Meidéa

This is a translation of one of the best-known Greek Tragedies, Medea, by the tragedian Euripides. Here it has been translated to Irish by Simon Ó Faoláin with illustrations from artist Dómhnal Ó Bric and published by Coiscéim.

The tragedy Medea was first performed in 431BC as part of a trilogy, however while the other two plays have not survived, Medea is the most frequently performed Greek tragedy of the 20th century. It is based on a myth with Medea, a former princess in the kingdom of Colchis at its core. When her husband Jason leaves her to marry another woman, Medea is hell bent on revenge. As a result, she kills his new wife as well as Medea’s own two children before fleeing the city for Athens.

There is a comprehensive foreword by translator Simon Ó Faoláin in which he gives readers context and background to the drama. He explains the tradition of Greek tragedies, gives insight into Euripides and his contemporaries, into this play Medea, and the approach he took in translating it to Irish. He explains the techniques and clever devices that Euripides uses in this play, for example introducing Medea in such a way that the audience relates to her and feels empathy toward her, so that when her terrible actions are revealed, the audience has almost been lured into siding with her.

At the start of the story, Medea also manages to draw sympathy and compassion from the Chorus of Corinthian women and even gets a hearing from King Creon who grants her to spend one more day there even though she is banished. This gives her enough time to execute her plan of killing Jason’s new wife Glauce, as well as Medea’s own two sons. When Jason returns, he sees Medea flying off in the chariot, with the lifeless bodies of their two children in it.

This is ultimately a revenge story, but it was a very contemporary story for its time as it presents a woman’s perspective and outlook. The central role is given to Medea who rarely leaves the stage. In one long speech she makes the case for women being worse off than men: ‘idir gach neach beo abhus a tharraingíonn anáil, is sinne – mná – na hainniseoirí is boichte cás’, ‘b’fhearr liomsa seasamh sa bheana baol i gcath trí huaire ná leanbh a thabhairt ar an saol aon uair amháin!’. She makes some very strong statements: ‘ach nuair a ghointear a croí i gcúrsaí grá níl aon neach chomh marfach le bean.’ Euripides was very much ahead of his time in displaying elements of early feminism.

This is a fresh and modern translation of a classical story, and it reads very naturally in Irish, keeping its style and pace. Ó Faoláin points out that there is a natural connect between the folklore of Ireland and the folklore of Greece in that they both feature discussion, debate, hard-talking, arguments and long flows of elaborate speech. He says that to translate a Greek tragedy to Irish is: ‘Gníomh creidimh i neart, teacht aniar agus todhchaí na Gaeilge é clasaicí móra an domhain a thabhairt isteach sa teanga’.

The illustrations by Dómhnal Ó Bric are wonderfully appealing and really add to the reading experience. There are the powerful cover, double-page spreads at the start and end of the book and then single page spreads throughout the drama. Dómhnal has used a muted palette of white, black and grey which are striking and suit the content of the tragedy. The double-page spread at the start is full of action, movement, characters and almost looks like a tapestry of sorts. In stark contrast to this, the final double-page spread shows a bare landscape displaying the destruction that has happened in the previous pages.

It is fantastic to have the likes of this famous Greek tragedy now translated to Irish, not only for readers but for dramatists, playwrights and actors alike.