Books in the Duckworth Companions to Greek & Roman Tragedy series

Aeschylus' "Persians" is the earliest extant Greek tragedy and sole surviving historical tragedy. Produced in 472 BC, the play tells the story of the defeat of the Persian king Xerxes in his attempt to expand his empire by conquering Greece and his return in rags to Persia to face the condemnation of his elders.

The author discusses whether Orestes' vengeance on his mother for her murder of his father is a just and final act of violence in 'Electra', or whether Sophocles ironically implies that it is more problematic than it seems. He pays particular attention to Electra herself, but also discusses wider issues of Greek ethics.

"Hippolytus" is generally acknowledged to be one of Euripides' finest tragedies. Sophie Mills considers its themes in detail, setting the play in its mythological, cultural and historical contexts.

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.

"Iphigenia at Aulis" is one of Euripides' most intriguing and challenging plays. This title provides a summary of the plot, discusses the characters and main themes of the play, examines its mythological background, and explores the cultural, political, institutional, and theatrical contexts within which it was originally composed and performed.

Written in Nero's Rome in about AD62, "Thyestes" is one of the greatest and most influential of classical tragedies. Peter Davies explores the key aspects of the play including the circumstances of its composition, its performance history and its impact on subsequent dramatists.

Euripides' play "Herakles" presents a very different portrait of the eponymous hero from that of popular imagination. This text analyses the key themes and characters while situating the drama in the wider context of Greek tragedy and mythology.

Euripides' "Medea" is one of the greatest and most influential Greek tragedies. This book outlines the development of the Medea myth before Euripides and explores his uniquely powerful version from various angles.

Sophocles' "Ajax" is one of the most disturbing and powerful surviving ancient tragedies. But it is also difficult to understand and interpret. This book offers solutions by drawing together the latest critical work on the play and introducing the reader to key frames for its interpretation.

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.