Litsy

Medea | Euripides

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Felt the need for a reread after reading Glorious Exploits, was not disappointed. Euripides' version is shorter than I remember, but I did enjoy the modern feel to the language in Michael Townsend's translation (the version I read came from Classical Tragedy Greek And Roman: 8 plays edited by Robert W. Corrigan). 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? I appreciate the nuance and conflict Euripides introduced around Medea's seemingly unfathomable choices, while still emphasizing the morality of his time. Medea seems pre-condemned as a family destroyer, emphasizing her involvement in her father's and brother's deaths, yet those same actions can form part of the sins heaped at Jason's feet, adding to the list of reasons he deserves punishment. 3w

Robotswithpersonality 3/? Similarly convoluted messaging around the children: to be exiled or abandoned, shamed by their father's actions and displaced by his ambition, like Medea, they no longer have a home, and so Medea can find moments of justification beyond her own thirst for vengeance in determingintheir fate. Jason is an odd figure, at first the self-aggrandizing villain identity is obvious, whatever he says, his actions are to further his own interests, 3w

Robotswithpersonality 4/? no thought for his wife and children, unless you believe the like that his new marriage will better their station, even as he moves to have a family with the princess. Yet his remorse at this childrens' murder seems genuine - is it's only purpose to allow Medea to have her full sense of revenge, or, even as she promises to bury them where he cannot reach them, is she protecting them from him still? (edited) 3w

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Robotswithpersonality 5/? Medea's othering is also briefly touched on, the idea that she has power, due to her lineage and her collaboration in violent acts previously, and her vicious cursing of the royal family her husband has now switched his allegiance to, her being a 'foreigner', both in Jason's homeland and her sought asylum in Athens. The chorus admonishes her for her blood-thirsty plans, 3w

Robotswithpersonality 6/? and while that falls in line with some tenets of ancient Greek morality on display: Aigeus swears an oath as a future host having answered Medea's supplication, Medea's broken family bonds by murder and is cursed by it, it also leaves one wondering if anyone is on her side. The othering continues when she and Jason both emphasize women's 'failings' when it suits them, the difficulties inherent in motherhood and how that may clash with other 3w

Robotswithpersonality 7/7 goals, other sides of a child-bearer's identity.
A bit of a nostalgic read because it got me thinking about analysis from college course, and also a masterful snippet exploring the dark side of 'what would you do' feminine rage and pride versus more traditional feminine roles, the bonds of love and loyalty to family. It's no wonder the tale has lasted this long.
⚠️ misogyny, child death 3w

11 likes6 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

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I LOVED this book. And yet, I immediately feel the need to very sparingly recommend it, because it's one of those ones that I would not have thought I would love, if I knew what it was before I read it. Sure, the ancient Greek part, the discussion of Euripides' plays is a draw. I can get on board with bringing a smaller scale, down-to-earth focus on a few characters to historical or 'from the distant past' events, 1/?

Robotswithpersonality especially when the narrative voice, the way character's speak to each other is approachable. In this case there's a discernable UK (author is from Dublin, now lives in England and I've no idea what speech patterns are from where) palaver; since I've no idea how conversational, idiomatic ancient Sicilian/Greek would actually sound if translated into English, this works well in sounding different from my modern North American English, 2/? 4w

Robotswithpersonality 3/? but still relatable, intelligible. When it's done well, I can also appreciate an occasionally darkly humourous bent on a dire situation, not quite satire or cynicism, in the face of man's inhumanity towards man. What surprised me was the author's skill in brining out the complexity in a frequently unlikeable narrator, making Lampo live and breath, see the flaws and the pettiness and the flashes of a better friend, of a deeply insecure being 4w

Robotswithpersonality 4/? with so little opportunity for hope that would motivate better action. Gelon is the most in focus portrait of loss, though his tale of woe is refracted throughout the Syracusan community and the Athenian prisoners. The violence done on both sides, the brutality and cruelty that sadly, doesn't belong just to an earlier era, creates a sharp contrast with the choices made by the protagonists. Lennon never lets you forget that this story centres 4w

Robotswithpersonality 5/? around tragedies in one sense or another, and yet still leaves room for hope, for the possibility that people as individuals can choose to take an action that will improve the lives of others. It's not a mood mashup because it's seamless. It's not the dark comedy the cover would suggest; that doesn't mean the dialogue isn't frequently entertaining, but the conclusions are often sobering. 4w

Robotswithpersonality 6/6 If I described how I felt at the end I think it would be a spoiler, similar to the Syracusans' love for the art of an invading nation, let's just say it was complex.
⚠️details prisoner of war conditions, grief, child loss, slavery 4w

8 likes5 comments

AnishaInkspill

Trojan Women | Euripides

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#classicschallenge 2025 @Lunakay #2025reads #narrativepoetry

Reading this for the second time, was as hard as the first. Through Hecuba‘s agony, Euripides shows the senselessness of war. Her voice is also the voice of the surviving women, and its truly awful, but I‘m still glad I read this. What stands out for me is the women‘s strength. They have been through so much and yet they are not broken.

AnishaInkspill TW & spoiler in next one (edited) 2mo

AnishaInkspill A very young child is murdered by the Greeks, they are worried that the child, Astyanax will grow up get vengeance. Hecuba (bravely) retorts that this is not the action of a civilised society. (edited) 2mo

13 likes2 comments

Larkken

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

#12Booksof2024 i had a number of surprise 5-star reads to round out 2024, but i think this tragedy (about ancient Greek tragedies!) and set in ancient Syracuse won my heart.
A great year! Thanks for hosting @Andrew65

Andrew65 Thanks for playing along, it‘s been great seeing everyone‘s books. Hope to see you on the First day of Christmas later this year for #12Booksof2025. 👏👏👏😊🎉🥳 2mo

31 likes1 stack add1 comment

Hooked_on_books

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

bailed

This one is me, not the book. I tend not to enjoy fiction set in Ancient Greece and this was no different. Glad I gave it a try at least. Don‘t let me deter anyone. #TOBlonglist

squirrelbrain I actively disliked this and bailed, both of which are quite unusual for me! 😬 2mo

dabbe #hailthebail! #betterbooksahead 🙌🏻 2mo

Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain I‘m glad I‘m not alone! So maybe it is a little bit of the book and not just me. 😉 2mo

squirrelbrain @micheleinphilly hated it too! 🫤 2mo

50 likes4 comments

Larkken

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

pick

I loved this, it was brilliant, but then maybe it is something only another Classicist would love? I have beef with the blurb calling it a comedy, it is def a tragedy, if a madcap one, and it is about POWs being forced to perform in order to eat, so rather brutal for even dark comedy. But there were still some flashes of beauty, and I appreciate the decisions the author made in plot and execution. #tob25 #tob25longlist

Larkken If the dialect is weird for you in print, I recommend the audiobook read by the author. Syracusans with Irish accents make sense to me now, what can I say. 3mo

31 likes1 comment

Larkken

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

I didn't mean to sound like I hadn't found new things to read in the #tob2025 longlist! Above the line are books that have been on and off my monthly tbr stacks all year and which I'll now try harder to fit in, and below the line are books newly on my radar 🥰 I can't believe I missed the newest Rivers Solomon!

BarbaraBB Great collection. Is Solomon good? I don‘t think I‘ve read him 3mo

Larkken @BarbaraBB they do really interesting horror and fantasy from a diverse lens and I really like their previous books! Possibly best know for the tagged? Maybe closest in themes to Gretchen Felker-Martin from previous years but doesn't do body horror or shock value as much.

The Deep

3mo

36 likes2 comments

Pinta

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

pick

Love this. Bumblers into heroes arc, beautiful prose, beautifully paced. Set in Sicily during the Peloponnesian War, but laced with Irish jargon and a stripped-down setting of quarries & markets for a sense of timelessness near the “wine-dark” sea. Brutality & art. Preservation of culture. Entertaining the enemy. Funny & sentimental. Crazy premise (stage Medea with actors now prisoners of war) becomes a beautiful mediation on art & freedom. 2024

14 likes

brittanyreads

Glorious Exploits: A Novel | Ferdia Lennon

#bookhaul 😁

julesG Nice! 😍 4mo

47 likes1 comment

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