Euripides 484 or 480-406BC
Greek tragic dramatist

Born probably in Salamis, he did not take much part in public life. In politics he was moderate, approving of a democracy, but not of demagogues. Of about 80 of his dramas whose titles are known, 18 survive complete. They include Medea (431BC, Eng trans 1959), Andromache (425BC, Eng trans 1957), Supplices (423BC, Eng trans 1957), Troades (415BC, Eng trans The Women of Troy, 1954), Phoenissae (410BC, Eng trans The Phoenician Women, 1959) and Orestes (408BC, Eng trans 1959). The Bacchae (405BC, Eng trans 1954) and Iphigenia Aulidensis (405BC, Eng trans Iphigenia in Aulis, 1959) were put on the Athenian stage only after the author's death. It is doubtful whether the Rhesus (Eng trans 1959) is genuine. He brought a new style to tragedy and the treatment of traditional mythology, and is notable for highlighting unusual opinions and portraying socially marginal characters. Sophocles, who deemed him 'the most tragic of poets', also commented that while he himself showed people as they ought to be, Euripides portrayed them as they are.

Bibliography: Gilbert Murray, Euripides and His Age (1913)