Euripides · c. 480-406 BC
Phoenician Women
ΦοίνισσαιRead our guide to Phoenician Women
The Phoenician Women was produced in the last years of the fifth century BC. It is set in Thebes on the day the Argive army besieges the city on behalf of Polyneices, with Jocasta still alive, Oedipus shut up in the palace, and the chorus made up of Phoenician women on their way to serve Apollo at Delphi. The play gathers the whole Theban cycle into a single day: the failed parley between the brothers, the prophecy of Teiresias, the sacrifice of Menoeceus, the duel of Eteocles and Polyneices, and the departure of Oedipus and Antigone. The sections follow the play's own units (prologue, parodos, episodes, choral songs and exodos) and keep the standard line numbers of the Greek text.
Contents · 28 passages
- 1–87Prologue: Jocasta tells the story of the house of Oedipus769 words
- 88–144Prologue: Antigone and the old servant watch the Argive army from the roof407 words
- 145–201Prologue: Antigone sees Parthenopaeus, Amphiaraus and Capaneus454 words
- 202–260Parodos: the Phoenician women, sent to serve Apollo at Delphi, fear for Thebes352 words
- 261–300First episode: Polyneices enters Thebes under truce348 words
- 301–378First episode: Jocasta and Polyneices meet again525 words
- 379–442First episode: Polyneices describes exile and his marriage at Argos655 words
- 443–498Second episode: Eteocles arrives; Polyneices states his claim500 words
- 499–587Second episode: Eteocles refuses; Jocasta pleads for equality823 words
- 588–637Second episode: the brothers' quarrel; Polyneices leaves678 words
- 638–689First choral song: Cadmus, the dragon and the Sown Men281 words
- 690–747Third episode: Eteocles and Creon discuss how to defend the city568 words
- 748–783Third episode: Eteocles posts the seven captains and forbids burial of Polyneices308 words
- 784–832Second choral song: the Chorus reproaches Ares and recalls the curse on Thebes422 words
- 834–895Fourth episode: Teiresias arrives and hints at a hidden remedy575 words
- 896–961Fourth episode: Teiresias demands the sacrifice of Menoeceus645 words
- 962–1018Fourth episode: Creon tells Menoeceus to flee; Menoeceus resolves to die530 words
- 1019–1066Third choral song: the Sphinx, Oedipus, and praise for Menoeceus267 words
- 1067–1201Fifth episode: a Messenger describes the seven gates and the Argive assault1146 words
- 1202–1263Fifth episode: the Messenger reports the brothers' challenge to single combat573 words
- 1264–1306Sixth episode: Jocasta and Antigone hurry to stop the duel; the Chorus fears328 words
- 1307–1355Exodos: Creon and a Messenger bring news of the dead436 words
- 1356–1426Messenger speech: the brothers' duel581 words
- 1427–1479Messenger speech: Jocasta's death and the Theban victory462 words
- 1480–1538aExodos: Antigone's lament over the three bodies360 words
- 1539–1583Exodos: Oedipus learns of the deaths342 words
- 1584–1638Exodos: Creon banishes Oedipus and forbids burial of Polyneices514 words
- 1639–1766Exodos: Antigone defies Creon; Oedipus goes into exile1143 words
More by Euripides
English translation by Edward P. Coleridge (1891). Original text: Greek text: Gilbert Murray (ed.), Euripidis Fabulae, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913, as digitised by Perseus. English: Edward P. Coleridge, The Plays of Euripides, London: George Bell and Sons, first published 1891 (Bohn's Classical Library; the Perseus header records a later printing).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
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