Euripides

Euripides[1†]

Euripides (c. 480 – c. 406 BC) was a prominent Athenian tragedian, alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles. Born on Salamis and died in Macedonia, he was known for his innovative and provocative plays. His work, influenced by philosopher Anaxagoras, questioned Greek religion and depicted mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Euripides pioneered developments in drama, influencing later comedy and romance. He focused on the inner lives and motives of his characters, shaping a legacy that impacted Shakespeare, Racine, Ibsen, and Strindberg[1†][2†][3†][4†].

Early Years and Education

Euripides was born to a well-off family[2†]. His father’s name was Mnesarchus or Mnesarchides[2†], and his mother’s name was Cleito[2†]. The family owned property on the island of Salamis[2†][5†], where Euripides spent a great deal of his time in a cave by the sea[2†][5†]. He was raised in a cultured family and was witness to the rebuilding of the Athenian walls after the Persian Wars[2†][5†].

Euripides received a diverse education. As a youth, he studied painting[2†][6†] and was trained as an athlete[2†][6†]. He also served for a short time as both a dancer and torch-bearer at the rites of Apollo Zosterius[2†]. His education was not confined to athletics; he also studied painting and philosophy under Prodicus and Anaxagoras[2†]. His acquaintance with new ideas brought him restlessness rather than conviction, and his questioning attitude toward traditional Greek religion is reflected in some of his plays[2†].

Euripides was twice married (to Melito and Choirile) and had three sons (Mnesarchides, Mnesilochus, and Euripides)[2†][5†]. One of these sons was something of a poet and produced the Bacchants after his father’s death[2†].

Career Development and Achievements

Euripides began his career as a playwright in 455 BC, when he first competed in the dramatic festival[2†]. He won his first victory in 441 BC[2†]. Over his career, Euripides wrote approximately 90 plays[2†][7†], 19 of which have survived through manuscripts[2†][7†]. His works include “Medea” (431 BC), “Hippolytus” (428 BC), “Electra” (418 BC), “The Trojan Women” (415 BC), “Ion” (413 BC), “Iphigenia at Aulis” (406 BC), and “The Bacchae” (406 BC)[2†][3†].

Euripides was known for his innovative approach to drama. He represented traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances[2†][1†]. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance[2†][1†]. He also became “the most tragic of poets”, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown[2†][1†].

Euripides’ contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism[2†][1†]. Despite the lampooning by comic poets such as Aristophanes, Euripides’ popularity grew as Aeschylus and Sophocles’ declined[2†][1†]. He became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander[2†][1†].

In 408 BC, Euripides left Athens for good, accepting an invitation from Archelaus, king of Macedonia[2†]. He died in Macedonia in 406 BC[2†].

First Publication of His Main Works

Euripides’ works have had a profound influence on drama and literature. Here are some of his main works, along with information about their first year of publication and co-authors, if any[1†][2†][8†][9†]:

• “Alcestis”: This was the earliest of Euripides’ plays to survive, produced in 438 BC. It is a tragicomedy that tells the story of King Admetus, who is granted the privilege of avoiding death if someone else dies in his place[1†].
• “Medea”: First performed in 431 BC, “Medea” is one of Euripides’ most famous and enduring plays. It tells the story of Medea, a princess of Colchis, who takes revenge on her unfaithful husband Jason[1†].
• “Hippolytus”: First performed in 428 BC, “Hippolytus” is a tragedy that tells the story of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, who incurs the wrath of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and suffers tragic consequences[1†].
• “The Trojan Women”: First performed in 415 BC, “The Trojan Women” is a tragedy that depicts the plight of the women of Troy after the city has been sacked and their husbands killed[1†].
• “Bacchae”: This is one of the last plays written by Euripides and was first performed in 405 BC, after his death. It tells the story of King Pentheus of Thebes and his mother Agave, who are punished by the god Dionysus for refusing to worship him[1†].
• “Andromache” (425 BC), “Children of Heracles” (430 BC), “Cyclops”, “Electra” (417-413 BC), “Hecuba” (424 BC), “Helen” (412 BC): These are other notable works by Euripides[1†].

Euripides’ plays often explore Greek mythology and delve into the darker aspects of humanity, including themes of suffering and revenge[1†][9†]. His works have had a lasting impact on drama and literature, and continue to be studied and performed today[1†][2†][8†][9†].

Analysis and Evaluation

Euripides’ work is characterized by its innovation and realism. His characters are not idealized heroes, but real people with human weaknesses[10†][11†]. This focus on the human condition and the emotional turmoil of his characters set him apart from his contemporaries, Aeschylus and Sophocles[10†][11†].

Euripides’ plays often challenge traditional religious beliefs, and he was unafraid to reveal the world underneath Athens’ veneer of cultural and social advancement[10†][12†]. His characters are usually victims of their own emotions, not pawns of some impersonal or cosmic Fate[10†][11†]. This perspective led him to focus on the emotional motivations of his characters, a departure from the approach of Aeschylus or Sophocles[10†][11†].

His plays are suffused with irony and pessimism, and they often reject classical decorum and rules[10†][13†]. They were written and staged in the shadow of the Peloponnesian War, reflecting the turbulent times[10†][13†]. Despite the paucity of victories in his lifetime, Euripides’ plays were popular with audiences, suggesting that they were thrilled by his plays, even if they found them unworthy of formal recognition[10†][13†].

Euripides’ influence on drama and literature has been profound. Together with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he provided the canon of Greek tragedy and laid the foundation of Western theater[10†][13†]. His reputation soon began to eclipse that of the older playwrights following his death[10†][13†].

Personal Life

Euripides was known for his keen intellect and independent thinking, qualities that would later be reflected in his plays[4†]. He married twice in his lifetime[4†]. His first wife was Melito, with whom he had three sons: Mnesarchus, Phaethon, and Euripides[4†]. Later tradition invented for him a spectacularly disastrous married life[4†][2†]. It is known that he had a wife called Melito and produced three sons[4†][2†]. One of these sons was something of a poet and produced the Bacchants after his father’s death[4†][1†][2†].

Euripides’ only known public activity was his service on a diplomatic mission to Syracuse in Sicily[4†][2†]. He was passionately interested in ideas, however, and owned a large library[4†][1†][2†]. He is said to have associated with Protagoras, Anaxagoras, and other Sophists and philosopher-scientists[4†][1†][2†]. His acquaintance with new ideas brought him restlessness rather than conviction, however, and his questioning attitude toward traditional Greek religion is reflected in some of his plays[4†][1†][2†].

Conclusion and Legacy

Euripides, the last of classical Athens’s three great tragic dramatists, following Aeschylus and Sophocles, has left a profound influence on drama down to modern times[1†]. His theatrical innovations, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance[1†]. He also became “the most tragic of poets”, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown[1†].

Euripides is identified as “the creator of … that cage which is the theatre of Shakespeare’s Othello, Racine’s Phèdre, of Ibsen and Strindberg,” in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates"[1†]. He was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw[1†].

Despite winning only limited acclaim during his lifetime, Euripides was the most popular of the three great tragedians for generations after his death[1†][14†]. Even during his lifetime, Euripides’ plays won some acclaim[1†][14†]. His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism[1†]. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes[1†].

Euripides was credited with being on an intellectual par with philosophers & his characters are given great rhetorical skills[1†][15†]. Tradition holds that Euripides was something of an unpopular recluse who shunned laughter and wrote his plays in a cave near Salamis surrounded by his extensive library[1†][15†].

Key Information

• Also Known As: Euripides[2†][1†]
• Born: c. 480 BC, Salamis, Greece[2†][1†]
• Died: c. 406 BC, Macedonia[2†][1†]
• Nationality: Greek[2†][1†]
• Occupation: Playwright[2†][1†]
• Notable Works: Among his notable works are “Medea”, “Hippolytus”, “Electra”, “The Trojan Women”, and "Bacchae"[2†][1†].
• Notable Achievements: Euripides is recognized as one of Athens’s three great tragic dramatists, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles[2†][1†]. He is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times[2†][1†].

References and Citations:

1. Wikipedia (English) - Euripides [website] - link
2. Britannica - Euripides: Greek dramatist [website] - link
3. Britannica - Euripides summary [website] - link
4. Unknwon error - link
5. Encyclopedia of World Biography - Euripides Biography [website] - link
6. Owl Eyes - Euripides Biography [website] - link
7. Biography - Euripides [website] - link
8. ancient-literature.com - Classical Literature - EURIPIDES - PLAYS, TRAGEDY [website] - link
9. ThoughtCo - The Surviving Tragedies of Euripides [website] - link
10. GradeSaver - Euripides Biography [website] - link
11. eNotes - Euripides World Literature Analysis [website] - link
12. SparkNotes - Euripides Biography, Works, and Quotes [website] - link
13. eNotes - Euripides Analysis [website] - link
14. ThoughtCo - Biography of Euripides, Third of the Great Tragedians [website] - link
15. World History - Euripides [website] - link