Euripides

The play takes place in the aftermath of the Trojan War. Andromache has become a concubine to Achilles' son, Neoptolemus, bearing him a child, Molossus. The captive Andromache is haunted by memories of her former life and by her love for Hector and their son Astyanax, both slain by the Greeks who are now her masters. As the play opens, Andromache and Molossus are threatened with death by Neoptolemus' young wife, Hermione, who has been unable to conceive a child and is fiercely jealous. The struggle between the two women is mirrored in the conflict between Peleus, who arrives to defend Andromache, and Menelaus, who arrives to help his daughter Hermione complete her bid for power. --Publisher.