Bacchae

A bold new translation of Euripides' shockingly modern classic work, from Forward Prize-winning poet Robin Robertson, with a new preface by bestselling and award-winning writer, critic, and translator Daniel Mendelsohn

Thebes has been rocked by the arrival of Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy. Drawn by the god's power, the women of the city have rushed to worship him on the mountain, drinking and dancing with frenzied abandon.

Pentheus, the king of Thebes, is furious, denouncing this so-called god as a charlatan and an insurgent. But no mortal can deny a god, much less one as powerful and seductive as Dionysus, who will exact a terrible revenge on Pentheus, drawing the king to his own tragic destruction.

This stunning translation by award-winning poet Robin Robertson reinvigorates Euripides' masterpiece. Updating it for contemporary readers, he brings the ancient verse to fervid, brutal life, revealing a work of art as devastating and relevant today as it was in the fifth century BC.