I was thinking about this today. What is Euripides' message in this play? He seems to criticise the gods repeatedly throughout. The women of Troy call on the gods at various points and state that the gods have the power to intercede for them and to rescue them from their terrible fate at the hands of the victorious Greeks. But do the gods respond? No. The cries of the Trojan women fall on deaf ears. Even worse, the gods, Athene and Poseidon, open the play showing their power and their awareness of what has been happening in Troy. Poseidon has supported the Trojans and openly admits his fondness for this city. But will he help the Trojans? No. He will, however, harass the Greeks on their way home in order to punish them for their irreverant behaviour in Troy, but he will do nothing to help the Trojans themselves. In this he is not alone. None of the gods will help the Trojans. The Trojans are left alone and bereft and completely at the mercy of the Greeks. The Trojan women at various junctures in the play claim that the gods have abandoned them ... and they are right. What are we to make of this? What was Euripides saying to his Greek audience? Was he suggesting that for them too praying to the gods was futile? When we consider that this play was performed at a religious festival as part of an annual honouring of the gods, this would make such a message highly controversial. Of course, controversy from Euripides is hardly unusual.
Later in the play, Helen, the traditional cause of the Trojan war, claims that she is not to blame. While it is true that she abandoned her Greek husband, Menelaus, for the Trojan prince Paris, she claims that this was ordained by the goddess, Aphrodite, and that as a mere mortal, she, Helen, could hardly oppose the will of the gods. Here, Helen is making reference to the age-old myth, The Judgement of Paris, in which Paris is forced to choose which of three goddesses (Hera, Athene or Aphrodite) is the most beautiful. Each goddess offers him a bribe - Aphrodite offers him the most beautiful woman in the world should he choose her. He does, and Helen is the reward. So, according to accepted mythology (which is very close to religious belief to many of the Greeks) Aphrodite was the reason behind Helen's departure from Greece with Paris, and the resultant Trojan War. However, when Helen argues this in Euripides' play, Hecabe, queen of Troy, counters her arguments by claiming that no such judgement took place. She suggests that for the goddesses to squabble over who was most beautiful would be ludicrous. Is Euripides questioning accepted religious belief here? Note that he does not suggest that the gods do not exist, but rather that they do not behave in the way that their mythology depicts them. And, as said before, this play was performed at a religious festival, making this even more striking. It is hard for us to imagine a modern equivalent. Maybe a play performed in a church in which the stories of the Bible were brought into question?
What was Euripides trying to say? Perhaps we will never know. But the questions that Euripides raises and the controversial points that seem present in nearly all his works are the reasons why Euripides is my favourite playwright.
If you have not read any of his plays, I do urge you to do so. Perhaps start with 'Medea' or 'Hippolytus'. 'Trojan Women' is a fantastic play but it is one of unrelenting misery and not a lot of plot or action, so it might not be an ideal one with which to begin your acquaintance with Euripides.
