Philoctetes

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Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the general editorship of Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a glossary of the mythical and geographical references in the play.En route to fight the Trojan War, the Greek army has abandoned Philoctetes, after the smell of his festering wound made it unbearable to keep him on ship. Ten years later, an oracle makes it clear that the war cannot be won without the assistance of Philoctetes and his famous bow, inherited from Hercules himself. Philoctetes focuses on the attempt of the heroes Odysseus and Neoptolemus to persuade the bowman to sail with them to Troy. First, though, they must assuage his bitterness over having been abandoned, then win his trust. But how should they do this--through trickery, or with the truth? To what extent do the ends justify the means? To what degree should private interest be compromised for the sake of public duty? These are among the questions that Sophocles puts forward in this, one of his most morally complex and penetrating plays.

Carl Phillips is a well-known poet and Professor of English and African and Afro-American Studies at Washington University. He is the author of Rock Harbor, The Tether, and Pastoral. Diskin Clay is RJR Nabisco Professor of Classical Studies at Duke University.

In these new translations [of Four Tragedies] Meineck and Woodruff have struck a near-ideal balance between accuracy and readability, formality and colloquialism. Their versions are simply a pleasure to read, conveying with remarkable vividness the powerful characterizations and poetic variety of the originals. The addition of succinct but illuminating notes makes this an exemplary volume for anyone interested in Sophocles' dramatic art. Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Department of Classics, Wesleyan University