Trojan Women Summary

The Trojan Women begins after the fall of Troy near the ships of the Greeks as they prepare to return to their homes. Troy is burning in the background and the scene is one of death and wailing. The play begins with a speech by Poseidon discussing the events of the war and the unhappy fate of Hecuba. Athena joins the scene and tells Poseidon that she has decided to attack her former allies the Greeks because they have done violence to some of her servants like Cassandra. She asks Poseidon to turn up the seas on their trip home and he agrees.

The scene next turns to Hecuba who laments her fate at the hands of the Greeks. She discusses the fate of her family, the death of her husbands and sons and the unhappy end to her country. Realizing...