Bacchae vs Medea: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Helen of Troy, Dionysus, Greek drama, Drama
Bacchae
In Bacchae, one of the great masterpieces of the tragic genre, Euripides tells the story of king Pentheus' resistance to the worship of Dionysus and his horrific punishment by the god: dismemberment at the hands of…
vs
Medea
"Medea has been betrayed. Her husband, Jason, has left her for a younger woman. He has forgotten all the promises he made and is even prepared to abandon their two sons. But Medea is not a woman to accept such…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Medea is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 4 for Bacchae.
- Medea has the widest readership — 90648 ratings behind its score.
- Medea reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 6 times.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Bacchae | Medea | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.0 (90648) |
| Hardcover | 3.0 (1) | 3.8 (141) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (2) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (10) | 4.5 (18) |
Reception
| Bacchae | Medea | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 10 | 90648 |
| Editions | 127 | 157 |
| Citations | 3 | 6 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 54658 |
| Pages | 234 | 87 |