Euripides
"Forgive, son; men are men; they needs must err." Although the extent of his genius was not fully recognized in his life, Euripides looked past his contemporaries and went on to create great works which eventually reshaped Greek tragedy. He often did this by including strong, clever female characters and equally intelligent slaves in his plays. The female characters were inspired by Euripides two failed marriages. Although women were often portrayed as being far from virtuous, the characters acknowledged a more realistic inner life and a struggle that was often more commonly shared but kept hidden.
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Euripides had been a frequent target of critics such as in the case of Aristophanes Frogs. Aristophanes had ridiculed him in one of his own plays making him into a character who had lost a poetry competition and been forced to remain in hell. This hostility against Euripides was similarly displayed against Socrates who had also been ridiculed by Aristophanes in his play Clouds. In fact, Euripides and Socrates had been fellow pupils before they became the objects of Aristophanes disdain.
When compared to Sophocles and other competitors, Euripides was the least honored during his life but his dramas became extremely popular as the years progressed. They were eventually praised by such great poets as Philemon who once said, "If the dead, as some assert, have really consciousness, then would I hang myself to see Euripides!" Similarly, Dante makes no mention of the other Greek tragedians but classes Euripides with the greatest of the Greeks. Finally, Aristotle alludes to Sophocles who himself recognized the genius of Euripides when he said; I portray men as they ought to be, and Euripides portrays them as they are. Euripides' greatest works include Alcestis, Medea, Bacchae and Cyclops. Another great play was eventually remade into a successful 1971 film entitled “The Trojan Women” starring Katharine Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave. References Euripedes, (1990 Repr), Ten Plays by Euripedes, Bantam CLassics |