Euripides: Children of Heracles (Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy)

Florence Yoon offers a focused guide to Euripides’ Children of Heracles, a tragedy in which the dead hero’s family flee persecution and seek protection at Athens. Their appeal for asylum sets in motion a sequence of political and ethical dilemmas involving refugees, sacrifice, power, revenge and the obligations of those strong enough to protect the vulnerable.

Yoon examines the play’s dramatic construction, its use of mythic and tragic conventions, the unusual prominence it gives to socially powerless figures and the continuing presence of Heracles despite his absence from the stage. She also places the drama within the historical and political world of fifth-century Athens and considers its later resonance. Designed as an accessible scholarly companion rather than a translation of the play itself, the book is well suited to readers studying Euripides, Greek tragedy or ancient approaches to asylum and civic responsibility.