The Heraclidae

This edition and commentary provides an introduction to one of Euripides' less well-known plays, and describes and enormous value of the text for our understanding of Athenian drama, religion, and society. Despite the excellent commentaries of Elmsley (1812) and Pearson ( 1907), and powerful articles Wilamowitz, the play has not been given the notice it deserves. This edition interprets the play in a wide cultural setting, considering unorthodox aspects of the structure of the drama, but placing particular emphases on the cults and myths of Heracles in Attica, on his apotheosis and marriage, on his association with the young and most of all on the two most striking rituals in the play