#euripides

So many of his plays are about humans dealing with the aftermath of the actions of gods.

In Hippolytus, the whole drama stems from Aphrodite punishing Hippolytus for his arrogance, resulting in Phaedra falling in love with him, killing herself, and Theseus praying to Poseidon to kill his own son. And by the end, Artemis basically admits that she couldn't intervene because Aphrodite is another goddess.

In Trojan Women, the Trojan women (hehe, I said it) are left asking why the gods didn't help them and whether Zeus intentionally went back to Olympus to watch their city burn.

In Helen, Helen herself calls out Aphrodite and Hera for the events that led to her being sent to Egypt and a spectre in her form went to Troy, while her name becomes synonymous with the war.

And in Electra, Orestes is haunted by Apollo's orders to murder Clytemnestra. He did exactly what the god told him to do, and he's still the one who has to live with the consequences. Then Castor shows up and even admits that Apollo was wrong to give him that command.

And if a god is wrong, that's a whole can of worms.

And that's what I find so interesting about Euripides' gods.

I don't think they're necessarily portrayed as evil.

They're just... indifferent.

The gods act according to their own interests, grudges, rivalries, and divine logic, and then humans are left to pick up the pieces.

The gods can cause the catastrophe and move on.