Books in the Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy series

Tells the story of a young man's search for his identity, and a woman's attempt to come to terms with her past. This study outlines the pre-history and later reception of the Ion myth, and provides a literary interpretation of the play's main themes, aiming to combine analysis of the text with a consideration of its cultural contexts.

Presenting a scene-by-scene analysis of Euripides' "Suppliant Women", this book discusses the date and background of the play, whether people and events from contemporary Athens can be glimpsed in the drama; the problems of staging, and finally the story in later tradition.

Set at the end of the Trojan war, this book depicts the women of Troy as they wait to be taken into slavery. It introduces readers to the issues that have divided critics, such as the extent to which the play responds to the historical events of the Peloponnesian War.

Phaedra is one of Seneca's most successful tragedies. This book introduces the reader to the complex dramatic and literary inheritance which Seneca appropriated and in his turn bequeathed, and he sets out some of the main lines of contemporary interpretation and performance practice for this play.

Sophocles' "Women of Trachis" tells the tragic tale of Herakles return home from his labours. This companion to the play provides the social and historical background and employs a number of critical approaches to interpret the major thematic and dramatic issues of the play.