Euripides: The Revolutionary Greek Tragedian

1. Euripides Creator of Medea

2. Greek Tragedians • Three great Greek Tragedians • Aeschylus • Sophocles • Euripides

3. Euripides • Born between 485 and 480 BC • Some say he was born at Salamis, on the day of the victory of the Athenians over the Persians • ‘Bad Boy’ of Greek tragedy • Uses myths of Greece as his source, he transformed epic heroes into men of flesh and blood

4. Euripides • Knew he was a great artist and continues to be one to this day • Judges of the Dionysia (festival honoring Gods) favored others that are now only footnotes in history • This frustration became the fuel for his art • His work would not be the same without the sense of loss and injustice he himself went through

5. Euripides • He question authority • Fascinated by the oppressed (social dysfunctional): women, barbarians, and slaves • He gives these people voices to be heard • Died in 406 BC

6. Greek Theater • Plays were performed twice a year at the Festival of Dionysus in Athens • Playwrights would compete for “best play” • Plays were religious events, not just entertainment • Theaters could seat up to 17,000 people and employed sophisticated sound systems, elaborate scenery, costumes and masks, and choreographed dancing to heighten the spectacle

7. Greek Theater • All actors were men • Only three actors and the chorus are on stage at any one time, and actors used masks to change character

8. Greek Theater • Orchestra: a level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the actors • Theatron: “Viewing place” where the spectators sat • Skene: the building directly behind the stage and was usually decorated as a palace, temple, or other building. It had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and exits through them

9. Greek Theater