Hecuba
Also known as: Hekabe, Hekuba, Hecubae, Ἑκάβη
In the Greek camp on the Thracian shore after Troy’s fall, Hecuba loses her daughter Polyxena to sacrifice at Achilles’ tomb and discovers her son Polydorus has been murdered by their Thracian host Polymestor. She orchestrates brutal revenge, blinding Polymestor and killing his sons, as prophecy foretells further doom.
Description
Set among the captive Trojan women at the Hellespont, Euripides’ "Hecuba" explores the wreckage of war through a queen reduced to slavery. The ghost of Polydorus frames a world where divine and human justice diverge. Odysseus enforces the Greeks’ vow to appease Achilles with Polyxena’s blood; the girl embraces death with austere courage. News of her dignified sacrifice is followed by the discovery that Polydorus—entrusted with Trojan gold to Thracian king Polymestor—has been treacherously slain. Hecuba pleads with Agamemnon, then lures Polymestor into her tent, where the Trojan women kill his sons and gouge out his eyes. A fraught arbitration pits expedience against ethics. Polymestor’s blind prophecy foresees Hecuba’s monstrous end and Agamemnon’s murder, underscoring a cosmos where vengeance answers loss but cannot restore order.
Historiography
The play likely premiered at the City Dionysia in the late 430s–420s BCE, with most modern scholars favoring 424–423 BCE. Its text survives through medieval Byzantine manuscript families with scholia, alongside quotations and paraphrases in later authors. Ancient criticism noted its pathos; Roman reception echoes in themes found in later tragedies of captivity and revenge. Renaissance and early modern adapters mined its scenes of maternal grief and political vindication for stage and schoolroom alike.
Date Notes
Likely produced at Athens around 424–423 BCE; precise festival year disputed in scholarship.
Major Characters
- Hecuba
- Polydorus
- Polyxena
- Odysseus
- Agamemnon
- Polymestor
Myths
- The Sacrifice of Polyxena
- Hecuba’s Vengeance on Polymestor
Facts
- The setting is the Greek camp on the Thracian Chersonese by the Hellespont after Troy’s fall.
- The ghost of Polydorus delivers the prologue, revealing his murder and the theft of Trojan gold.
- Odysseus enforces a Greek decision to sacrifice Polyxena to appease the shade of Achilles.
- Polyxena accepts death to avoid slavery and dies at Achilles’ tomb with reported dignity.
- Polydorus’ corpse washes ashore, exposing Polymestor’s betrayal as Thracian host and guardian.
- Hecuba secures Agamemnon’s tacit support before executing revenge on Polymestor.
- Polymestor is blinded inside Hecuba’s tent and his sons are killed by Trojan women.
- A public arbitration follows; Polymestor’s accusations fail to win Agamemnon’s favor.
- Polymestor prophesies Hecuba’s transformation and burial at Cynossema and foretells Agamemnon’s death.
- The play interrogates the difference between judicial process and vendetta under imperial power.