Andromache

English > Greek (Woodhouse)

Ἀνδρομάχη, ἡ, or say, daughter of Eetion.

Latin > English (Lewis & Short)

Andrŏmăchē: ēs, and -a, ae (Enn. ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 82 Müll., or Trag. v. 100 Vahl.), f., = Ἀνδρομάχη,
I a daughter of king Eëtion, and wife of Hector. After the destruction of Troy, she was carried by Pyrrhus to Greece, and was subsequently married to Helenus, son of Priam, Verg. A. 3, 319; 3, 487.

Wikipedia EN

In Greek mythology, Andromache (/ænˈdrɒməkiː/; Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρομάχη, Andromákhē [andromákʰɛ:]) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler' or 'fighter of men' or 'man fighter' (there was also a famous Amazon warrior named Andromache, probably in this meaning) or 'man's battle' (that is: 'courage' or 'manly virtue'), from the Greek stem ἀνδρ- 'man' and μάχη 'battle'.


Andromache (Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρομάχη) is an Athenian tragedy by Euripides. It dramatises Andromache's life as a slave, years after the events of the Trojan War, and her conflict with her master's new wife, Hermione.

Clinging to the altar of the sea-goddess Thetis for sanctuary, Andromache delivers the play's prologue, in which she mourns her misfortune (the destruction of Troy, the deaths of her husband Hector and their child Astyanax, and her enslavement to Neoptolemos) and her persecution at the hands of Neoptolemos' new wife Hermione and her father Menelaus, King of Sparta. She reveals that Neoptolemos has left for the oracle at Delphi and that she has hidden the son she had with him, Molossos, for fear that Menelaus will try to kill him as well as her.

A Maid arrives to warn her that Menelaus knows the location of her son and is on his way to capture him. Andromache persuades her to risk seeking the help of the king, Peleus (husband of Thetis, Achilles' father, and Neoptolemos' grandfather). Andromache laments her misfortunes again and weeps at the feet of the statue of Thetis. The párodos of the chorus follows, in which they express their desire to help Andromache and try to persuade her to leave the sanctuary. Just at the moment that they express their fearfulness of discovery by Hermione, she arrives, boasting of her wealth, status, and liberty.

Hermione engages in an extended agôn with Andromache, in which they exchange a long rhetorical speech initially, each accusing the other. Hermione accuses Andromache of practising oriental witchcraft to make her barren and attempting to turn her husband against her and to displace her. "Learn your new-found place," she demands. She condemns the Trojans as barbarians who practise incest and polygamy. Their agon continues in a series of rapid stichomythic exchanges.

When Menelaus arrives and reveals that he has found her son, Andromache allows herself to be led away. The intervention of the aged Peleus (the grandfather of Neoptolemus) saves them. Orestes, who has contrived the murder of Neoptolemus at Delphi and who arrives unexpectedly, carries off Hermione, to whom he had been betrothed before Neoptolemus had claimed her. The murder of Neoptolemus by Orestes and men of Delphi is described in detail by the Messenger to Peleus. The goddess Thetis appears as a deus ex machina and divines the future for Neoptolemus' corpse, Peleus, Andromache and Molossus.

Translations

ar: أندروماكا; be: Андрамаха; bg: Андромаха; br: Andromac'he; bs: Andromaha; ca: Andròmaca; cs: Andromaché; da: Andromache; de: Andromache; el: Ανδρομάχη; en: Andromache; eo: Andromaĥo; es: Andrómaca; et: Andromache; eu: Andromaka; fa: آندروماخه; fi: Andromakhe; fr: Andromaque; he: אנדרומאכה; hr: Andromaha; hu: Andromakhé; id: Andromakhe; is: Andrómakka; it: Andromaca; ja: アンドロマケー; ka: ანდრომაქე; ko: 안드로마케; la: Andromache; lt: Andromachė; mk: Андромаха; nl: Andromache; no: Andromakhe; pl: Andromacha; pt: Andrómaca; ro: Andromaca; ru: Андромаха; sh: Andromaha; simple: Andromache; sk: Andromaché; sr: Андромаха; sv: Andromache; tr: Andromahi; uk: Андромаха; uz: Andromache; vi: Andromache; zh: 安德洛玛刻