Talthybius, Herald of the Greeks.
Menelaus, King of Sparta, and, together with his brother Agamemnon, General of the Greeks.
Soldiers attendant on Talthybius and Menelaus.
Chorus of Captive Trojan Women, young and old, maiden and married.
The Troädes was first acted in the year 415 B.C. "The first prize was won by Xenocles, whoever he may have been, with the four plays Oedipus, Lycaön, Bacchae and Athamas, a Satyr-play. The second by Euripides with the Alexander, Palamêdês, Troädes and Sisyphus, a Satyr-play."—Aelian, Varia Historia, ii. 8.
THE TROJAN WOMEN
The scene represents a battlefield, a few days after the battle. At the back are the walls of Troy, partially ruined. In front of them, to right and left, are some huts, containing those of the Captive Women who have been specially set apart for the chief Greek leaders. At one side some dead bodies of armed men are visible. In front a tall woman with white hair is lying on the ground asleep.
It is the dusk of early dawn, before sunrise. The figure of the god Poseidon is dimly seen before the walls.