Consequences Of Revenge In Euripide's 'Hecuba'

“Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you” (Austin O’Malley). Indeed, biting a dog back would be preposterous, but on the other hand, biting the dog back would make that particular situation equal and fair. As opposed to, Hecuba from Euripides play Hecuba, who takes unjustified actions to achieve revenge on Polymestor. For instance, when Hecuba lost her daughter Polxena and her son Polydorus, she desired to justify their deaths. Shortly after, Hecuba started striving for revenge instead of justice for her children’s deaths. While Hecuba acts like equality is important she makes us think otherwise when she takes revenge on Polymestor. Throughout the tragedy, Hecuba takes unjustified actions to achieve justice such as murdering Polymestor’s two sons and blinding Polymestor.
Hecuba’s decision to murder both of Polymestor’s sons was cruel and unjustified. Before Hecuba murdered Polymestor’s sons, she desired justice for the loss of her two children. For this reason, Hecuba pleads to Agamemnon to help her achieve revenge on Polymestor as follows:
Lend your hand to an old woman, a hand/ for vengeance, though it come to nothing. Be fair./

Although what Hecuba truly wants is to cause Polymestor more pain then she feels. Hecuba does this by murdering Polymestor’s sons while he watches. Furthermore, in Hecuba’s mind, she believed that if she murders two children, she would be justified because two of her children were murdered. Although, losing two children and then taking two could be seen as fair in this situation the action was unfair. In clarification, Polymestor only killed one of her children and Hecuba killed two of his children. Furthermore, if Hecuba wanted to be justified she would have only murdered one of Polymestor’s sons, not two. Therefore, Hecuba killing both of Polymestor’s sons was a cruel and unjustified