A bold new translation of Euripides' shockingly modern classic work, from Forward Prize-winning poet, Robin Robertson, with a new introduction by bestselling and award-winning writer, critic and translator Daniel Mendelsohn.

Thebes has been rocked by the arrival of Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy. Drawn by the god's power, the women of the city have rushed to worship him on the mountain, drinking and dancing with frenzied abandon.

Pentheus, the king of Thebes, is furious, denouncing this so-called "god" as a charlatan and an insurgent. But no mortal can deny a god, much...