Erechtheus

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About this book

Athens faces a threat from the sea as its king, Erechtheus, appeals to Earth for the city's survival. In Algernon Charles Swinburne's verse tragedy, an attack led by Eumolpus brings public duty into conflict with family ties. The opening places the king before a terrible choice: his child's life or the safety of the people he governs. A chorus of Athenian elders voices the city's fear and asks the gods for protection.

The language gives this crisis the scale of a struggle between Earth and Ocean, with towers, waves, sunlight and flowers recurring through the speeches. Alongside the public appeals, the speeches turn to a mother's grief and the hope that personal loss might secure freedom for future generations. Readers interested in poetic drama will find sustained choral verse and an intense examination of what a community can ask of a family.