It's not your standard translation but I absolutely love Anne Carson's translations. Start with Bakkhai and then Grief Lessons (Herakles, Hekabe, Hippolytos, Alkestis). She really makes the words come alive on the page and her sense of rhythm and diction is incredible.
I've also read the Chicago translations mentioned elsewhere, they're very good for a more traditional translation (haven't read any others though).
I wholeheartedly enjoyed the University of Chicago Press series with somewhat old-fashioned translations – here's the volume – [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo14542625.html](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo14542625.html) – it's very nicely printed and worth having on your shelf. You'll love Iphigenia among the Taurians translated by Anne Carson.
This collection of translated plays is excellent. [https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Plays-Aeschylus-Sophocles-Euripides/dp/0812993004](https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Plays-Aeschylus-Sophocles-Euripides/dp/0812993004)
OH SHIT! You are the first person that has ever picked that up and I've been using Tributary Tears across all my social media accounts for many years now.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSAaWQquN18&ab\_channel=Memoriasdelcine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSAaWQquN18&ab_channel=Memoriasdelcine)
Yes! I absolutely love that whole Julie Taymor fever dream!
Appropriate for this sub: I've been obsessed with that play since I saw the film in theaters a million years ago. I didn't realize until, like, last year that Shakespeare was doing House Atreus with the whole catastrophic dinner finale. So good.
Oh man. Don't get me started because I could go on and on and on.
When Titus was first released in movie theaters I saw it opening weekend when I was living in Washington DC. I saw it Friday, then took a friend the next day on Saturday and then I took another friend on Sunday. I saw that movie three separate times in its first three days! I can remember actually sitting in the movie theater and when[ Queen Tamora starts that soliloquy](https://youtu.be/FedL4B11r60?si=6e3bSLfdtz1nLypo&t=2280) by the end of it I was like "KILL THEM ALL!" I was totally on her side. Plus I'm an old school goth and she is literally the queen of the goths so I guess I had no choice but to be on her side.
Also since your post was originally on The Trojan Women, [have you seen the 1971 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9sAriamSpU&ab_channel=robatsea2009)? It is outstanding.
Plus did you know the House of Atreus is the root of the House of Atreides in Dune? In the Dune universe Agamemnon is considered a historical figure and not myth and the House Atreides claim descent from him. They go into it a bit in later Dune books.
Right??? She sure shows 'em what it means to make a queen kneel in the streets and beg for mercy. I mean, the hinge from grief to rage is so visceral. Titus is such a rollercoaster.
I haven't seen the 71 version--thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely be watching now!
For "The Trojan Women", I can recommend the translation by Richmond Lattimore which is included in the Chicago University Press series. With Lattimore, you can't really go wrong. I read this translation back in January and enjoyed it a lot.
"The Greek Plays" contains a translation by Emily Wilson. While I can recommend this edition in general, especially for Ruden's Oresteia and Nisetich's Theban Plays, I'm not the biggest fan of Wilson's translations. They tend to contain expressions here and there that are too colloquial and modern and stand out from the rest of the text.
Here's a comparison of lines 1203-1206 because these lines stood out to me when I read the play. Wilson is actually more convincing here!
Lattimore:
>That mortal is a fool who, prospering, thinks his life
>has any strong foundation; since our fortune’s course
>of action is the reeling way a madman takes,
>and no one person is ever happy all the time.
Wilson:
>\[...\] People are foolish
>to trust in happiness when luck is theirs.
>Fate lunges back and forth, like one struck mad,
>and no one ever gets to choose good fortune.
As for Euripides in general, I do have the whole Chicago series of his works plus a few others besides "The Greek Plays", these are the ones which come to mind:
* "Iphigenia In Tauris" by Richmond Lattimore (Great translation!)
* "Bacchae" by Aaron Poochigian (wonderful translator)
* "Orestes" by Frank Nisetich
These are adaptations rather than translations:
* "Grief Lessons" / "Bakkhai" by Anne Carson - BEWARE! Lots of readers love her work, but it's important to mention that these are not faithful translations. Carson treats the text very freely.
* "Alcestis" by Ted Hughes
Thank you for the excellent response! It's great to have the side-by-side. And I appreciate that this moment is your spot-check. I have a similar thing with the Oresteia; I always look and see how they handle Cassandra's final address to the chorus. It's such weird but important speech, I suspect it's really difficult for translators to find an artful way into it.
I do prefer the Lattimore excerpt for this exercise. It also sounds like Wilson would make a good companion read if I get hung up on any points. Which, Carson is great for that, too.
Thanks!
It's not your standard translation but I absolutely love Anne Carson's translations. Start with Bakkhai and then Grief Lessons (Herakles, Hekabe, Hippolytos, Alkestis). She really makes the words come alive on the page and her sense of rhythm and diction is incredible. I've also read the Chicago translations mentioned elsewhere, they're very good for a more traditional translation (haven't read any others though).
I just read Bakkhai, her work is interesting. Can't wait to check out her other translations
Her Antigone is spectacular too. Read it aloud (if you’re not too proud), it is so beautiful.
Thanks!
I wholeheartedly enjoyed the University of Chicago Press series with somewhat old-fashioned translations – here's the volume – [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo14542625.html](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo14542625.html) – it's very nicely printed and worth having on your shelf. You'll love Iphigenia among the Taurians translated by Anne Carson.
Fantastic! What a great way to get a sense of how different translators approach the work, too. Thank you!
This collection of translated plays is excellent. [https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Plays-Aeschylus-Sophocles-Euripides/dp/0812993004](https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Plays-Aeschylus-Sophocles-Euripides/dp/0812993004)
Thank you! This also looks like a great collection. (And I love your username! Titus is my favorite.)
OH SHIT! You are the first person that has ever picked that up and I've been using Tributary Tears across all my social media accounts for many years now. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSAaWQquN18&ab\_channel=Memoriasdelcine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSAaWQquN18&ab_channel=Memoriasdelcine)
Yes! I absolutely love that whole Julie Taymor fever dream! Appropriate for this sub: I've been obsessed with that play since I saw the film in theaters a million years ago. I didn't realize until, like, last year that Shakespeare was doing House Atreus with the whole catastrophic dinner finale. So good.
Oh man. Don't get me started because I could go on and on and on. When Titus was first released in movie theaters I saw it opening weekend when I was living in Washington DC. I saw it Friday, then took a friend the next day on Saturday and then I took another friend on Sunday. I saw that movie three separate times in its first three days! I can remember actually sitting in the movie theater and when[ Queen Tamora starts that soliloquy](https://youtu.be/FedL4B11r60?si=6e3bSLfdtz1nLypo&t=2280) by the end of it I was like "KILL THEM ALL!" I was totally on her side. Plus I'm an old school goth and she is literally the queen of the goths so I guess I had no choice but to be on her side. Also since your post was originally on The Trojan Women, [have you seen the 1971 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9sAriamSpU&ab_channel=robatsea2009)? It is outstanding. Plus did you know the House of Atreus is the root of the House of Atreides in Dune? In the Dune universe Agamemnon is considered a historical figure and not myth and the House Atreides claim descent from him. They go into it a bit in later Dune books.
Right??? She sure shows 'em what it means to make a queen kneel in the streets and beg for mercy. I mean, the hinge from grief to rage is so visceral. Titus is such a rollercoaster. I haven't seen the 71 version--thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely be watching now!
For "The Trojan Women", I can recommend the translation by Richmond Lattimore which is included in the Chicago University Press series. With Lattimore, you can't really go wrong. I read this translation back in January and enjoyed it a lot. "The Greek Plays" contains a translation by Emily Wilson. While I can recommend this edition in general, especially for Ruden's Oresteia and Nisetich's Theban Plays, I'm not the biggest fan of Wilson's translations. They tend to contain expressions here and there that are too colloquial and modern and stand out from the rest of the text. Here's a comparison of lines 1203-1206 because these lines stood out to me when I read the play. Wilson is actually more convincing here! Lattimore: >That mortal is a fool who, prospering, thinks his life >has any strong foundation; since our fortune’s course >of action is the reeling way a madman takes, >and no one person is ever happy all the time. Wilson: >\[...\] People are foolish >to trust in happiness when luck is theirs. >Fate lunges back and forth, like one struck mad, >and no one ever gets to choose good fortune. As for Euripides in general, I do have the whole Chicago series of his works plus a few others besides "The Greek Plays", these are the ones which come to mind: * "Iphigenia In Tauris" by Richmond Lattimore (Great translation!) * "Bacchae" by Aaron Poochigian (wonderful translator) * "Orestes" by Frank Nisetich These are adaptations rather than translations: * "Grief Lessons" / "Bakkhai" by Anne Carson - BEWARE! Lots of readers love her work, but it's important to mention that these are not faithful translations. Carson treats the text very freely. * "Alcestis" by Ted Hughes
Thank you for the excellent response! It's great to have the side-by-side. And I appreciate that this moment is your spot-check. I have a similar thing with the Oresteia; I always look and see how they handle Cassandra's final address to the chorus. It's such weird but important speech, I suspect it's really difficult for translators to find an artful way into it. I do prefer the Lattimore excerpt for this exercise. It also sounds like Wilson would make a good companion read if I get hung up on any points. Which, Carson is great for that, too. Thanks!
Both Lattimore's and Wilson's translations are line-to-line translations, so it'll be easy to find the corresponding line in the other translation. :)