Theban Plays (Hackett Classics)

Really liked this selection of plays that I had to read for a political theory class. Lots of really cool ideas are represented like the all consuming ability of power and it's ability to destroy the people who possess it. There's also references to the divine and prophesy that suggest that both an over-reliance on the divine and a sheer ignorance of the divine are recipes for untold disaster and misery. Concerning the study of politics, it suggests that man is subject to entities outside of his control and therefore is often quite fallible through advisors and his own overreaching pride to be greater than great and these failings prove to be a great undoing. Power proves a very intoxicating drug that corrupts even the greatest of men. As an added bonus to these great moral and political lessons, their actually a pretty entertaining and moving read as Antigone seeks to give her brother a proper burial because she sees him as a hero, while the King views him a traitor. The sixty or so pages of Antigone take us through a sorted ride as every character is dealt with some tragic loss. God, how I wish Hollywood screenwriters could devise something this cool.

Easy to read. Like this. Cheap way to try to educate myself on the ancient classics.

Bought the new version, but it came with sticky notes and highlights inside.

Antigone and Oedipus are my favorite Greek tragedies and this particular translation/annotated collection is very clear and one of my favorite versions so far. If you have never had the pleasure of reading these classic plays, I would highly suggest this copy of it. A lot of the material is background but it can be very helpful for people who are not aware of the stories or just Greek tragedies in general.

The stories are great, Antigone being one my favorites of the three. Was required to buy this for a class, and well it brought some memories back from the first time I read them.

AWESOME

I'm not a huge fan of ancient Greek fiction, but I didn't really like any of these. 2000 years is big time difference, and what was great back then is hard to read now!

After comparing numerous Theban Plays (Fagles, Lattimore, Roche, Fitzgerald and others) I came across the one on Hackett.I find it the most readable, comtemporary, up-to-date, powerful, poetic and most importantly...believable. It reads so realistically that I actually believe what the characters say...which makes me want to perform and see performed this edition by Meineck and Woodruff.The print and spacing is perfect, and not to mention the price!

Brilliant. Everyone should read these.