Trojan women /

Barlow's translation of Trojan Women inaugurates a series of Euripides' plays intended for college and university students, senior-level secondary school students, and those teachers of classical studies who emphasize analytical and literary appreciation. The Oxford Greek text is printed opposite a new English translation, preceded by a preface; a general introduction to the series (in this case to the ancient theater, Greek tragedy, and Euripides); notes to the general introduction; an introduction to the Trojan Women and accompanying notes; a translator's note; a note on the Greek text; a general bibliography; abbreviations; and a stylistic index-followed by a detailed line-by-line commentary focusing primarily on the English translation. Barlow's work is a model for the series, marked by absolute clarity of organization, directness and accuracy of translation, and general helpfulness to the reader. She believes that ``in the creation of tragedy ... we have the meeting of the mythical past, with its stress on the greatness of the hero, with the contemporary present, with its stress on collective values and the asking of fundamental questions.'' Furthermore, she claims that Euripides is the most intellectual and the most emotionally moving of the Greek tragic poets, and that this ``is a play about acute suffering-about pain, damage, loss, and violence'' that has a particular relevance for our times. Barlow is right.-J.E. Rexine, Colgate University