Ruby Blondell (formerly known as Mary Whitlock Blundell) is Professor of Classics, and Adjunct Professor in Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Emeritx at the University of Washington. They have published widely on Greek literature and philosophy, and on the reception of myth in popular culture. Their other books include The Play of Character in Plato's Dialogues (Cambridge, 2002), Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation (Oxford, 2013) and Helen of Troy in Hollywood (Princeton, 2023).

• Foreword; Preface; Glossary of Greek words; 1. Introduction; 2. Helping friends and harming enemies; 3. Ajax; 4. Antigone; 5. Electra; 6. Philoctetes; 7. Oedipus at Colonus; 8. Conclusion; 9. Bibliography; Index.

'Helping Friends and Harming Enemies should be read not only by those interested in Sophocles or in literature and philosophy but also by those interested in fifth-century Athens. It will provide them with much food for thought.' Christina Elliott Sorum, formerly Dean of the Classics Faculty and Academic Vice President, Union College