Biography of Euripides - 1861 Words

Chapter 1: Euripides Biography Part 1: Bob Prescott Euripides lived in a very mysterious time. We know so little about the era in which he lived because of the loss of many ancient manuscripts at the burning of the Library of Alexandria. Given this massive loss of knowledge of the pre-modern world, it is hard to cobble together a full biography of Euripides. There is, however quite a lot of information known about him. This is known due to the fact that Euripides is a character in some of Aristophanes’ and the other comic poet’s comedies. The largest comprehensive collection of information on the playwright, however, is from a biography called â€Å"The Life of Euripides† by Satyrus of Callatis (Lefkowitz 87). The play that we have chosen to†¦show more content†¦Or perhaps, he, like many writers, preferred to write in solitude. Throughout his life, Euripides married twice and had three sons. His wives were Melito and Choirile and his sons were named Mnesarchides, Mnesilochus, and Euripides. Two of his sons, Mnesilochus and Euripides, followed in their father’s footsteps and became an actor and producer, respectively (Satyrus 153). Satyrus mentions in his Vita that Euripides’ first wife was unfaithful, to which Lefkowitz adds that she slept with their slave, Cephisophon (Lefkowitz 97). Satyrus explains that after discovering that she had committed adultery, he penned Hippolytus, â€Å"in which he exposes women’s immorality.† (154) After remarrying, Euripides discovered that his second wife was also unfaithful. This was said to make him â€Å"even more eager to slander women.† (Satyrus 154) Speculation of how Euripides’ works were perceived when they were new is a difficult concept. Given how male-dominated society was at the time, a safe assumption is that Hippolytus was well-accepted, as were many of his other works. Medea, as another example, was probably well accepted by Greeks because of its superficial display of women and foreigners. Today, the play is known to be an interesting analysis of a complex character oppressed by society, but in ancient times, it is uncertain whether the theatre patrons would have seen past the surface. At some point in hisShow MoreRelatedComparison of Medea by Euripides, Jean Anouilh and Wesley Enouch2675 Words   |  11 Pagessocial origins firmly in Ancient Greece. Since originally being written by Euripides, the play has been rewritten and reinterpreted by many different playwrights and directors throughout history. Each time the Meda has been re-imagined, it takes on different meaning, born from the context of the playwright and the message they wish to convey through this powerful play. This essay will cover the original play by Euripides, as well as the versions from Jean Anouilh and Wesley Enouch. It wi ll discussRead MoreQuestions On Ancient Greek Theatre1413 Words   |  6 Pagesannual festival of Dionysus. As how these kinds of ritual activities beg plump become the first tragedy and comedy, academia unknown. It achieved its peak resulting in the 6th century BC, and the 5th century BC. Aeschylus Rees, Sophocles, Euripides, this three tragedian, their highest achievements of each period not only represents a process of the ancient Greek tragedy art a rise to prosperity and decadence, but also reflects the development of slave egalitarian social life at different stagesRead MoreHelen Of Troy1455 Words   |  6 Pageswoman in the world. By marriage she was Queen of Laconia, a province within Homeric Greece, the wife of King Menelaus. Her abduction by Paris, Prince of Troy, brought about the Trojan War. Elements of her putative biography come from classical authors such as Aristophanes, Cicero, Euripides and Homer (both The Iliad and The Odyssey). In her youth she was abducted by, or eloped with, Theseus, and in some accounts bore him a child. A competition between her suitors for her hand in marriage sees MenelausRead MoreA True Classical German Theatre1945 Words   |  8 Pagesreporting of past events† ), also contains patriotic elements, which appear to be foreshadowing the threat bought by France and Napoleon The moral education that classical drama offers with its rich array of tragedies by authors such as Sophocles and Euripides is one which is also particularly influential during Weimar Classicism, as Goethe’s version of Euripide’s ΙϕÎ ¹ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ­ÃŽ ½ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ± proves. Rather than delving into the way plots with particularly controversial characters are dealt with and how these influenceRead MoreEliot as Dramatist1935 Words   |  8 PagesWashington University in St. Louis. Isaac Stearns on his mothers side was one of the original settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony. 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Although many ofRead MoreThe Renaissance and It’s Affect on William Shakespeare’s Works2369 Words   |  10 Pageshistory and mythology for ideas in his pla ys. Before the Renaissance age these texts would have been suppressed by the Church. The genre of tragedy is rooted in the Greek dramas of Aeschylus (525-456 B.C., e.g. the Oresteia and Prometheus Bound), Euripides (ca. 480?-405 B.C., e.g. Medeaand The Trojan Women) and Sophocles (496-406 B.C., e.g. Oedipus Rex and Antigone). While Shakespeare probably did not know Greek tragedy directly, he would have been familiar with the Latin adaptations of Greek dramaRead MoreA Doll House by Henrik Ibsen7379 Words   |  30 Pages a care that at all times has been seen as a woman’s responsibility and obligation as it was also to Antigone† (qtd. in Eankanabaram). The critic Jan Kott noted how the tragic action of Torvald and Nora re-enacts another well known Greek play—Euripides’ Alcestis—in which a wife dies to save her husband, as Nora figuratively does In Act II when she decides on suicide to spare her husband from humiliation (qtd. in Eankanabaram). Apparently, the statements of the critics contribute to viewing theRead MoreThe Censorship of Art Essay example14698 Words   |  59 Pagesseek legislation, Gore did not advocate censorship but urges communication between parents and children. Dee Snider, lead singer of Twisted Sister, in response also wrote a book on adolescents and music, and Frank Zappa devoted two chapters in his biography to the censorship debate (Snider and Bashe 1987; Zappa 1989). The PMRC sought to establish coalitions with several other organizations in an attempt to form a broad national front of concern (e.g. it formed a coalition with the National ParentsRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagestaken just to mean ‘to lead an army’ (Liddell and Scott 1871).) He even contends that the underlying principles of strategy were discussed by Homer, Euripides and many other early writers. This might come as a surprise to Homer and Euripides. Homer (an oral poet who never wrote) sings of the confrontations and machinations of Wghting heroes. Euripides, the playwright, unfolds stories where complex motives and excessive ambition, desire, and lust lead inevitably to tragedy, nemesis, and, too late