Euripides

Euripides (c. 480–406 BCE) was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles.

His plays

Euripides first competed in the famous Athenian dramatic festival (the Dionysia) in 455 BCE, one year after the death of Aeschylus. He came in third. It was not until 441 BCE that he won first place, and over the course of his lifetime, Euripides claimed a mere four victories.

Related Topics:
Dionysia - 455 BCE - 441 BCE

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was a frequent target of Aristophanes' humor. He appears as a character in The Acharnians, Thesmophoriazousae, and most memorably in The Frogs, where Dionysus travels to Hades to bring Euripides back from the dead. After a competition of poetry, Dionysus opts to bring Aeschylus instead.

Related Topics:
The Acharnians - Thesmophoriazousae - The Frogs - Dionysus - Hades - Aeschylus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euripides' final competition in Athens was in 408 BCE. Although there is a story that he left Athens embittered because of his defeats, there is no real evidence to support it. He died in 406 BCE, probably in Athens or nearby, and not in Macedon, as some biographers repeatedly state. The Bacchae was performed after his death in 405 BCE.

Related Topics:
The Bacchae - 405 BCE

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When compared with Aeschylus, who won thirteen times, and Sophocles, with eighteen victories, Euripides was the least honored, though not necessarily the least popular, of the three — at least in his lifetime. Later, in the 4th century BC, the dramas of Euripides became more popular than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles. His works influenced New Comedy and Roman drama, and were later idolized by the French classicists; his influence on drama reaches modern times.

Related Topics:
4th century BC - Drama - New Comedy - Roman - French classicists

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euripides' greatest works are considered to be Alcestis, Medea, Electra, and The Bacchae.

Related Topics:
Alcestis - Medea - Electra - The Bacchae

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In June 2005, classicists at Oxford University employed infrared technology – previously used for satellite imaging – to detect previously unknown material by Euripides in fragments of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/ a collection of ancient manuscripts held by the university. http://www.ox.ac.uk/blueprint/2004-05/3006/25.shtml

Related Topics:
2005 - Oxford University - Infrared - Satellite - Oxyrhynchus papyri

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~