Euripides is known in literature & fiction circles as a Greek tragedian of classical Athens. Euripides is one of the few whose dramas & plays have survived. Ancient & medieval scholars have attributed 95 dramas & plays to Euripides, of which 19 are known to have survived more or less complete. Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama & plays down to modern times. He was unique among the writers of ancient & medieval Athens for the sympathy he demonstrated towards all victims ...
Read More
Euripides is known in literature & fiction circles as a Greek tragedian of classical Athens. Euripides is one of the few whose dramas & plays have survived. Ancient & medieval scholars have attributed 95 dramas & plays to Euripides, of which 19 are known to have survived more or less complete. Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama & plays down to modern times. He was unique among the writers of ancient & medieval Athens for the sympathy he demonstrated towards all victims of society, including women. This anthology volume of Euripides includes the Greek tragedy Alcestis, the Greek tragedy Medea, and the Greek tragedy the Bacchae. Alcestis employs both tragic and comic elements and thus the categorization of Alcestis has been the subject of debate among literary critics. In the play's prologue, the god Apollo comes out from Admetus' palace in Pherae, dressed in white and carrying his golden bow, with the intention of leaving to avoid becoming stained by the imminent death of Alcestis, who is being comforted within. He offers an exposition of the events leading up to this moment. Alcestis is literature & fiction, whether the medieval drama & play is categorized as tragedy or satyr, it will always be deemed as an ancient & classical work by Euripides. Euripides' Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy, that centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the barbarian kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason. Medea finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by killing Jason's new wife as well as her own children with him, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life. The Bachae is concerned with two opposite sides of man's nature: There is the rational and civilized side, which is represented by the character of Pentheus, the king of Thebes, and then there is the instinctive side, which is represented by Dionysus. This side is sensual without analysis, it feels a connection between man and beast, and it is a potential source of divinity and spiritual power.
Read Less
