The Trojan Women

SYNOPSIS

Euripides wrote “Trojan Women” one of a trilogy of plays, in 415 B.C. condemning the complete devastation of Milos Island, slaughtering men and enslaving women and children, committed by the Athenians during the Peloponnesian war. He used the myth of Trojan War to arouse emotions against militarism, war and suppression. Hecuba, Queen of the Trojans and mother of Hector, one of Troy’s most fearsome warriors, looks upon the remains of her kingdom; Andromache, widow of the slain Hector and mother of his son, Astyanax, must raise her kid in the war’s aftermath; however, Talthybius, the messenger of the Achaeans, enters the ruined city, to announce that King Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus have decreed that Astyanax, the last of the male royalty of Troy must be executed to ensure the extinction of the line. Also, Cassandra, Hecuba’s young daughter, priestess of Artemis and thus virgin by oath, who has been driven insane by the ravages of war, is chosen by King Agamemnon to be his concubine. At the same time that Helen of Troy waits to see if she will live. The focus is placed on the defeated and their constant grief. It presents, the violent transformation of noble Trojan women into mourners and slaves from then on while depicting the heroic winners behaving as savages. Michael Cacoyannis noted: “Euripides had the courage to raise his rebellious cry, despite the danger of his potential exile. By shooting this film, I had the desire to unite our voices. Today the world must be awakened! When ‘Trojan Women’ visited America, they spoke about Hiroshima. In Paris, they saw Algeria.” The Trojan Women is an emblematic testimony of the horrors of war, relevant as ever in our times.