Euripides

Biography

Euripides was an Athenian tragedian of the 5th Century BC, about eight hundred years after Pyrrha's story takes place. Euripides was a few years younger than Sophocles, and the two competed against each other in annual festivals. Each contestant would present three thematically-linked tragedies plus one lighter-toned "satyr play." Although Sophocles won more festivals, more of Euripides's plays survived the centuries. Of 90-plus plays written by Euripides, at least 18 survived intact, mostly, plus a 19th of uncertain authorship.
Euripides fell in with the philosopher Socrates, whose radical views got him executed by the state. Euripides managed to escape his friend's fate by retiring to Macedonia to finish out his career.

Euripides and Thebes

The last of Euripides's five festival wins was awarded posthumously in 405 BC. The winning set of plays included The Bacchae, set in Thebes, about the return of the Olympian god Dionysus to the city of his birth, resulting in mass carnage. An earlier play, Heracles, also set in Thebes, tells of the return of the heroic strongman to the city of his birth, also resulting in mass carnage.
For Euripides, Thebes was a good place to be from, but a great place to be away from.

On This Page:

Elsewhere:

---

Profession

Playwright, Tragedian

Works Written

90+

Works Surviving

18 or so

Drama Festival Wins

5

Drama Festival Losses

18 or so