Society’s Greatest Tragedy Essay - 2017 Words

In 415 B.C.E., the Greek playwright Euripides created The Trojan Women, a play that is arguably one of the best studies of the horrific aspects of war ever written. In her analysis of the play, Professor C.A.E. Luschnig maintains, [Euripides] has made the Trojan War stand for every war†¦ For war is societys great tragedy: victory is an illusion (8). While the negative elements of war portrayed by Euripides can be found in all wars and even war’s victors must suffer their defeats, there is an even greater tragedy to society than war itself. War is but one result of the inherent evil nature of men and women and that evil nature, not war, is society’s greatest tragedy. The Trojan women of the play were Hecuba, the wife of the late King of†¦show more content†¦The Trojan Women begins with the gods discussing the punishment for the Greeks. Next, the Greek herald, Talthybus, informs the dethroned Queen Hecuba of her fate and that of her daughter, Kassandra. Hecuba grieves her lot, but her daughter has been gifted with the ability to see the future and knows of the ultimate punishment of the Greek conquerors. Andromache arrives with her young son, Astyanax, only to learn that she is to become a Greek concubine and that her son is to be killed to prevent him from one day avenging his fathers death and possibly rebuilding Troy. Next, Helen arrives and learns that she has been awarded by the Greek army to her former husband, Melelaos, who plans to have her killed. Helen attempts to defend herself, but finds no sympathy from either the Greeks or the Trojans. The play ends with the burial of Astyanax, the Trojan women being dragged to the Greek ships, and the final destruction of the city. Because of Kassandra’s prophecies, the audience knows that the Greek victors will, in the end, have no victory. C.A.E. Luschnig is Professor of Classics at the University of Idaho and has written a number of authoritative texts on the Greek classics (Curriculum Vitae). She maintains that â€Å"Euripedes’ Trojan Women has long been considered one of the greatest pieces of anti-war propaganda ever written† (Luschnig 8). To properly evaluate her assertions that The Trojan Women’sShow MoreRelatedThe Poetry Of Edgar Allan Poe949 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluences a writer to create magnificent works of art, are tragedies, issues in society, and the hope of inspiring others. Most writers are inspired to write through the most difficult times in their life. Authors often do this when their grief is too much to bear and they don’t know how to verbally express how they feel, so they transform their sorrow into stories. Edgar Allan Poe, is an author greatly known for transforming his greatest despairs into beautiful and eerie works of literature. 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