One of Athens` greatest poets, Euripides has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here are four of his plays in a new Loeb Classical Library edition.

Hippolytus triumphed in the Athenian dramatic competition of 428 BCE; in modern times it has been judged to be one of Euripides` masterpieces. It tells of the punishment that the goddess Aphrodite inflicts on a young man who refuses to worship her. Hecuba and Andromache recreate the tragic stories of two noble Trojan women after their city`s fall. Children of Heracles, probably first produced in 430, soon after the Spartan invasion of Attica, celebrates an incident long a source of Athenian pride: the city`s protection of the sons and daughters of the dead Heracles.

In this second volume of the new Loeb Euripides David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text facing an accurate and graceful prose translation. Explanatory notes clarify allusions and nuances, and a brief introduction to each play is provided.