Euripides · c. 480-406 BC
Rhesus
ῬῆσοςRhesus is a short tragedy handed down under Euripides' name, though many scholars doubt that he wrote it. It dramatises Book 10 of the Iliad, the night raid of Odysseus and Diomedes, but from the Trojan side: the Trojan sentries wake Hector, Dolon sets out as a spy, the Thracian king Rhesus arrives too late to help, and he is killed in his sleep with his famous horses taken. 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 · 21 passages
- 1–51Prologue: the sentries wake Hector with news of the Greek fires361 words
- 52–104First episode: Hector believes the Greeks are fleeing and arms528 words
- 105–148First episode: Aeneas advises sending a spy416 words
- 149–183First episode: Dolon volunteers to spy and names his reward356 words
- 184–223First episode: Hector promises Achilles' horses; Dolon sets out398 words
- 224–265First choral song: prayer for Dolon's success; a shepherd arrives256 words
- 266–318Second episode: a shepherd announces that Rhesus is coming511 words
- 319–387Second episode: Hector grudgingly accepts Rhesus; the Chorus welcomes him543 words
- 388–421Third episode: Rhesus arrives and Hector reproaches him340 words
- 422–453Third episode: Rhesus explains his delay and boasts312 words
- 454–517Third episode: Rhesus asks to face Achilles; Hector describes Odysseus596 words
- 518–564Hector assigns Rhesus a post; the Chorus changes the night watch313 words
- 565–594Fourth episode: Odysseus and Diomedes find Hector's bivouac empty310 words
- 595–626Fourth episode: Athena sends them against Rhesus283 words
- 627–674Fourth episode: Athena, as Aphrodite, deceives Paris430 words
- 675–727Fifth episode: the sentries challenge Odysseus and let him pass463 words
- 728–803Exodos: Rhesus' wounded charioteer tells of the night attack679 words
- 804–855Exodos: the charioteer accuses Hector446 words
- 856–881Exodos: Hector defends himself and blames Odysseus283 words
- 882–949Exodos: the Muse mourns her son Rhesus574 words
- 950–996Exodos: the Muse's prophecy and Hector's orders443 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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