Euripides
The most tragic of poets
Traditional accounts say Euripides was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC to parents Cleito and Mnesarchus, a retailer from the deme of Phlya.[1] His father insisted he train for athletics after an oracle predicted he would win "crowns of victory"[1] He died in 406 BC, traditionally said to have retired to the court of King Archelaus in Macedonia.[2] Under the tutelage of Prodicus and Anaxagoras, Euripides received instruction in painting and philosophy.[2]
Euripides experienced two unsuccessful marriages, first to Melite and then to Choerine, with both wives being unfaithful.[2] After withdrawing from public life, Euripides resided in a cave on Salamis; following his death, a cult centered on him developed at that location.[2] Of the plays credited to Euripides, nineteen have come down to us in a largely complete state, although the authorship of Rhesus is frequently disputed.[3] The number of Euripides's plays that have survived intact exceeds the combined total of those by Aeschylus and Sophocles.[4]
Quick Facts
- Born
- c. 480 BC
- Birthplace
- Salamis
- Died
- c. 406 BC (aged approximately 74)
- Place of death
- Macedon
- Occupation
- Playwright
- Spouse
- Melite; Choerine
- Parents
- Mnesarchus; Cleito
Facts from the source article.
What the cited sources add
Plutarch also records that some Athenians received food and drink for singing his choral hymns while roaming after the final battle.[5] According to Plutarch, the Caunians were only admitted to Syracuse harbor after declaring they knew songs of Euripides.[5] Plutarch reports that Euripides composed an epitaph for the defeated Athenians at Syracuse.[5]
References
- Wikipedia, "Euripides" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nails 2002, p. 148 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Euripides" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Snodgrass 1998, p. 147-148; Mitchell-Boyask 2008, p. xii; Gregory 2005, p. 253 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Euripides" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walton 1997, p. viii, xix (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Euripides" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Knox 1985, p. 316; Hadas 1960, p. ix; Parker 2007, p. lx (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Plutarch, The Life of Nicias 29.". facts only, no text reused. penelope.uchicago.edu
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Euripides (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Notable Figures
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced