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Euripides (480 BC-406 BC) is revered as one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, and produced the largest body of extant work by any ancient playwright. These three provided the canon of Greek tragedy and thereby lay the foundation of Western theatre. Euripides' works are characterized by their moral ambiguity, plots of intrigue, and a separate character (usually a deity) who introduces the play with an explanatory prologue. «Heracles» was first performed in 416 b.c.e. at the City Dionysia festival, and remains one of the playwright's most puzzling works. The somewhat disconnected halves of this story feature a powerful climax when Heracles undergoes a fit of madness in the underworld. It explores themes of courage, endurance and nobility, as Heracles comes to the realization that he must accept his flaws and face whatever life has in store for him.

Greek poet Hesiod, who lived sometime during the 8th and 7th century B.C., is regarded as one the most important poets of classical antiquity. What little is known of him largely comes from his own epic poetry, in which he unconventionally inserted details of his life. Only three of his works, the “Theogony,” “Works and Days,” and the “Shield of Heracles” survive to this day in their entirety. The “Theogony” is a foundational work of Greek mythology which concerns the creation of the world and the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods. In synthesizing the variety of local Greek traditions concerning the gods into a single narrative, Hesiod’s “Theogony” would give uniformity to his culture’s myths in a way that would be highly influential. Also included in this volume is Hesiod’s “Works and Days,” in which the poet argues that labor is a fundamental condition of human existence and to those who are willing to work success will most surely be achieved. A treatise on the virtue of hard work, “Works and Days” is a didactic poem addressed to his brother Perses, who has squandered his inheritance, and who through bribery has deprived Hesiod of part of his own patrimony. Lastly in this volume is the “Shield of Heracles” a work which details the conflict between the mythological figures of Heracles and Cycnus. This edition follows the translations of Hugh G. Evelyn-White.

Euripides, along was Sophocles and Aeschylus, is responsible for the great rise of Greek tragedy. It was in the 5th Century BC, during the height of Greece's cultural bloom, that Euripides lived and worked. Of his roughly ninety-two plays, only seventeen tragedies survive. Both ridiculed and lauded during his life, Euripides now stands as an innovator of the Greek drama. Here, in «Heracles and Other Plays», we witness Euripides at the heights of his dramatic power. «Heracles» dramatizes the story of the great Greek hero and his maddened desire to murder his wife and children. Saved by the graces of his friendship with Theseus, «Heracles» examines family, heroism, and violence in a masterful way. «Iphigenia Among the Taurians» is a thrilling tale set on the Black Sea which examines Greek and Barbarian cultures, «Ion» tracks the orphan Ion through a web of betrayal, revenge, and reconciliation. «Helen» picks up after the fall of Troy and liberally rewrites the standard myth of Helen, and lastly, «The Cyclops» expertly dramatizes the famed episode in Homer's «Odyssey». For the lover of drama and the ancient world, this collection is not to be missed—Euripides is seen here in all of his valor and brilliance.

Contained in this volume are the three best-known works of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. Hesiod's «The Theogony» concerns the origins of the world and of the gods and forms a foundation for all Greek mythology. In «Works and Days», Hesiod argues that labor is a fundamental condition of human existence and to those who are willing to work success will most surely be achieved. Additionally in this volume is «The Shield of Heracles» in which is described the conflict between Heracles and Cycnus while passing near Itonus. Presented here is the Hugh G. Evelyn-White translation of three important works that are generally attributed to Hesiod.