The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys (also translated as The Dismissal of the Grecian Envoys, The Discharge of the Greek Envoys or just The Envoys, ) is a tragedy written by Polish Renaissance poet Jan Kochanowski in c. 1565-66 and first published and preformed in 1578. It recounts an incident leading up to the Trojan War, inspired by the writings of Homer. It is widely recognized as one of Kochanowski's finest works, and the most significant early plays written in Polish. History According to , Kochanowski wrote the play most likely around c.1565-66. However, Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz implied it was commissioned by Jan Zamoyski for his wedding, an event that took part in the late 1570s. In either case, the play was not published or prefermed until it debuted at said wedding of Jan Zamoyski and Krystyna Radziwiłł at Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw on 12 January 1578, in front of the royal court and king Stephen Báthory. Many of the actors in the premiere were royal courtiers and the play was directed by physician Wojciech Oczko. it was translated into English as The Dismissal of the Grecian Envoys by George Rapall Noyes and Ruth Earl Merrill in 1918, and under the same title by Charles S. Kraszewski in 1994; as The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys by Barry Keane in 1999; and most recently, as The Envoys by Bill Johnston in 2007. Plot summary The plot of the play focuses on the arrival of the titular Greek envoys at Troy, in order to prevent the outbreak of hostilities - an event mentioned in Homer's Illyad. The envoys ask for the return of kindapped Helen. Some statesman from Troy, let by Antenor, support such an action, but in the end they are overruled by more vocal faction led by Helen's abductor Paris. Analysis This was a blank-verse tragedy of elevent and thirteen syllables. In its structure it is a typical Renaissance work, inspired by Horace and subsequent French and Italian developments (works of Scaliger). It is divided into five acts, from the exposition to the announcement of the tragedy to the tragedy itself. Events that happen outside of the stage are summarized in dialogues, including a vision of Cassandra. It was the first tragedy written in Polish. Miłosz wrote that the drama is "neither a tragedy of passions nor a tragedy of a revelead fate... the fatal outcome is due