How long does it take to read The Cure at Troy?
a version of Sophocles' Philoctetes
The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney takes about 1 hour 29 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 1 hour 29 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1990. 81 pages, about 22,275 words.
3 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 2 hours 29 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 1 hour 29 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 56 minutes |
The page count is the median across 5 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The Cure at Troy is Seamus Heaney's version of Sophocles's Philoctetes. Written in the fifth century BC, this play concerns the predicament of the outcast hero, Philoctetes, whom the Greeks marooned on the island of Lemnos and forgot about until the closing stages of the Siege of Troy. Abandoned because of a wounded foot, Philoctetes nevertheless possesses an invincible bow without which the Greeks cannot win the Trojan War. They are forced to return to Lemnos and seek out Philoctetes' support in a drama that explores the conflict between personal integrity and political expediency. Heaney's version of Philoctetes is a fast-paced, brilliant work ideally suited to the stage. Heaney holds on to the majesty of the Greek original, but manages to give his verse the flavor of Irish speech and context.
Subjects: Drama, Trojan War, Philoctetes (Greek mythology), Philosophy, ancient
