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Cyclops
Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the general editorship of Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a glossary of the mythical and geographical references in the play.
Brimming with lusty comedy and horror, this new version of Euripides' only extant satyr play has been refreshed with all the salty humor, vigorous music, and dramatic shapeliness available in modern American English.
Driven by storms onto the shores of the Cyclops' island, Odysseus and his men find that the Cyclops has already enslaved a company of Greeks. When some of Odysseus' crew are seized and eaten by the Cyclops, Odysseus resorts to spectacular stratagems to free his crew and escape the island. In this powerful work, prize-winning poet Heather McHugh and respected classicist David Konstan combine their talents to create this unusually strong and contemporary tragic-comedy marked by lively lyricism and moral subtlety.
Brimming with lusty comedy and horror, this new version of Euripides' only extant satyr play has been refreshed with all the salty humor, vigorous music, and dramatic shapeliness available in modern American English.
Driven by storms onto the shores of the Cyclops' island, Odysseus and his men find that the Cyclops has already enslaved a company of Greeks. When some of Odysseus' crew are seized and eaten by the Cyclops, Odysseus resorts to spectacular stratagems to free his crew and escape the island. In this powerful work, prize-winning poet Heather McHugh and respected classicist David Konstan combine their talents to create this unusually strong and contemporary tragic-comedy marked by lively lyricism and moral subtlety.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 421
About the author
Euripides
2,620 books1,699 followersEuripides (Greek: Ευριπίδης) (ca. 480 BC–406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the Suda says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (Rhesus is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined—he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
February 26, 2022
فضای این کتاب با بقیه‌ی کارای اوریپید متفاوت بود. چون اینجا با یه نمایشنامه‌ی ساتیر مواجهه‌ایم که رگه‌هایی از ریشخند و مضحکه رو در خودش داره.
نقطه‌ی قوت این سری نمایشنامه‌های بیدگل پس گفتارهای عالی‌شونه که بنظرم به اندازه‌ی خود نمایشنامه حرف برای زدن دارن.
نقطه‌ی قوت این سری نمایشنامه‌های بیدگل پس گفتارهای عالی‌شونه که بنظرم به اندازه‌ی خود نمایشنامه حرف برای زدن دارن.
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March 15, 2017The sole complete and extant satyr-play, read in the translation of William Arrowsmith.
December 19, 2020
در يونان باستان علاوه بر ژانرهاي كمدي و تراژدي، يك ژانر ديگر هم وجود داشته به عنوان 'ساتير'.
'ساتير' در واقع نوعي تمسخر روايات موجود و شناخته شده(burlesque) بوده كه هم-سرايان اش رو ساتيرها تشكيل ميدادند و يحتمل به دليل نقش محوري 'ديونيزوس' در هنر نمايش آتن موجوديت يافته.
عنصر نقيضه(parody) در مقايسه با هجويه( farce) محوريت طنزآميزي اين آثار رو تشكيل مي داده است. در انتهاي كتاب يك پس-گفتار ارزشمند وجود داره كه به تفصيل تمام اين موضوعات رو توضيح ميده.
خود نمايش به شكل غافلگيركننده اي خنده دار و لذت بخشه.
'ساتير' در واقع نوعي تمسخر روايات موجود و شناخته شده(burlesque) بوده كه هم-سرايان اش رو ساتيرها تشكيل ميدادند و يحتمل به دليل نقش محوري 'ديونيزوس' در هنر نمايش آتن موجوديت يافته.
عنصر نقيضه(parody) در مقايسه با هجويه( farce) محوريت طنزآميزي اين آثار رو تشكيل مي داده است. در انتهاي كتاب يك پس-گفتار ارزشمند وجود داره كه به تفصيل تمام اين موضوعات رو توضيح ميده.
خود نمايش به شكل غافلگيركننده اي خنده دار و لذت بخشه.
May 28, 2020
Unlike the gory hilarity of the Bacchae, here Euripides intentionally wrote a comedy, and it is the only full Satyr play still in existence (a burlesque type performance with a group of Satyrs replacing the usual chorus). As comedies go, Euripides is not quite up there with Aristophanes, and he should perhaps have stayed in his usual place on the comedy ladder: underneath it, so others may take the piss out of him.
The plot is taken from the well known Cyclops incident in The Odyssey: come to the island for supplies, get kidnapped by a Cyclops, Noman, burning sticks, and Odysseus completely undermines this line from the beginning of his wikipedia article:
As for the comedy itself, Euripides is, again, no Aristophanes. The imprisoned shepherd and Satyr Silenus, who rats out Odysseus at the first sign of danger to himself and thus gets half the crew eaten, has a less funny and frankly more horrific comeuppance. Odysseus gets the Cyclops drunk so they can stab him in the soft part, but rather than quickly falling into a drunken slumber, the giant Cyclops grins at Silenus, proclaims him his Ganymede and proceeds to drag him into the cave. Jesus... Silenus, it seems, is saved before the Cyclops does a Zeus on him but its the most uncomfortable 'joke' here.
This isn't my favourite Euripides. There's no compelling moral quandries like in Medea, no likeably boisterous Hercules as in Alcestis and no series of roaringly gruesome, 'what the hell was that?' antics like in the Bacchae. There's just the argument of why eating people is wrong, which isn't really an intellectual conundrum most of us muse over, at least not until we truly hit the days of Soylent Green, and Odysseus' silver tongue is lost on the Cyclops anyway: an immovable, inhuman character that embodies amorality.
A disappointment and I'm kind of glad I have nothing but Euripides' more meaty tragedies left to read.
The plot is taken from the well known Cyclops incident in The Odyssey: come to the island for supplies, get kidnapped by a Cyclops, Noman, burning sticks, and Odysseus completely undermines this line from the beginning of his wikipedia article:
Odysseus is renowned for his intellectual brilliance, guile, and versatilityby deliberately revealing his true name as he escapes the injured and extremely peeved Cyclops. A Cyclops who's Dad is Psoeidon. Psoeidon who is the God of the sea that Odysseus is currently sailing on. It's a nice example of the Greek's obsession with slapping down hubris, but it seems mightily out of place for a man lauded as some clever epic hero, both during the Odyssey and the Trojan War.
As for the comedy itself, Euripides is, again, no Aristophanes. The imprisoned shepherd and Satyr Silenus, who rats out Odysseus at the first sign of danger to himself and thus gets half the crew eaten, has a less funny and frankly more horrific comeuppance. Odysseus gets the Cyclops drunk so they can stab him in the soft part, but rather than quickly falling into a drunken slumber, the giant Cyclops grins at Silenus, proclaims him his Ganymede and proceeds to drag him into the cave. Jesus... Silenus, it seems, is saved before the Cyclops does a Zeus on him but its the most uncomfortable 'joke' here.
This isn't my favourite Euripides. There's no compelling moral quandries like in Medea, no likeably boisterous Hercules as in Alcestis and no series of roaringly gruesome, 'what the hell was that?' antics like in the Bacchae. There's just the argument of why eating people is wrong, which isn't really an intellectual conundrum most of us muse over, at least not until we truly hit the days of Soylent Green, and Odysseus' silver tongue is lost on the Cyclops anyway: an immovable, inhuman character that embodies amorality.
A disappointment and I'm kind of glad I have nothing but Euripides' more meaty tragedies left to read.
September 3, 2018
"Porque sentimos compasión de nuestra espalda y espinazo y no deseo echar fuera mis dientes por causa de los golpes, ¿eso lo llamas cobardía?"
Este drama satírico es el único conservado de los tres grandes: Esquilo, Sófocles y Eurípides, pues generalmente se presentaban 3 tragedias y 1 drama satírico sin embargo de los demás han quedado puras tragedias.
El tema obviamente narra el encuentro entre Odiseo y Polifemo, hay desde luego algunas variaciones a la historia de Homero para poder hacerla más divertida. En la isla del gigante habitan los sátiros supuestamente esclavizados. Sileno que es el padre de todos hablará permanentemente con Odiseo. A pesar de su estilo tiene aspectos serios al ser un drama, no es totalmente una comedia lo que la hace una pieza un poco extraña y sin mucha intensidad. Las burlas al Cíclope y al propio Odiseo son la parte más divertida pero en general no me gustó mucho.
Este drama satírico es el único conservado de los tres grandes: Esquilo, Sófocles y Eurípides, pues generalmente se presentaban 3 tragedias y 1 drama satírico sin embargo de los demás han quedado puras tragedias.
El tema obviamente narra el encuentro entre Odiseo y Polifemo, hay desde luego algunas variaciones a la historia de Homero para poder hacerla más divertida. En la isla del gigante habitan los sátiros supuestamente esclavizados. Sileno que es el padre de todos hablará permanentemente con Odiseo. A pesar de su estilo tiene aspectos serios al ser un drama, no es totalmente una comedia lo que la hace una pieza un poco extraña y sin mucha intensidad. Las burlas al Cíclope y al propio Odiseo son la parte más divertida pero en general no me gustó mucho.
November 5, 2022
داستان خود نمایشنامه به‌طور کلی جالب بود و ارزش یک‌بار خواندن را دارد ولی نمی‌توان آن را در زمره شاهکارها�� نمایشنامه‌نویسی کلاسیک به شمار آورد. قسمت مفیدتر و حتی جالب‌تر کتاب مقاله‌ای است که در پایان کتاب پیوست شده است و درباره نمایشنامه‌های 《ساتیر》 توضیح داده است.
June 5, 2020
Çok kısa bir oyun. Odysseus’un tek gözlü dev Kyklops ile karşılaşması ve sonrasında gelişen olaylar. Günümüze kadar gelen tek satyrikon drama olması onu kaçırılmaması gereken bir okuma yapıyor.
July 27, 2021
Homeros'un Odyssey eserindeki Odysseus'un Kyklops ile macerasını oyunlaştıran Euripides'in "Kyklops / Cyclops" oyunu oldukça kısa olması sebebiyle keyifle okunabilen bir tragedya. Homeros'u okuyanlar için çok da farklı bir okuma keyfi sunmasa da olaylara detaylı bakabilmesi açısından mitolojik anlamda önemli.
15.07.2021
İstanbul, Türkiye
Alp Turgut
15.07.2021
İstanbul, Türkiye
Alp Turgut
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March 12, 2021Euripides'in bugüne gelmeyi başaran 19 eserinden birisini okuma şansıdır bu aslında. Medeia, Hekabe
Bakkhalar, Yakarıcılar, Alkestis, Andromakhe ve Elektra ile birlikte 8. sini tamamlamış oluyorum. Bu eser diğerleri kadar bariz bir hikayeye sahip gibi gelmedi bana. Açıkçası tadımlık bir eser. Hemen bitiverdi.
Bakkhalar, Yakarıcılar, Alkestis, Andromakhe ve Elektra ile birlikte 8. sini tamamlamış oluyorum. Bu eser diğerleri kadar bariz bir hikayeye sahip gibi gelmedi bana. Açıkçası tadımlık bir eser. Hemen bitiverdi.
May 27, 2015
The Cyclops' only claim to fame is that it's the world's only complete surviving Satyr play. In Athenian drama festivals, each playwright submitted four plays: a tragic trilogy and a concluding satyr play, which is a retelling of a classic myth with the addition of a bunch of dudes dressed as satyrs. With boners. Boners were an integral ingredient of the satyr play.
Euripides' luckily-saved satyr play is, as you may have guessed, a retelling of the famous episode from The Odyssey where Odysseus fools the Cyclops and gets half his crew eaten in the process.
It's fairly entertaining, I guess. I mean, I think we can all agree that most stories would be improved by having a bunch of drunks prancing around in the background with their boners out, whether or not that has anything at all to do with the plot.
But it's not at all the best work Euripides did; it all seems pretty tossed off.
It also includes, by the way, a rape joke that gathered some attention a while back. (Context: Polyphemus the cyclops gets Silenus the satyr drunk and then rapes him.) Not because it's unusual - Greek drama is chock full of rape, both jokey and not - just because, I guess. Here's a piece about it. The author concludes,
I've been getting super sick of Paul Roche's translations, so I switched over to William Arrowsmith's for this one, and I liked it much better. I even skimmed Roche's afterwards for comparison. Arrowsmith wins, although Roche's having ten plays in the same volume is still a pretty big advantage.
Euripides' luckily-saved satyr play is, as you may have guessed, a retelling of the famous episode from The Odyssey where Odysseus fools the Cyclops and gets half his crew eaten in the process.
It's fairly entertaining, I guess. I mean, I think we can all agree that most stories would be improved by having a bunch of drunks prancing around in the background with their boners out, whether or not that has anything at all to do with the plot.
But it's not at all the best work Euripides did; it all seems pretty tossed off.
It also includes, by the way, a rape joke that gathered some attention a while back. (Context: Polyphemus the cyclops gets Silenus the satyr drunk and then rapes him.) Not because it's unusual - Greek drama is chock full of rape, both jokey and not - just because, I guess. Here's a piece about it. The author concludes,
I decided that Euripides, like Amy Schumer, was punching up. The Cyclops scene can be read as a trenchant joke digging into the intensely creepy origins of Athenian rape culture. It subtly calls into question the ethics of a common custom in Athens: the sexually-inflected mentorship of adolescents by older men. And the fact that the rape is preceded by a mock-symposium goes even further, skewering the common sympotic custom of singing songs about desirable young boys.So anyway, a) ten points for comparing Euripides to Amy Schumer, b) trigger warning, and c) let's just confirm that this is the official progenitor of this.
In other words, Euripides’ rape joke works for me.
I've been getting super sick of Paul Roche's translations, so I switched over to William Arrowsmith's for this one, and I liked it much better. I even skimmed Roche's afterwards for comparison. Arrowsmith wins, although Roche's having ten plays in the same volume is still a pretty big advantage.
February 23, 2019
The main story is Odysseus and his men come to an unknown land, we’re talking really uncivilised, Odysseus observes that no food is grown and wonders what kind of people would live here. After meeting a group of Satyrs and their father, Selenus, he meets the host and finds out. The host is Cyclops, Odysseus learns quickly how he applies the hospitality rules and has guests for dinner.
This play could be read as a comedy but really in strict Greek drama terms it is a satyr, the one that exists in its complete form. At times it’s bawdy but not as brash as movies like American Pie, as it does not lose its bearings from being a tragedy but it’s a tragedy with wit.
Based on the ninth book of The Odyssey, this loosely follows the same story, Odysseus makes his escape after telling Cyclops he is called no name and injures him after he gets him drunk on wine. The first one of the two big differences between Homer and tale of Cyclops are the action of Odysseus’ men happen off-stage are reported by Odysseus. The second difference is the satyrs and Selenus step in for other characters for Odysseus and Cyclops to exchange words with, this is done with comical affect.
This is the second book I’ve read to help me understand Homer’s The Odyssey better; Lang’s Tales of Troy: Ulysses, the sacker of cities was my first one. Until now these concepts were alien to me, I’ve been comprehending the hospitality rules (and the importance of food) in works by Homer through modern eyes. So, reading this is a beginning for me to grasp this concept better.
This translation was by Heather McHugh, and included an intro and notes by David Konstan, explaining what satyr plays are and how they fit into the annual drama festival, also touching on the importance of it. Also, it gave a comparison between Homer and Cyclops, and suggested how this play would have been staged. All of which further added to my reading experience, where I walked away with a broader understanding than I was expecting.
But the biggest surprise for me was -- Euripides writes comedy!!! Having only read his weighty dramas I had no idea he did this. It was so neat to discover this.
This play could be read as a comedy but really in strict Greek drama terms it is a satyr, the one that exists in its complete form. At times it’s bawdy but not as brash as movies like American Pie, as it does not lose its bearings from being a tragedy but it’s a tragedy with wit.
Based on the ninth book of The Odyssey, this loosely follows the same story, Odysseus makes his escape after telling Cyclops he is called no name and injures him after he gets him drunk on wine. The first one of the two big differences between Homer and tale of Cyclops are the action of Odysseus’ men happen off-stage are reported by Odysseus. The second difference is the satyrs and Selenus step in for other characters for Odysseus and Cyclops to exchange words with, this is done with comical affect.
This is the second book I’ve read to help me understand Homer’s The Odyssey better; Lang’s Tales of Troy: Ulysses, the sacker of cities was my first one. Until now these concepts were alien to me, I’ve been comprehending the hospitality rules (and the importance of food) in works by Homer through modern eyes. So, reading this is a beginning for me to grasp this concept better.
This translation was by Heather McHugh, and included an intro and notes by David Konstan, explaining what satyr plays are and how they fit into the annual drama festival, also touching on the importance of it. Also, it gave a comparison between Homer and Cyclops, and suggested how this play would have been staged. All of which further added to my reading experience, where I walked away with a broader understanding than I was expecting.
But the biggest surprise for me was -- Euripides writes comedy!!! Having only read his weighty dramas I had no idea he did this. It was so neat to discover this.
November 11, 2018
A Drunken Retelling of the Cyclops Saga
11 November 2018
Well, once again that large collection of books containing a bunch of the world’s classical works has come in handy. The reason being is that I don’t seem to have another copy of this particular Euripidean play, so since I have been slowly making my way through all of the Greek plays (and other works) I haven’t had to resort to scouring the internet to attempt to locate a copy, not that that would’ve been too much of a problem. Actually, it has come to my attention that Percey Shelly actually did a translation of the play, which somehow didn’t surprise me in the least.
However, I wouldn’t actually consider it to be what I would consider romantic. Then again, the romance poets probably were more interested in romance in the form of pertaining to Rome as opposed to romance in the form of Mills and Boon. In fact I do wonder at times how it is that the likes of Mills and Boon took the name Romance, since when we use the word Romance in connection to languages, it isn’t that we are suggesting that the language itself is sexy (though some people would beg to differ) but rather that it originated from Latin.
I seem to be drifting a bit here so I better get back on track. I’m surprised that this play didn’t appear in one of the four Penguin volumes of Euripdes’ plays, particularly since there is something very, very unique about it – it is the only extant copy of a satyr play that we have. Satyr plays are basically plays that would be performed after a trilogy of tragedies, and tended to be a lot more light hearted. I guess that should be expected, because if you had just spent the entire day watching three films like, say, Apocalypse Now, you probably would want to finish the day off with something a lot less serious, say Dumb and Dumber. Okay, I’m not suggesting that the Cylops is anything like Dumb and Dumber, particularly since these plays probably wouldn’t be all that suitable for children (not that they actually had ratings back in the days of the Ancient Greeks).
The story itself is pretty straight forward, and would be familiar to those who know the Odyssey. Yes, it is basically the story where Odysseus lands up on the island of the cyclops and has to use all his skills to be able to escape. However, there is an added catch, a bunch of satyrs are here as well, and they have been bound by the cyclops to act as shepherds. The thing with satyrs is that they are happy go lucky types of individuals who like wine, women, song, and basically the good old party atmosphere. Needless to say these satyrs tend to also be pretty crude, you know the big phallus and all that, though this is not necessarily mentioned in the play, it is just that we are pretty well versed in what went on – Greek plays, like Shakespeare’s plays, didn’t have the details stage instructions that many of the plays today have.
In a way, this is a rather light hearted play, though I wouldn’t consider it to be one of those laugh out loud types of plays that Aristophanes would write. However, there are parts that make us think, particularly the idea of law and order. Of course the cyclops, whom we aren’t supposed to sympathise with, you know with the killing and eating of Odysseus’ men and all that, argue that laws only exist to protect the weak from the strong. Well, in a way that is true, expect for the fact that when the strong get into power they have this habit of watering down the laws for their benefit. This happens all to often these days – how many politicians are ever prosecuted for corruption, or corporate leaders ever prosecuted for financial fraud and environmental violations.
Yeah, while we do live in a civil and ordered society, it only ever seems that it is the street criminal that ends up in gaol, and when they end up in gaol it only works to push them further into the arms of the criminal underworld. Then again, in that underworld there certainly is no law, and you will quickly find out that it is there that the strong certainly rule.
11 November 2018
Well, once again that large collection of books containing a bunch of the world’s classical works has come in handy. The reason being is that I don’t seem to have another copy of this particular Euripidean play, so since I have been slowly making my way through all of the Greek plays (and other works) I haven’t had to resort to scouring the internet to attempt to locate a copy, not that that would’ve been too much of a problem. Actually, it has come to my attention that Percey Shelly actually did a translation of the play, which somehow didn’t surprise me in the least.
However, I wouldn’t actually consider it to be what I would consider romantic. Then again, the romance poets probably were more interested in romance in the form of pertaining to Rome as opposed to romance in the form of Mills and Boon. In fact I do wonder at times how it is that the likes of Mills and Boon took the name Romance, since when we use the word Romance in connection to languages, it isn’t that we are suggesting that the language itself is sexy (though some people would beg to differ) but rather that it originated from Latin.
I seem to be drifting a bit here so I better get back on track. I’m surprised that this play didn’t appear in one of the four Penguin volumes of Euripdes’ plays, particularly since there is something very, very unique about it – it is the only extant copy of a satyr play that we have. Satyr plays are basically plays that would be performed after a trilogy of tragedies, and tended to be a lot more light hearted. I guess that should be expected, because if you had just spent the entire day watching three films like, say, Apocalypse Now, you probably would want to finish the day off with something a lot less serious, say Dumb and Dumber. Okay, I’m not suggesting that the Cylops is anything like Dumb and Dumber, particularly since these plays probably wouldn’t be all that suitable for children (not that they actually had ratings back in the days of the Ancient Greeks).
The story itself is pretty straight forward, and would be familiar to those who know the Odyssey. Yes, it is basically the story where Odysseus lands up on the island of the cyclops and has to use all his skills to be able to escape. However, there is an added catch, a bunch of satyrs are here as well, and they have been bound by the cyclops to act as shepherds. The thing with satyrs is that they are happy go lucky types of individuals who like wine, women, song, and basically the good old party atmosphere. Needless to say these satyrs tend to also be pretty crude, you know the big phallus and all that, though this is not necessarily mentioned in the play, it is just that we are pretty well versed in what went on – Greek plays, like Shakespeare’s plays, didn’t have the details stage instructions that many of the plays today have.
In a way, this is a rather light hearted play, though I wouldn’t consider it to be one of those laugh out loud types of plays that Aristophanes would write. However, there are parts that make us think, particularly the idea of law and order. Of course the cyclops, whom we aren’t supposed to sympathise with, you know with the killing and eating of Odysseus’ men and all that, argue that laws only exist to protect the weak from the strong. Well, in a way that is true, expect for the fact that when the strong get into power they have this habit of watering down the laws for their benefit. This happens all to often these days – how many politicians are ever prosecuted for corruption, or corporate leaders ever prosecuted for financial fraud and environmental violations.
Yeah, while we do live in a civil and ordered society, it only ever seems that it is the street criminal that ends up in gaol, and when they end up in gaol it only works to push them further into the arms of the criminal underworld. Then again, in that underworld there certainly is no law, and you will quickly find out that it is there that the strong certainly rule.
July 29, 2024
نمره را به متن نمایشنامه میدهم و نه صرفاً به این ترجمه و این کتاب.
نمایشنامه‌های کلاسیک یونانی را باید و تاکید می‌کنم باید به انگلیسی خواند تا حق مطلب به طور کامل ادا شود.
اما اگر دیوانه‌وار عاشق درامای یونان باستان هستید و جزئیات و سبک به روی صحنه بردن نمایشنامه‌ها برایتان جالب است و توانایی خواندن مطالب را به زبان انگلیسی یا هرچیزی جز فارسی ندارید، این کتاب برای شما عالی‌ست.
نمایشنامه‌های کلاسیک یونانی را باید و تاکید می‌کنم باید به انگلیسی خواند تا حق مطلب به طور کامل ادا شود.
اما اگر دیوانه‌وار عاشق درامای یونان باستان هستید و جزئیات و سبک به روی صحنه بردن نمایشنامه‌ها برایتان جالب است و توانایی خواندن مطالب را به زبان انگلیسی یا هرچیزی جز فارسی ندارید، این کتاب برای شما عالی‌ست.
February 6, 2024
Mjög skemmtilegt! Þetta er basically bara kýklópaþátturinn í Ódysseifskviðu nema hvað mér fannst Ódysseifur kannski ekki vera málaður í jafn miklu hetjuljósi í þessu verki. Fann alveg smá til með Pólífemosi… ég veit hann ætlaði að borða þá og var með þræla… en hann átti enga vini og vildi bara vera vinsæll!! :’)
June 1, 2020
SILENUS Here's my advice, Polyphemus: don't chew the fat
with the likes of him, that is, unless the fat you chew
is his. I wouldn't let a bit of him be wasted, sir, if I were you.
And after every delicacy's done, and finally you put his tongue
into your mouth, just think how many tongues you'll speak in, then,
preeminent Polyphemus, and all of them as eloquent as his.
Good copout:
uhoh
with the likes of him, that is, unless the fat you chew
is his. I wouldn't let a bit of him be wasted, sir, if I were you.
And after every delicacy's done, and finally you put his tongue
into your mouth, just think how many tongues you'll speak in, then,
preeminent Polyphemus, and all of them as eloquent as his.
Good copout:
uhoh
Read
March 20, 2021Οδυσσέας: Είναι νόμος για τους θνητούς, αν δεν θέλεις να κακονομαστείς,
να δέχεσαι ως ικέτες τους θαλασσοδαρμένους, να τους φιλοξενήσεις,
κι όχι να περνάς τα μέλη τους σε σούβλες βοδιών και να γεμίζεις μ' αυτά το στόμα σου και την κοιλιά σου.
Κύκλωπας: ο πλούτος, ανθρωπάκι μου, είναι των σοφών Θεός.
Τα υπόλοιπα είναι κομπασμοί και λόγια περίτεχνα.
Εγώ ξένε μου δεν τρομάζω με του Δία τον κεραυνό
και δεν ξέρω σε τι είναι από μένα ανώτερος Θεός ο Δίας.
Διότι να πίνεις και να τρως το καθημερινό σου, αυτό είναι Δίας για ανθρώπους μυαλωμένος,
και το να μη στενοχωρείς τον εαυτό σου.
Όσο για εκείνους που νόμους θέσπισαν στολίζοντας των ανθρώπων τη ζωή, να τους κλαίνε λέω.
Την ψυχή μου εγώ δεν Θα πάψω να την κάνω να χαίρεται,
κι εσένα τρώγοντας.
😜
(εκδ. ΖΗΤΡΟΣ, μετάφραση Θ. ΜΑΥΡΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ)
να δέχεσαι ως ικέτες τους θαλασσοδαρμένους, να τους φιλοξενήσεις,
κι όχι να περνάς τα μέλη τους σε σούβλες βοδιών και να γεμίζεις μ' αυτά το στόμα σου και την κοιλιά σου.
Κύκλωπας: ο πλούτος, ανθρωπάκι μου, είναι των σοφών Θεός.
Τα υπόλοιπα είναι κομπασμοί και λόγια περίτεχνα.
Εγώ ξένε μου δεν τρομάζω με του Δία τον κεραυνό
και δεν ξέρω σε τι είναι από μένα ανώτερος Θεός ο Δίας.
Διότι να πίνεις και να τρως το καθημερινό σου, αυτό είναι Δίας για ανθρώπους μυαλωμένος,
και το να μη στενοχωρείς τον εαυτό σου.
Όσο για εκείνους που νόμους θέσπισαν στολίζοντας των ανθρώπων τη ζωή, να τους κλαίνε λέω.
Την ψυχή μου εγώ δεν Θα πάψω να την κάνω να χαίρεται,
κι εσένα τρώγοντας.
😜
(εκδ. ΖΗΤΡΟΣ, μετάφραση Θ. ΜΑΥΡΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ)
February 7, 2024
Þetta er nú meiri vitleysan. En voða skemmtilegt. "Enginn meiddi mig" brandarinn fær mig alltaf til að blása fast út um alla vega aðra nösina.
September 29, 2009
First of all--if I can geek-out for a second--it was so refreshing to FINALLY read an ancient satyr play! For years, I've heard echoed again and again the symbolic value of Greek playwrights staging satyr plays--bawdy farces that served as short satirical finales to tragic trilogies--without having any concrete understanding of how said pieces played. While the concept always fascinated me, the unfortunate dearth of extant satyr plays--"Cyclops" is the ONLY one--has left the style exiled from the theatrical canon. After reading this, I can't help but ask: why? How else can fledgling theatre historians draw any tangible connection to the satyr play style if "Cyclops"--our one link to this world--is left off the required reading list?
Stepping down from my holy-shit-that's-nerdy soapbox, Heather McHugh's translation of "Cyclops" was outstanding! The contemporaneity of the translation was edgy enough to make the humor bite, without sacrificing the rich poetry to MTV-era "relevance." This, matched with the play's natural irreverence (drunken monsters, satyr's running around with erect dongs, etc.) would make this play an instant hit with a modern audience. Also, I'm willing to bet this show would sell to a modern crowd because the gulf between contemporary readers' ignorance of ancient geopolitics and classical tragedies' bevy of timely (aka: obscure) references is MUCH slimmer in "Cyclops" than in most Greek tragedies. (Most people know about Odysseus, right?)
Focusing on the titular character, I couldn't help but draw a connection between Euripides' "Cyclops" and John Gardner's depiction of the Dragon in "Grendel." Both characters live in solitude, spurn such societal institutions as religion and government, and opt to satiate what they consider the only truly worthwhile god: their appetite. For each character, gluttony assumes a unique form--Polyphemus feeds his belly while the Dragon hoards wealth. However, in both cases, the author creates gobs of ironic humor by upending readers' expectations of how such "monsters" would behave; the reader comes to the text assuming the Cyclops and Dragon will act as brutish as their infamous reputations' dictate, only to find the characters pontificating eloquently on such issues as law, religion, government, and human desire. ". . . from the mouths of brutes . . ."
While it's unsurprising that Euripides would write a killer funny satyr play (considering the already tragicomic style of his "tragedies"), I wonder how Sophocles & Aeschuylus pulled it off? The latter two tragedians--while wickedly skilled--are famous for their hyper-serious gravity. Could they cut loose like Euripides? Or was the humor in their satyr plays a bit. . . neutered? Might be worth tracking down the excerpts from their lost satyr plays to see how versatile they were.
Stepping down from my holy-shit-that's-nerdy soapbox, Heather McHugh's translation of "Cyclops" was outstanding! The contemporaneity of the translation was edgy enough to make the humor bite, without sacrificing the rich poetry to MTV-era "relevance." This, matched with the play's natural irreverence (drunken monsters, satyr's running around with erect dongs, etc.) would make this play an instant hit with a modern audience. Also, I'm willing to bet this show would sell to a modern crowd because the gulf between contemporary readers' ignorance of ancient geopolitics and classical tragedies' bevy of timely (aka: obscure) references is MUCH slimmer in "Cyclops" than in most Greek tragedies. (Most people know about Odysseus, right?)
Focusing on the titular character, I couldn't help but draw a connection between Euripides' "Cyclops" and John Gardner's depiction of the Dragon in "Grendel." Both characters live in solitude, spurn such societal institutions as religion and government, and opt to satiate what they consider the only truly worthwhile god: their appetite. For each character, gluttony assumes a unique form--Polyphemus feeds his belly while the Dragon hoards wealth. However, in both cases, the author creates gobs of ironic humor by upending readers' expectations of how such "monsters" would behave; the reader comes to the text assuming the Cyclops and Dragon will act as brutish as their infamous reputations' dictate, only to find the characters pontificating eloquently on such issues as law, religion, government, and human desire. ". . . from the mouths of brutes . . ."
While it's unsurprising that Euripides would write a killer funny satyr play (considering the already tragicomic style of his "tragedies"), I wonder how Sophocles & Aeschuylus pulled it off? The latter two tragedians--while wickedly skilled--are famous for their hyper-serious gravity. Could they cut loose like Euripides? Or was the humor in their satyr plays a bit. . . neutered? Might be worth tracking down the excerpts from their lost satyr plays to see how versatile they were.
Read
October 16, 2016Απο εκδόσεις Στιγμή το διάβασα
April 22, 2021
O ciclope de Eurípides é o único drama satírico grego completo que sobreviveu aos anos, por isso seu valor é imensurável. Eurípedes faz uma sátira do canto IX da odisseia em que odisseu e seus amigos se encontram prisioneiro do terrível monstro e gigante ciclope chamado Polifemo. Nesta versão satírica de Eurípides Odisseu e seus companheiros estão, de volta de Ílion, onde, fugindo dos inimigos, acabaram chegando na Sicília, onde residia Polifemo. Descobriu que lá os Sátiros eram escravos do monstro Ciclope. Lá também encontram o escravo SILENO que em uma ausência momentânea de Ciclope tenta trocar vinho trazido por Odisseu, com cordeiros e leite. Contudo na hora da troca aparece o ciclope Polifemo! Pergunta a causa do translado dos bens e Sileno diz que o forasteiro(Odisseu) se apoderava por roubo. O que acontece a partir daí?Uma sátira deliciosa com a participação de um coral à altura do drama. Gostei 😃.
"Quem tiver duas calças, venda uma e compre este livro."
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg ;).
"Quem tiver duas calças, venda uma e compre este livro."
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg ;).
October 15, 2020
Las notas extras ayudan mucho a entender estas obras de cultura griega, muy interesante, gracioso en algunos pasajes. Edificante leer estas piezas para saber mas sobre dioses como Hera, Dionisio, Poseidon, Zeus etc
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2022
Troya seferi sonrası Odysseus’un yolu Kyklopsların yaşadığı adaya düşer. Kykloplardan biri Dionysos’u kaçıran korsanların peşine düşmüş olan Silenos ve oğullarını esir almıştır. Sonra olaylar gelişir…
Mitolojiye ilginiz varsa bu kısacık tragedyayı keyifle okursunuz. Takıldığınız yerlerde notlar imdadınıza hızır gibi yetişir.
İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları bildiğinizi gibi, notlar dipte değil de kitabın sonunda. Bunun dışında mükemmel çeviri, temiz iş.
Mitolojiye ilginiz varsa bu kısacık tragedyayı keyifle okursunuz. Takıldığınız yerlerde notlar imdadınıza hızır gibi yetişir.
İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları bildiğinizi gibi, notlar dipte değil de kitabın sonunda. Bunun dışında mükemmel çeviri, temiz iş.
July 27, 2021
an entertaining, fun (and short) satirical play by euripides based on the legendary story of the cyclops polyphemus ! definitely worth reading, loved this translation
January 13, 2024
ενδιαφέρον το σατυρικό δράμα
March 18, 2024
Vino je jako teško i teško je s njim se rvati.
March 5, 2021
If die we must, we will die a noble death.
December 25, 2020
Obra entretenida, ágil y con diálogos que reflejan claramente las personalidades de sus protagonistas. Risas garantizadas.
November 5, 2020
Estoy leyendo las tragedias de Eurípides de una colección que no encuentro en goodreads y para empezar con la primera he tenido que leer un prólogo e introducción bastante denso y con mucho spoiler. Y aunque esa parte es enriquecedora no es para nada entretenida.
Como el libro no está acá voy a marcarlas como lecturas individualess.
Ahora pues la mera historia de El Cíclope es la misma historia homérica presentada en formato de teatro con diálogos cortitos, lo que sí es bastante obvio al ojo del lector es la comedia o ese toque nefasto o sarcástico que tiene el autor y que ha sido señalado por muchos intelectuales.
Como el libro no está acá voy a marcarlas como lecturas individualess.
Ahora pues la mera historia de El Cíclope es la misma historia homérica presentada en formato de teatro con diálogos cortitos, lo que sí es bastante obvio al ojo del lector es la comedia o ese toque nefasto o sarcástico que tiene el autor y que ha sido señalado por muchos intelectuales.
February 18, 2021
Herkese merhaba! Bu aralar oldukça hacimli kitaplar okuyorum, o nedenle de arada kısa molalar verme ihtiyacı hissediyorum. Bu kitabı da bir gün aniden elime alıp, 1 saatte okuyup bitirip, zihnimi boşalttım diyebilirim. Çeviri kalitesi, sunuşu ve notları ile o kadar nitelikli bir çalışmanın ürünü ki bu defa önce çevirmen Ari Çokona'nın ismini zikretmek istedim. Ve sırf bu nedenle de, Euripides'in bütün basılı eserlerini (yani gördüğüm kadarıyla) sipariş verdim. Eserden de biraz bahsetmek gerekirse 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Euripides, Aiskhylos ve Sophokles ile tragedyanın üç büyük şairi arasında yer alıyor. Bunun sebebi ise halktan gördüğü beğenilerdir. Euripides kahramanlarını ilahlaştırmak yerine onların zayıflıklarına veya kusurlarına odaklanır. Bu özelliği ile de çağdaş tiyatroya en yakın eserler veren ilk modern ozanlar arasında sayılmaktadır. Kyklops ise günümüze kadar gelen tek satyrikon dramadır (bununla ilgili oldukça detaylı bilgiler sunuş kısmında var). Mitolojiye merak duyanların, severlerin keyifle okuyacağını düşündüğüm bu eseri okumanızı öneriyorum. Odysseus vatanına dönmeye çalışırken bir yandan da satirleri hapseden Kyklops tehlikesi ile karşı karşıyadır.
Herkese iyi okumalar! Kitaplarla kalın! 🌻🌾
Euripides, Aiskhylos ve Sophokles ile tragedyanın üç büyük şairi arasında yer alıyor. Bunun sebebi ise halktan gördüğü beğenilerdir. Euripides kahramanlarını ilahlaştırmak yerine onların zayıflıklarına veya kusurlarına odaklanır. Bu özelliği ile de çağdaş tiyatroya en yakın eserler veren ilk modern ozanlar arasında sayılmaktadır. Kyklops ise günümüze kadar gelen tek satyrikon dramadır (bununla ilgili oldukça detaylı bilgiler sunuş kısmında var). Mitolojiye merak duyanların, severlerin keyifle okuyacağını düşündüğüm bu eseri okumanızı öneriyorum. Odysseus vatanına dönmeye çalışırken bir yandan da satirleri hapseden Kyklops tehlikesi ile karşı karşıyadır.
Herkese iyi okumalar! Kitaplarla kalın! 🌻🌾
February 5, 2023
Cyclops is a form of ancient Greek play unfamiliar to modern readers. It is a satyr play and is indeed the only such play to have survived entire from fifth century BCE Athens. Satyr plays and tragedies were performed together during festivals of Dionysus, who among other things was the patron deity of the theater in Athens. For each festival, a panel of judges selected three playwrights to compete and each entered three tragedies and a satyr play. An individual playwright’s entries were performed as one group on the same day beginning in early morning and concluding by early afternoon. The tragedies could be, but need not be, trilogies. After them came the satyr play which was “a burlesque version of a traditional myth, named for the chorus of satyrs … One ancient critic neatly characterized satyr drama as ‘tragedy at play’” (David Konstan in his Introduction to this edition).
In Euripides’ re-telling Silenus, a drinking buddy of Dionysus, and his satyr sons have been captured by Polyphemus, the Odyssey's Cyclops, who uses them as servants and herders, When Odysseus and his crew arrive on his island, Polyphemus captures them too and intends to eat their man-flesh. In this retelling Odysseus is mild-mannered, reasonable and straightforward, not the sly liar he can be in Homer’s telling. Odysseus here stands for civilization and order while Polyphemus and the satyrs represent barbarism and wildness.
Reading a satyr play changed my perspective on Greek tragedy. Tragedies were never intended to be experienced in isolation. Each tragedy was connected in an intimate way with two other tragedies and a satyr play in a tetralogy. There are no extant tetralogies and but a few surviving tragedy trilogies, or tragedies we know that were performed as a set of three.
In Euripides’ re-telling Silenus, a drinking buddy of Dionysus, and his satyr sons have been captured by Polyphemus, the Odyssey's Cyclops, who uses them as servants and herders, When Odysseus and his crew arrive on his island, Polyphemus captures them too and intends to eat their man-flesh. In this retelling Odysseus is mild-mannered, reasonable and straightforward, not the sly liar he can be in Homer’s telling. Odysseus here stands for civilization and order while Polyphemus and the satyrs represent barbarism and wildness.
Reading a satyr play changed my perspective on Greek tragedy. Tragedies were never intended to be experienced in isolation. Each tragedy was connected in an intimate way with two other tragedies and a satyr play in a tetralogy. There are no extant tetralogies and but a few surviving tragedy trilogies, or tragedies we know that were performed as a set of three.
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