Euripides

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Euripides

• Creator of Medea

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Greek Tragedians

• Three great Greek Tragedians
• Aeschylus
• Sophocles
• Euripides

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Greek Theater