenian drama.
language: English
title: Heracles and Other Plays
titlecomplete: Heracles and Other Plays
characters: Heracles
genres: Classics, Mythology, Drama, Ancient, Greece, Plays, Fiction, Read For School, Poetry, Theatre
ratings_count: 154
publisher: Penguin Books