Classical Wisdom Litterae - Nov 2019

IV T he Greeks are famous, among many things, as the inventors of the Western traditions of drama and theatre. Without them, perhaps there may not have been a Shakespeare or Ibsen. One of the greatest of all Greek dramatists, along with Sophocles and Aeschylus, was Euripides. He is regarded as one of the most significant dramatic writers in history and his works are still regularly staged to this day. Unfortunately, we know little about the life of Euripides, and many of the extant sources were possibly biased against him. Moreover, many of his works have been lost or are only known through fragments. In fact, of his 94 or 95 plays, only 19 have survived. It is important to acknowledge that Euripides lived during the Second War Peloponnesian War. His work is of a gloomy character and this may be because of his personal circumstances. He was twice married to unfaithful wives and was unpopular for his radical ideas. Indeed, in later life, he was possibly fearful of prosecution for impiety after what happened to his friend Socrates. On the following pages you’ll find a timeline of Euripides’ life and his greatest works. IV B Y E DWA R D WH E L A N