Euripides_Medea

Euripides Nathaniel Wiafe Euripides, an impressive ancient Greek tragic playwright; most skillful intends of playing writing. Consequentially he became a stage philosopher. Euripides was born on 485ca in salamis. He is characterized as a powerful influence in the living. He was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles as his two rivals. Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written seventy five (75) – ninety (90) plays, and nineteen of his plays survived. Euripides' plays have survived complete. There has been debate about his authorship of Rhesus, largely on stylistic grounds and ignoring classical evidence that the play was his. Fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays also survive. More of his plays have survived than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, because of the unique nature of the Euripidean manuscript tradition. Tragedy follow his foots steps in Greece and Rome, as both in spirit and themes. Euripides is recognized as a king of tragedy. He is known primarily for having reshaped the formal structure of Athenian tragedy by portraying strong female characters and intelligent slaves and by satirizing many heroes of Greek mythology. His plays seem modern by comparison with those of his contemporaries, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown to Greek audiences. Euripides introduces this cleverness in the Medea. “. . . The children are dead. I say this to make you suffer.” (Euripides, 45) This quote ultimately demonstrates the emotional feelings and wants of Medea. Euripides is the first playwright to cast a woman on stage. The works of Euripides have been more variously judged than those of the other two great masters. Euripides was well educated in universities, for instance attending the lectures of Anaxagoras, Prodicus and Protagoras. He lived a misanthropic life, being someone who dislikes humankind; and passing his life in a dramatic structure. Euripides spent time writing most of his tragedies in the dark cave on the island of salamis. He began his career at the age of twenty four (24) and published most of his work at the age of forty eight (48). Euripides was trained as an athlete in the Olympics, and won many different prices but, also well trained as painter. His art has been tamer than his two rivals, and his genius rhetorical rather than poetical, while the morality that he teaches belongs to the school of Sophists. On the other hand his admirers claim that he is the most tragic of the Greek tragedians, the most pathetic of the Attic poets, the most humane in his social philosophy and the most skillful in psychological insight. Doubtless he owed to Socrates the philosophy interwoven in his tragedies, causing him to be named the "stage philosopher," one haunted by the demon of Socrates. Though he did not live in the most stirring period of the nation's life, he was, both in spirit and in choice of themes, intensely patriotic, and to him is due the spread of dramatic literature more than to any other of the ancient bards. Even in the style of Aristophanes, who made fun of him, and in danger, borrowed his sentiments. When the modern drama grafted the classical element on its crude growth, the plays of Euripides were, directly or indirectly, the most powerful influence in the establishment of a living connection between them. Little is known about Euripides, and most recorded sources are based on legend and hearsay. Euripides first competed in the City Dionysia, the famous Athenian dramatic festival, in 455 BC, one year after the death of Aeschylus. He came third, reportedly because he refused to cater to the fancies of the judges. It was not until 441 BC that he won first prize and over the course of his lifetime Euripides claimed only four victories. He also won a posthumous victory. His father Mnesarchus and his mother Cleito were very wealthy and influential. He was married twice, to Choerile and Melito. He had three sons and it is rumored that he also had a daughter who was killed after a rabid dog attacked her. The record of Euripides public life, other than his involvement in dramatic competitions, is almost non-existent. Euripides traveled to Syracuse, Sicily; because he was engaged in various public or political activities during his lifetime; and he wrote his tragedies in a sanctuary, The Cave of Euripides on Salamis Island. Euripides final competition in Athens was in 408 BC; he left Athens embittered over his defeats. He accepted an invitation by the king of Macedon in 408 BC, and once there he wrote Archelaus in honor of his host. In comparison with Aeschylus, who won thirteen times and Sophocles, who had eighteen victories; Euripides was the least honored of the three, at least in his lifetime. Later in the 4th century BC, Euripides' plays became the most popular, largely because of the simplicity of their language. His works influenced New Comedy and Roman drama, and were later idolized by the French classicists; his influence on drama extends to modern times. This means Euripides came up with ideas for drama, by his genius and skillful way of thinking in life. Some of Euripides greatest works include Alcestis, Medea, Trojan Women, and The Bacchae. While the seven plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles that have survived were those considered their best, the manuscript containing Euripides' plays was part of a multiple volume. Euripides focused on the realism of his characters; for example, Euripides’ Medea is a realistic woman with remarkable emotions and is not simply a villain. Cited Page Euripides. “Euripides.” Classical Greek Tragedian. 30 September 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euripides#Tragedies Euripides. “EURIPIDES AND HIS TRAGEDIES”. The Art of Euripides. Ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/euripides001.html