Euripides was one of the great playwrights of ancient Greece. The last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, he continued the development of tragic drama that had begun with Aeschylus and Sophocles. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle called him the most tragic of the tragic poets.
Early Life of Euripides
Euripides was born in Athens, c. 485 BC, into a fairly wealthy family. He was well educated. He became friendly with Socrates and other leading philosophers of the day. Their influence made him one of the most thoughtful writers of the age. Great intellectual advances were being made into Athens during Euripides's life, and he embraced the new spirit of learning and inquiry that questioned the traditional beliefs of Athenian society.
Greek Society and Drama
Drama was an important part of ancient Greek society. Regular playwriting competitions were held, and the winners were highly regarded. Euripides first entered one of these competitions when he was 30. He only won first place 14 years later.
Euripides's plays caused great controversy from mythodology, just as other playwrights did, but shocked audienceces by representing them as real people instead of symbolic heroes. He tried to show what it would be like for real people to find themselves in the extreme circumstances of the mythological stories that were so familiar.
Writing Structure and Theme
Euripides is primarily known for having reshaped the formal structure of the traditional tragic plays by showing strong women characters and intelligent slaves. He also satirized many heroes of Greek mythology.
The plays of Euripides seem modern when compared with those of his contemporaries as he focused on inner lives and the motives of his characters were much considered unknown to Greek audiences. His best plays have a strong, passionate woman as the central character. Medea is an example.
Legacy of Euripides
Euripides wrote 92 plays, perhaps more, although he won first prize only four times. After his death, 406 BC, about the age of 79, his reputation grew, and many of his plays have survived intact to this day than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles, partly because they were copied and read for centuries.
Works by Euripides
- Medea, 431 BC
- Andromache, c. 426 BC
- The Suppliants, c. 422 BC
- The Trojan Women, 415 BC
- Electra, c.413 BC
- Helen, 412 BC
- The Phoenician Women, c. 410 BC
- Orestes, 408 BC
- The Bacchae, c. 405 BC
Sources:
Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers, 2002
Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring, Larousse, 1994
