Euripides
The most tragic of poets
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Euripides, a tragedian from classical Athens, is one of the three Greek playwrights—alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles—whose name survives on complete plays. Ancient sources disagree on his total output: some claim ninety-five plays, while the Suda sets the maximum at ninety-two. Of these, nineteen have come down to us more or less intact, though scholars often question the authenticity of *Rhesus*. Substantial fragments remain from many of his other works. Curiously, more of Euripides’ plays survive than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles combined, largely because his reputation rose as theirs waned. By the Hellenistic Age, he had become a staple of literary education, ranked with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.
His innovations reshaped drama, especially by portraying legendary heroes as ordinary people caught in extreme situations. This shift paved the way for later comic and romantic traditions. Aristotle called him “the most tragic of poets,” likely due to his fondness for bleak endings, but Bernard Knox argued the label fits more broadly: Euripides pushed audiences to the brink with his raw depictions of human suffering. He delved into characters’ inner lives and motives as no one had before, creating a psychological cage that later influenced Shakespeare’s *Othello*, Racine’s *Phèdre*, and the works of Ibsen and Strindberg—where people destroy each other through intense love and hate. At the same time, he inspired comic writers like Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
In his own era, the comic playwright Aristophanes mocked Euripides for his intellectualism. Modern scholars are divided: some see him as an iconoclastic thinker, others as a more conventional dramatist. His treatment of women has drawn particular attention today, praised for its perceptiveness and sympathy toward their struggles in Greek society, especially in *Medea*.
Details of his life come from unreliable sources: folklore, comic parody, and autobiographical hints in his plays. Born on Salamis around 480 BC to Cleito and Mnesarchus, a retailer from Phlya, he was initially pushed toward athletics after an oracle predicted he would win “crowns of victory.” But he ended up on stage, winning only five victories (one posthumously). He briefly served as a dancer and torch-bearer at Apollo Zosterius’ rites. His education included painting and philosophy under Prodicus and Anaxagoras. Two disastrous marriages—to Melite and Choerine, who bore him three sons—ended in infidelity. He became a recluse, living in a cave on Salamis (later a cult site), where he built a library and communed with the sea and sky. His death is uncertain: tradition says he retired to King Archelaus’ court in Macedonia and died in 406 BC, possibly attacked by hounds. Some modern scholars doubt he ever went to Macedonia, or suggest he was lured by incentives offered to other artists.
The trio of great tragedians were near-contemporaries: Euripides’ first play came thirteen years after Sophocles’ debut and three years after Aeschylus’ *Oresteia*. A patriotic story ties them to the Battle of Salamis—Aeschylus fought, Sophocles celebrated in a boys’ chorus, and Euripides was born that day. The cave legend likely symbolizes his isolation as an intellectual ahead of his time. His career spanned Athens’ struggle with Sparta, but he didn’t see its final defeat. Plutarch recounts that after the Sicilian expedition’s failure, Athenians traded Euripides’ lyrics to enemies for food, and that Spartan generals planned to demolish Athens but spared it after hearing a chorus from his play. His cenotaph near Piraeus was reportedly struck by lightning—a sign of his unique powers, for good or ill. One modern scholar suggests the Macedonian winter, not hounds, caused his death.
- born
- c. 480 BC
- died
- c. 406 BC
- field
- Tragic playwright
- nationality
- Athenian Greek
- known_for
- Innovations in tragedy, portrayal of ordinary heroes, focus on inner lives of characters
Lore & Background
Traditional accounts of the author's life are found in many commentaries, and include details such as these: He was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC, with parents Cleito (mother) and Mnesarchus (father), a retailer from the deme of Phlya. On receiving an oracle that his son was fated to win 'crowns of victory', Mnesarchus insisted that the boy should train for a career in athletics. But the boy was destined for a career on the stage (where he was to win only five victories, one of these posthumously). He served for a short time as both dancer and torch-bearer at the rites of Apollo Zosterius. His education was not confined to athletics, studying also painting and philosophy under the masters Prodicus and Anaxagoras. He had two disastrous marriages, and both his wives—Melite and Choerine (the latter bearing him three sons)—were unfaithful. He became a recluse, making a home for himself in a cave on Salamis (the Cave of Euripides, where a cult of the playwright developed after his death). 'There he built an impressive library and pursued daily communion with the sea and sky'. The details of his death are uncertain. It was traditionally held that he retired to the 'rustic court' of King Archelaus in Macedonia, where he died in 406 BC. Some modern scholars however claim that in reality Euripides may have never visited Macedonia at all, or if he did, he might have been drawn there by King Archelaus with incentives that were also offered to other artists. Such biographical details derive almost entirely from three unreliable sources: folklore, parody, and 'autobiographical' clues gleaned from his extant plays.
Reader's Guide
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He was referred to by Aristotle as 'the most tragic of poets', probably in reference to a perceived preference for unhappy endings, but Aristotle's remark is seen by Bernard Knox as having wider relevance, since 'in his representation of human suffering Euripides pushes to the limits of what an audience can stand; some of his scenes are almost unbearable.' Focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown, Euripides was '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'. But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw. In the comedies of his contemporary Aristophanes, Euripides is lampooned for his intellectualism. Modern scholars have varied greatly in their views of Euripides, with some regarding him as an iconoclastic intellectual, and others seeing him as a more traditional playwright. Euripides's portrayal of women has attracted particular interest in modern times, on account of the perceptiveness and sympathy with which Euripides depicts women and the difficulties facing them in Greek society, especially in his Medea.
Did You Know?
- According to Plutarch, the catastrophic failure of the Sicilian expedition led Athenians to trade renditions of Euripides's lyrics to their enemies in return for food and drink (Life of Nicias 29).
- Plutarch also provides the story that the victorious Spartan generals, having planned the demolition of Athens and the enslavement of its people, grew merciful after being entertained at a banquet by lyrics from Euripide
- It is said that he died in Macedonia after being attacked by the Molossian hounds of King Archelaus, and that his cenotaph near Piraeus was struck by lightning—signs of his unique powers, whether for good or ill (accordi
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Greek text cited from J. Diggle, Euripidis Fabulae, vols. I–III (Oxford, 1984–1994)." — Euripides "ἁγὼ οὔτινι θύω πλὴν ἐμοί, θεοῖσι δ᾿ οὔ, καὶ τῇ μεγίστῃ, γαστρὶ τῇδε, δαιμόνων." — Euripides "I sacrifice to no god save myself — And to my belly, greatest of deities." — Euripides "οὔποτε φήσω γάμον εὐφραίνειν πλέον ἢ λυπεῖν." — Euripides
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