Euripides' "Heracles" is a tragedy with a serious theme, the sudden downfall of the good and the glorious. In this edition the editor has attempted to help the modern reader approach Euripides' works by studying the formal elements which are prominent in his plays plus his rhetorical style.

The Heracles is a challenging and problematic play especially for the student. Bond's introduction and commentary (first published in hardback in 1981) is especially welcome, since the last major edition of the play was published in 1895 and was so authoritative that until recently little new work had been done on it. James Diggle's Oxford Classical Text is reproduced. 'The publication of Bond's Heracles... will return Euripidean studies to the heady days at the turn of the century.' J. Williams, Liverpool Classical Monthly 'Bond's commentary... is a traditional scholarly commentary: solid and informative, textually oriented... patient and methodical.' M. Silk, Greece and Rome 'by so intelligently and often penetratingly discussing patterns of language, Bond contributes much to the interpretation of this deeply disturbing and moving play.' D. Henry, Times Educational Supplement 'This edition ... is a major event in Euripidean scholarship ... The glory of the book is its voluminous notes, exhibiting scholarship which is old-fashioned in the best sense (of encyclopaedic thoroughness) ... It must remain the definitive edition of the Heracles for many years to come. Hermathena