by Hera. Euripides foregrounds this event, placing it chronologically during the time of Heracles’ labors for Eurystheus and makes it the focus of his play. Euripides plays with the traditional chronology because, in its essence, the play challenges the theology of his day. In fifth century Athens there was a theological revolution with intellectuals questioning, challenging, and rewriting the traditional view of the gods. With his play Euripides adds to this debate, mainly through the voice of his main character. After Herakles murders his family, he questions, in a conversation with Theseus, the true nature of the gods and their existence, while at the same time contemplating suicide. This scene not only sheds light on Heracles’ angst but also reflects Euripides’. By toying with the traditional plot-line of Herakles’ life, Euripides also questions traditional theological beliefs. For the context of Euripides and Greek intellectual thought of his day, see E.R. Dodds, Euripides The Irrationalist (The Classical Review, July 1929). Translations Edward P. Coleridge, 1891 - prose: full text Arthur S. Way, 1912 - verse Hugh Owen Meredith, 1937 - verse William Arrowsmith, 1956 - verse Philip Vellacott, 1963, - prose and verse Kenneth McLeish, 1997 - verse Tom Sleigh, 2000 Anne Carson, 2006 - verse (in "Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides") George Theodoridis, 2012 - prose: full text Notes References McLeish, Kenneth, trans. 1997. Herakles. By Euripides. In Plays: V. Ed. J. Michael Walton. London: Methuen. . Vellacott, Philip, trans. 1963. Medea and Other Plays. By Euripides. Penguin Classics ser. London: Penguin. . Plays by Euripides Heracles in fiction Theban mythology Plays set in ancient Greece Plays based on classical mythology