Euripides facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Euripides
Bust of Euripides
Born	c. 480 BC Salamis
Died	c. 406 BC (aged approximately 74) Macedonia
Occupation	Playwright
Notable work	Medea, 431 BC Hippolytus, 428 BC Electra, c. 420 BC The Trojan Women, c. 415 BC Bacchae, 405 BC
Spouse(s)	Melite Choerine
Parent(s)	Mnesarchus Cleito

Euripides (/jʊəˈrɪpɪdiːz/; Ancient Greek: Εὐριπίδης, romanized: Eurīpídēs, pronounced [eu̯.riː.pí.dɛːs]; c. 480 – c. 406 BC) was a famous tragedian (a writer of serious plays) in classical Athens, an ancient Greek city. He is one of only three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived completely. The other two are Aeschylus and Sophocles.

Euripides wrote many plays, and about 18 or 19 of them are still mostly complete today. This is more than Aeschylus and Sophocles combined! His plays became very popular later on. They were even used to teach literature in ancient times, alongside the works of Homer.

Euripides changed how plays were written. He showed traditional heroes as ordinary people facing big problems. This new way of writing influenced drama for centuries. He was known as "the most tragic of poets" because he focused on what characters felt inside. He explored their thoughts and feelings in a new way.

Some people at the time thought Euripides, like the philosopher Socrates, was too intellectual. Comic poets like Aristophanes often made fun of them in their plays.

Life of Euripides

Euripides was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC. His parents were Cleito and Mnesarchus. His father was a retailer who lived near Athens.

Some stories say his father wanted him to be an athlete. But Euripides was meant for the stage. He also studied painting and philosophy. He was known for being a bit of a recluse.

The exact details of his death are not fully known. It's traditionally said he moved to Macedonia and died there in 406 BC. Some stories say he was attacked by dogs. However, modern experts are not sure if these stories are true.

Euripides was the youngest of the three great tragedians. His first play was staged 13 years after Sophocles' first play. It was also three years after Aeschylus's famous play Oresteia. A popular story says he was born on the very day of the Battle of Salamis. This was a great Greek victory against Persia. Aeschylus fought in this battle, and Sophocles celebrated it as a boy.

Euripides lived and worked during the long war between Athens and Sparta. He did not live to see Athens finally defeated.

Euripides' Plays and Style

Athenian tragedies were public contests between playwrights. The state paid for them and gave out prizes. Plays were spoken and sung, using special poetic rhythms. The stage had a circular area for the Greek chorus to dance. There was also a space for actors and a backdrop. Special effects included machines to bring actors onto the stage or lift them into the air.

Euripides, like other playwrights, wrote more songs for skilled actors. This made tragedy a changing and lively art form.

New Ideas in Plays

The comic poet Aristophanes often criticized Euripides. He said Euripides brought in new, bad ideas that lowered standards in society and in plays. However, tragedy was also a way for people to discuss important issues. Playwrights were expected to entertain and educate their fellow citizens.

Euripides used traditional myths for his stories. But he made them new by showing heroes as ordinary people. He used the past to talk about current problems. His characters often discussed things more directly than those in Aeschylus's or Sophocles' plays. Sometimes, they even questioned the democratic system.

For example, in his play Hecuba, the character Odysseus is described as "agile-minded, sweet-talking, demos-pleasing." This sounds like the politicians in Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Euripides' characters were more like people living in Athens at the time.

Characters and Language

Euripides' characters often sounded like they had taken a public speaking class. Their formal speeches sometimes seemed out of place in a mythical setting. This might have been Euripides making a point about how language can be tricky.

He also used humor in his plays. While Aeschylus and Sophocles used minor characters for comic relief, Euripides used main characters too. His humor could make the overall tragic feeling even stronger. His realistic approach sometimes made heroes seem less grand. This showed a world where heroism was changing.

Characters in Euripides' plays often changed their minds or feelings suddenly. This made them seem more like real people. He was interested in how people's inner thoughts and feelings, especially their strong emotions, drove the story.

When gods appeared in his plays, they sometimes seemed lifeless. This might have been Euripides making people question the religious parts of his plays. Also, his plays often started in a simple way. A character would just tell the audience everything they needed to know. This was different from Sophocles, who used dialogue to set the scene.

Versatility and Irony

Euripides was very good at mixing different styles. He could easily combine tragic, funny, romantic, and political elements in his plays. This made his work very unique.

He often used 'recognition scenes', where characters discover each other's true identity. These scenes later became common in comedies. Euripides even made fun of other tragedians' recognition scenes in his play Electra. He was one of the few tragedians to include criticism of plays within his own plays.

His plays often had exotic settings, heroic adventures, and epic battles. This allowed for romantic stories and political comments on war. For example, The Trojan Women is a powerful play about the horrors of war. It seems to criticize Athens' actions during the Melian massacre. Yet, it also has funny parts and a chorus that praises Athens. This mix of ideas is typical of his complex plays.

Euripides also used irony a lot. This means saying one thing but meaning something else, or having events turn out differently than expected. For example, in Heracles, Heracles says all men love their children. But later, he is driven mad and kills his own children. This foreshadows the tragic events. In Bacchae, Pentheus threatens to cut off Dionysus's head. But in the end, Pentheus is the one who is beheaded. Euripides used irony not just to hint at future events, but also sometimes for a funny effect.

Euripides' Surviving Plays

Here is a list of Euripides' plays that have survived, along with when they were first performed and other details.

Key:

• Date shows when the play was first performed.
• Prize shows if the play won a prize in a festival competition.
• Lineage: S means the play comes from a 'Select' (school) edition. A means it comes from an 'Alphabetical' collection.
• Resolutions: This is a technical detail about the rhythm of the lines in the play.
• Genre: Describes the type of play.

Images for kids

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  A statue of Euripides from the 2nd century AD, found in the Louvre museum in Paris.

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  A 19th-century statue of Euripides in a niche on the Semperoper building in Germany.

See also

In Spanish: Eurípides para niños