Sleep After Labour In Euripides’ Heracles

Abstract

πόνοc in general a common word in Greek tragedy, is a cardinal theme in the Heracles . In the first half of the play the glorious saving Labours of the warrior Hero with his bow, club and other weaponry are retrospectively evoked and further enacted. But there was a darker aspect of πόνοc, especially prominent in tragedy, which is concerned with the sufferings of humanity. According to what we may call the tragic view, toil is the universal lot of man, in one form or another; and in many contexts πόνοc toils can be translated as afflictions. This is the right kind of proleptic touch, implying that the presently envisaged sacrifice (a favourite kind of irony) and the future killing of Eurystheus are both πόνοc in Heracles deranged mind. Keywords: Euripides; Greek tragedy; Heracles; labour; toil