Who is euripides in ancient greece. Euripides short biography

Ancient greek literature

Euripides

Biography

The great playwright was born on Salamis, on the day of the famous victory of the Greeks over the Persians in a naval battle, September 23, 480 BC. e., from Mnesarch and Kleito. Parents ended up on Salamis along with other Athenians who fled from the army of the Persian king Xerxes. The exact connection of Euripides' birthday to victory is an embellishment that is often found in the stories of ancient authors about the greats. So in the Court it is reported that the mother of Euripides conceived him at the time when Xerxes invaded Europe (May, 480 BC), from which it follows that in September he could not be born in any way. The Parian marble inscription identifies the playwright's birth year as 486 BC. e., and in this chronicle of Greek life, the name of the playwright is mentioned 3 times - more often than the name of any king. According to other evidence, the date of birth can be attributed to 481 BC. e.

Euripides' father was a respected and apparently wealthy man, Kleito's mother was a vegetable dealer. As a child, Euripides was seriously involved in gymnastics, even won the competition among boys and wanted to get to the Olympic Games, but was rejected because of his youth. Then he was engaged in drawing, however, without much success. Then he began to take lessons in oratory and literature from Prodicus and Anaxagoras and philosophy lessons from Socrates. Euripides collected books in the library, and soon he himself began to write. The first play, Peliad, took the stage in 455 BC. e., but then the author did not win because of a quarrel with the judges. Euripides won the first prize for skill in 441 BC. e. and from then until his death he created his creations. The playwright's public activity was manifested in the fact that he participated in the embassy in Syracuse in Sicily, apparently supporting the goals of the embassy with the authority of a writer recognized by all of Greece.

Family life Euripides was unsuccessful. From his first wife, Chloirina, had 3 sons, but divorced her because of her adultery writing the play "Hippolytus", where he ridiculed sexual relations. The second wife, Melitta, was no better than the first. Euripides gained fame as a misogynist, which gave the comedy master Aristophanes a reason to joke about him.

In 408 BC. e. the great playwright decided to leave Athens, accepting the invitation of the Macedonian king Archelaus. It is not known exactly what influenced Euripides' decision. Historians are inclined to think that the main reason was, if not persecution, then the offense of a vulnerable creative personality against fellow citizens for non-recognition of merits. The fact is that out of 92 plays, only 4 were awarded prizes at theatrical competitions during the life of the author, and one play was posthumous. The popularity of the playwright among the people is evidenced by the story of Plutarch about the terrible defeat of the Athenians in Sicily in 413 BC. e .:

“They were sold into slavery and stamped on their foreheads in the form of a horse. Yes, there were those who, in addition to captivity, had to endure this too. But even in such an extreme, they benefited from self-esteem and self-control. The owners either set them free or highly regarded them. And some were saved by Euripides. The fact is that the Sicilians, probably more than all the Greeks living outside Attica, honored the talent of Euripides. When the visitors brought them small excerpts from his works, the Sicilians enjoyed verifying them by heart and repeated to each other. They say that at that time many of those who returned home safely greeted Euripides and told him how they received freedom by teaching the master what remained in memory from his poems, or how, wandering after the battle, they earned themselves food and water by singing songs from his tragedies. "

Archelaus showed honor and demonstrative respect to the famous guest to such an extent that signs of affection were the cause of the death of the king himself. Aristotle in his work "Politics" reports on a certain Dekumnich, who was given out to scourge Euripides for the offense inflicted on him, and this Dekumnich, in revenge, organized a conspiracy, as a result of which Archelaus died. This happened already after the death of Euripides himself in 406 BC. e. The death of such a remarkable person gave birth to the legends set forth in the Court:

“Euripides ended his life as a result of a conspiracy between Arridaeus of Macedonia and Crateus of Thessaly, poets jealous of the glory of Euripides. In 10 minutes they bribed a courtier named Lysimachus to unleash the king's hounds, whom he followed, from the leash on Euripides. Others say that Euripides was torn apart, not by dogs, but by women, as he hurried at night to meet Craterus, Archelaus's young lover. Still others claim that he was going to meet with Nicodica, Aref's wife. "

The version about women is a rude joke with a hint of Euripides' play "Bacchae", where maddened women tore the king to pieces. Plutarch tells about the love of the aged writer for young men in "Quotes". The modern version is more mundane - the body of 75-year-old Euripides simply could not stand the harsh winter in Macedonia.

The Athenians asked permission to bury the playwright in his hometown, but Archelaus wished to leave the grave of Euripides in his capital, Pella. Sophocles, upon learning of the playwright's death, forced the actors to play the play with their heads uncovered. Athens put a statue of Euripides in the theater, honoring him after death. Plutarch transmitted a legend: lightning struck the tomb of Euripides, a great sign, which he was awarded from famous people only Lycurgus.

The Athenian playwright Euripides was born in Salamis on September 23, 480 BC. e. His parents, the Athenians Mnesarchus and Kleito, fled to Salamis from Athens, fleeing the army of the Persian king Xerxes.

Euripides' father was a wealthy and respected man, Kleito's mother was a vegetable dealer. In his youth, Euripides was engaged in gymnastics and drawing, took oratory lessons from Prodic and Anaxagoras, and studied philosophy from Socrates. Euripides' first play, Pelias, was performed on stage in 455 BC. e.

In 441 BC. the writer won the first prize for his work. Since then, he has not stopped writing. He also participated in the embassy in the Sicilian city of Syracuse, thus showing his public activity.

With his first wife, who bore him three sons, Euripides divorced because of her infidelity and wrote the play "Hippolytus", where he ridiculed intimate relationships. His second wife also did not differ in exemplary behavior. Disappointed in family life, Euripides became a misogynist, which made him the object of the jokes of the comedy master Aristophanes.

In 408 BC. the great playwright left Athens and went to Macedonia at the invitation of King Archelaus, where he died in 406 BC. e. There were many legends about the cause of his death, which claimed that Euripides was the victim of a conspiracy. However, most likely, the elderly playwright simply could not stand the harsh Macedonian winter. Euripides was buried in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, although the Athenians asked permission to return his body to his homeland. In the theater of Athens, a statue of him was erected in memory of the great playwright.

Euripides (Euripides) (ancient Greek Εὐριπίδης; lat.Euripides). Born 480 BC - died 406 BC e. Ancient Greek playwright, one of the largest representatives of the classical Athenian tragedy. The author of about 90 dramas, of which 17 tragedies and the satire drama "Cyclops" have survived to this day.

According to later testimony in the Souda, a little-known playwright with the same name lived before Euripides.

The ancient "Biographies" of Euripides claim that he was born on Salamis, on the day of the famous victory of the Greeks over the Persians in a naval battle, September 23, 480 BC. e., from Mnesarch and Kleito. Parents ended up on Salamis along with other Athenians who fled from the army of the Persian king Xerxes. He participated in this battle, and the sixteen-year-old performed in the chorus of young men who glorified the victory. This is how the ancient Greek chroniclers presented the continuity of the three great tragedians.

The exact connection of Euripides' birthday to victory is an embellishment that is often found in the stories of ancient authors about the greats. So in the Court it is reported that the mother of Euripides conceived him at the time when Xerxes invaded Europe (May, 480 BC), from which it follows that in September he could not be born in any way. The Parian marble inscription identifies the playwright's birth year as 486 BC. e., and in this chronicle of Greek life, the name of the playwright is mentioned 3 times - more often than the name of any king. According to other evidence, the date of birth can be attributed to 481 BC. e.

Euripides' father was a respected and, apparently, a wealthy man, Kleito's mother was engaged in the sale of vegetables. As a child, Euripides was seriously involved in gymnastics, even won the competition among boys and wanted to get to the Olympic Games, but was rejected because of his youth. Then he was engaged in drawing, however, without much success. Euripides received an excellent education - probably he was a student of Anaxagoras, he also knew Prodicus, Protagoras and. Euripides collected books in the library, and soon he himself began to write. The first play, Peliad, took the stage in 455 BC. e., but then the author did not win because of a quarrel with the judges. Euripides won the first prize for skill in 441 BC. e. and from then until his death he created his creations. The playwright's social activity was manifested in the fact that he participated in the embassy in Syracuse in Sicily, apparently supporting the goals of the embassy with the authority of a writer recognized by all of Greece.

Euripides' family life was unsuccessful. From his first wife, Chloirina, he had 3 sons, but divorced her because of her adultery, writing the play "Hippolytus", where he ridiculed sexual relations. The second wife, Melitta, was no better than the first. Euripides gained fame as a misogynist, which gave the comedy master a reason to joke about him.

In 408 BC. e. the great playwright decided to leave Athens, accepting the invitation of the Macedonian king Archelaus. It is not known exactly what influenced Euripides' decision. Historians are inclined to think that the main reason was, if not persecution, then the offense of a vulnerable creative personality against fellow citizens for non-recognition of merits. The fact is that out of 92 plays (75 according to another source), only 4 were awarded prizes at theatrical competitions during the life of the author, and one play was posthumous.

There are several legends about the death of Euripides. For example, the Court says: “Euripides ended his life as a result of a conspiracy between Arridaeus of Macedonia and Crateus of Thessaly, poets jealous of the glory of Euripides. In 10 minutes they bribed a courtier named Lysimachus to unleash the king's hounds, whom he followed, from the leash on Euripides. Others say that Euripides was torn apart, not by dogs, but by women, as he hurried at night to meet Craterus, Archelaus's young lover. Still others claim that he was going to meet with Nikodika, Aref's wife ".

The version about women - looks like a rude joke with a hint of Euripides' play "Bacchae", where the distraught women tore the king to pieces. Plutarch tells about the love of the aged writer for young men in "Quotes". The modern version is more mundane - the body of 75-year-old Euripides simply could not stand the harsh winter in Macedonia.

He performed in the chorus of young men who glorified the victory they had won. This is how the ancient Greek chroniclers presented the continuity of the three great tragedians. The exact connection of Euripides' birthday to victory is an embellishment that is often found in the stories of ancient authors about the greats. So in the Court it is reported that the mother of Euripides conceived him at the time when Xerxes invaded Europe (May, 480 BC), from which it follows that in September he could not be born in any way. The Parian marble inscription identifies the playwright's birth year as 486 BC. e. , moreover, in this chronicle of Greek life, the name of the playwright is mentioned 3 times - more often than the name of any king. According to other evidence, the date of birth can be attributed to 481 BC. e.

Euripides' father was a respected and apparently wealthy man, Kleito's mother was a vegetable dealer. As a child, Euripides was seriously involved in gymnastics, even won the competition among boys and wanted to get to the Olympic Games, but was rejected because of his youth. Then he was engaged in drawing, however, without much success. Then he began to take lessons in oratory and literature from Prodicus and Anaxagoras and philosophy lessons from Socrates. Euripides collected books in the library, and soon he himself began to write. The first play, Peliad, took the stage in 455 BC. e. , but then the author did not win because of a quarrel with the judges. Euripides won the first prize for skill in 441 BC. e. and from then until his death he created his creations. The playwright's social activity was manifested in the fact that he participated in the embassy in Syracuse in Sicily, apparently supporting the goals of the embassy with the authority of a writer recognized by all of Greece.

« They [the Athenians] were sold into slavery and stamped on their foreheads in the form of a horse. Yes, there were those who, in addition to captivity, had to endure this too. But even in such an extreme, they benefited from self-esteem and self-control. The owners either set them free or highly regarded them. And some were saved by Euripides. The fact is that the Sicilians, probably more than all the Greeks living outside Attica, honored the talent of Euripides. When the visitors brought them small excerpts from his works, the Sicilians enjoyed verifying them by heart and repeated to each other. They say that at that time many of those who returned home safely greeted Euripides and told him how they received freedom by teaching the master what remained in memory from his poems, or how, wandering after the battle, they earned themselves food and water by singing songs from his tragedies.»

« Euripides ended his life as a result of a conspiracy between Arridaeus of Macedonia and Crateus of Thessaly, poets jealous of Euripides' fame. In 10 minutes they bribed a courtier named Lysimachus to unleash the king's hounds, whom he followed, from the leash on Euripides. Others say that Euripides was torn apart, not by dogs, but by women, as he hurried at night to meet Craterus, Archelaus's young lover. Still others claim that he was about to meet with Nicodica, Aref's wife..»

The Athenians asked permission to bury the playwright in his hometown, but Archelaus wished to leave the grave of Euripides in his capital, Pella. Sophocles, upon learning of the playwright's death, forced the actors to play the play with their heads uncovered. Athens put a statue of Euripides in the theater, honoring him after death. Plutarch passed on a legend: lightning struck the tomb of Euripides, a great sign that only Lycurgus of the famous people was awarded.

Euripides' innovation

Euripides changed his attitude to mythological texts. His plays are not interpretations of mythology, but the disclosure of problems in the life of a modern polis. He deliberately chooses plots that allow highlighting "pain points": the crisis of polis ideology, the decline of civic consciousness, growing individualism and egoism; criticism of the institution of slavery; problem family relations(position of a woman); attitude to the gods (Euripides is a skeptic).

Tragedies of Euripides

Of the 92 plays attributed to Euripides in antiquity, 80 can be recovered. Of these, 18 tragedies have survived, of which Res is believed to have been written by a later poet, and the satirical drama Cyclops is the only surviving example of this genre. Euripides' best dramas are lost to us; of the survivors, only Hippolytus was crowned. Among the surviving plays, the earliest is "Alkesta", and the later ones include "Iphigenia in Aulis" and "Bacchae".

The preferred elaboration of female roles in tragedy was an innovation of Euripides. Hecuba, Polyxena, Cassandra, Andromache, Macarius, Iphigenia, Elena, Electra, Medea, Phaedra, Creusa, Andromeda, Agave and many other heroines of the legends of Hellas are complete and vital types. The motives of conjugal and maternal love, tender devotion, violent passion, feminine revenge combined with cunning, cunning and cruelty occupy a very prominent place in Euripides' dramas. The women of Euripides surpass his men by willpower and brightness of feelings. Also, the slaves and slaves in his plays are not soulless extras, but have characters, human traits and show feelings like free citizens, forcing the audience to empathize. Few of the surviving tragedies satisfy the requirement of completeness and unity of action. The author's strength lies primarily in his psychologism and deep elaboration of individual scenes and monologues. The painstaking portrayal of mental states, usually tense to the extreme, is the main interest of Euripides' tragedies.

List of fully extant plays by Euripides:

Alcesta(438 BC, 2nd place) text
Medea(431 BC, 3rd place) text
Heraclides(430 BC) text
Hippolyte(428 BC, 1st place) text
Andromache(425 BC) text
Hecuba(424 BC) text
Petitioners(423 BC) text
Electra(413 BC) text
Hercules(416 BC) text
Trojans(415 BC, 2nd place) text
Iphigenia in Taurida(414 BC) text
And he(414 BC) text
Elena(412 BC) text
Phoenicians(410 BC) text
Cyclops(408 BC, satirical drama) text
Orestes(408 BC) text
Bacchae(407 BC, 1st place posthumously together with "Iphigenia in Aulis") text
Iphigenia in Aulis(407 BC) text
Res(attributed to Euripides, with which most modern literary scholars disagree) text
Phaeton(c. 420 BC) The tragedy has survived in part.

Musical activity

Probably, Euripides himself wrote the music for his tragedies. A fragment of the first antistrophe from Orestes has survived on a papyrus of the 3rd century. BC e. containing clearly distinguishable note signs above the poetic text. A fragment of Euripides' music confirms the fame attributed to him in a number of non-musical treatises as a daring composer-reformer, who, according to the testimony of the ancients, introduced chromatics into the tragedy and began to widely use cithara (in more ancient tragedy samples, only aulos was used as standard). The notation of the fragment, showing all three kinds of Greek melos - diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic, testifies to the sophistication and complexity of Euripides' musical writing.

Another surviving fragment of Euripides - from Iphigenia at Aulis (a choral episode from the second musical intermission; dated around 280 BC) - is notable for the fact that, in addition to the letters denoting the pitch of sounds, the papyrus contains signs of rhythmic notation. Analysis of this fragment shows that the musical rhythm changes the rhythm of the verse. Thus, it becomes obvious that (traditionally accepted by philologists) the recording of the text of the tragedy as a "pure" verse (without taking into account the chant) does not give a correct idea of its sound.

Notes (edit)

Literature

Texts and translations

Russians (for translations of individual plays see articles about them):

Theater of Euripides. In 6 volumes / Per. I. F. Annensky. (Series "Monuments of World Literature"). M .: Sabashnikovs. (Volumes 1-3 came out; the first edition of vol. 1 was published in 1906 with a different composition)
- T. 1. Alkesta. Andromache. Bacchae. Hecuba. 1916.406 pp.
- T. 2. Heraclides. Hercules. Elena. Hippolyte. 1917.516 pp.
- T. 3. Iphigenia of Aulid. Iphigenia Tavricheskaya. And he. Cyclops. 1921.548 pp.
Euripides... Petitioners. Trojans. / Per. S. V. Shervinsky. // Tragedies. In 2 volumes (Series "Library of Classical Literature"). M .: Art. lit. 1969.
Euripides... Petitioners. Trojans. / Per. S. Apta. // Compositions. In 2 volumes (Series "Antique Drama"). Moscow: Art. 1980.
Euripides... Tragedies. / Per. Inn. Annensky, Art. M. L. Gasparova and V. N. Yarkho, approx. V.N. Yarkho. Resp. ed. M. L. Gasparov. (Series "Literary Monuments"). In 2 volumes. M .: Ladomir-Science. ... (reprinted: M .: Ladomir-Nauka. 2006)
- T. 1. Alkesta. Medea. Heraclides. Hippolyte. Andromache. Pleading. Hecuba. Hercules. Trojans. Iphigenia in Taurida (Iphigenia the priestess). 656 PP.
- T. 2. Electra. Elena. Phoenicians. And he. Orestes. Bacchae. Iphigenia in Aulis (Iphigenia-sacrifice). Cyclops. 704 pp. (In the appendix "Res" of Pseudo-Euripides and "Bacchae" in the translation of F.F.Zelinsky)
Unfamiliar Euripides. Tragedies of intrigue and chance. / Per. and approx. V.N. Yarkho. // Bulletin of ancient history. 1995. No. 3-4. 1996. No. 1-2. (translation of fragments of 12 tragedies: "Aegeus", "Cresfont", "Alexander", "Friks" ("Friks 1" and "Friks 2"), "Wise Melanippa", "Melanippe the Prisoner", "Gipsipila", "Antiope "," Avga "," Alope "," Alcmeon in Corinth ")

English: The "Loeb classical library" published the surviving pieces (including "Res") in 6 volumes (no. 12, 484, 9, 10, 11, 495) and fragments (v. 7, 8, no. 504, 506)

Volume II.
Volume III. Bacchae. Hercules is in madness. Heraclides. Phoenicians. Pleading

French:

In the “Collection Budé” series, the surviving plays in 7 volumes (see) and fragments (v. 8 in 4 parts, 1998-2003) have been published. Euripide. Tragédies:
- Tome VIII, 1re partie: Fragments. De Aigeus à Autolykos. Texte etabli et traduit par F. Jouan et H. Van Looy. 2e tirage 2002. LXXXIII, 509 p. ISBN 978-2-251-00466-2
- Tome VIII, 2ème partie: Fragments de Bellérophon à Protésilas. Texte etabli et traduit par F. Jouan et H. Van Looy. 2e tirage 2002.983 p. ISBN 978-2-251-00485-3
- Tome VIII: 3e partie. Fragments. De Sthénébée à Chrysippos. Texte etabli et traduit par F. Jouan et H. Van Looy. 2002.400 p. ISBN 978-2-251-00502-7
- Tome VIII: 4e partie. Fragments de drames non identifiés. Texte établi et traduit par François Jouan et Herman Van Looy. 2003. VIII, 308 p. ISBN 978-2-251-00510-2

Research

Orbinskiy R.V. Euripides and his significance in the history of Greek tragedy. SPb., 1853.98 p.
Kotelov N.P. Euripides and the meaning of his "drama" in the history of literature. SPb., 1894.87 p.
A.K. Gavrilov The Theater of Euripides and the Athenian Enlightenment: A Source Study. Abstract of the thesis. diss. ... etc. and. n. SPb., 1995.
A.K. Gavrilov Signs and action - mantle in "Iphigenia of Tauride" by Euripides // Traditions and innovation in ancient literature. Philologia classica. Issue 2 (Tolstoy collection). L., 1982.S. 88-101.

Scholia to Euripides

Sources and links

Fragments of Euripides in Walker's edition, 1920.72 pages (Greek)
Euripides, Encyclopædia Britannica on-line
// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

Euripides (eng.). - Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

Extant ancient tragedies
Aeschylus	Seven against Thebes \| Praying \| Persians \| Prometheus chained Oresteia: Agamemnon \| Choephors \| Eumenides
Sophocles	King Oedipus \| Oedipus in Colon \| Antigone \| Ajax \| Philoctet \| Electra \| Trachino women \| Pathfinders (satire drama) ( partially preserved)
Euripides	Alcesta \| Medea \| Heraclides \| Hippolyte \| Andromache \| Pleading \| Hecuba \| Hercules \| Trojans \| Iphigenia in Taurida \| Electra \| Elena \| Phoenicians \| Ion \| Orest \| Bacchae \| Iphigenia in Aulis \| Cyclops (satire drama)
Seneca	Medea \| Phaedra \| Oedipus \| Phoenicians \| Hercules in Madness \| Hercules on Ete \| Fiesta \| Trojans \| Agamemnon
Unknown authors	Res 1 \| Octavia 2
1 Pseudo-Euripides, Greek author of the 4th century BC e. 2 Pseudo-Seneca, Roman author, 1st century AD e.

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XII. EURIPID

1. Biography.

Euripides (c. 480 - 406 BC), one of the greatest playwrights, was the younger contemporary of Aeschylus and Sophocles. He was born on the island of Salamis. Biographical information about Euripides is scarce and contradictory. Aristophanes in his comedy "Women at the Feast of Thesmosphoria" says that Euripides' mother was a greengrocer, while the later biographer Philochorus denies this. Undoubtedly, the family of Euripides had the means and therefore the great tragedian was able to get a good education: he studied with the philosopher Anaxagoras and the sophist Protagoras, says the Roman writer Aulus Gellius ("Attic nights"). In 408, Euripides, at the invitation of King Archelaus, moved to Macedonia, where he died.

2. Creative way

Euripides began in the heyday of the Athenian polis, but most of his activities took place already during the decline of this slave republic. He witnessed the long and exhausting Peloponnesian War for Athens, which lasted from 431 to 404 BC. This war was equally aggressive both on the part of Athens and on the part of Sparta, but nevertheless, the difference in the political positions of these two policies should be noted: Athens, as a democratic slave-owning state, introduced the principles of slave-owning democracy to the regions conquered during the war, and Sparta everywhere imposed an oligarchy. Euripides, in contrast to Aeschylus and Sophocles, did not hold any public office. He served his homeland with his creativity. He wrote more than 90 tragedies, of which 17 have survived (the 18th tragedy "Rhea" is attributed to Euripides). In addition, one of Euripides' satire drama "Cyclops" has survived to us and many fragments of his tragedies have survived.

Most of the tragedies of Euripides have to be dated only approximately, since there is no exact data on the time of their production. The chronological sequence of his tragedies is as follows: "Alkes-ta" - 438, "Medea" - 431, "Hippolytus" - 428, "Heraclides" - c. 427, "Hercules", "Hecuba" and "Andromache" - c. 423-421, "The Supplicants" - probably 416, "Ion", "Trojans" - 415, "Electra", "Iphigenia in Taurida" - c. 413, "Helena" - 412, "Phoenicians" - 410 - 408, "Orestes" - 408, "Bacchae" and "Iphigenia in Aulis" were staged after the death of Euripides.

3. Criticism of mythology.

Euripides is extremely radical in his views, drawing closer to the Greek natural philosophers and sophists regarding their criticism of traditional mythology. For example, he believes that at first there was a general undivided material mass, then it was divided into ether (heaven) and earth, and then plants, animals and people appeared (fragment 484).

Known for his critical attitude to mythology as the basis of folk Greek religion. He recognizes some kind of divine entity governing the world. No wonder the comedian Aristophanes, a contemporary of Euripides, who considers this tragedian to be the destroyer of all folk traditions, evil laughs at him and in the comedy "Frogs" speaks through the mouth of Dionysus that he has gods "of their own special coinage" (885-894).

Euripides almost always depicts the gods from the most negative sides, as if wishing to inspire the audience with distrust of traditional beliefs. So, in the tragedy "Hercules" Zeus appears evil, capable of disgracing someone else's family, the goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, - vindictive, bringing suffering to the famous Greek hero Hercules just because he is the bastard son of Zeus. The god Apollo is cruel and treacherous in the tragedy "Orestes". It was he who forced Orestes to kill his mother, and then did not consider it necessary to protect him from the revenge of Erinius (this interpretation differs sharply from the interpretation of Aeschylus in his trilogy "Oresteia"). As heartless and envious as Hera, the goddess Aphrodite in the tragedy "Hippolytus". She envies Artemis, whom the beautiful Hippolytus reveres. Out of hatred for the young man, Aphrodite ignites in the heart of his stepmother, Queen Phaedra, a criminal passion for her stepson, due to which both Phaedra and Hippolytus perish.

Critically portraying the gods of popular religion, Euripides expresses the idea whether such images are the fruit of the imagination of poets. So, through the mouth of Hercules, he says:

In addition, I did not believe and do not believe, So that God eat the forbidden fruit, So that God has bonds in his hands And God alone commanded the other. No, the deity is self-sufficient: All this is nonsense of insolent singers 3. (Hercules, 1342-1346.)

4. Anti-war tendencies and democracy.

Euripides was a patriot of his native polis and tirelessly emphasized the superiority of democratic Athens over oligarchic Sparta. More than once Euripides portrayed his people as the protector of weak, small states. So, using the myth, he carries out this idea in the tragedy "Heraclides". The children of Hercules - Heraclides, who were expelled from their hometown by the Mycenaean king Eurystheus, not one of the states, fearing the military power of Mycenae, did not give shelter, did not intercede for them. Only Athens protects the offended, and the Athenian ruler Demophon, expressing the will of his people, says to the messenger of the Mycenaean king, who was trying to drag the children away from the Athenian altars:

But if anything excites Me, then that is the supreme argument: honor. After all, if I allow some foreigner to tear off the prayer from the altar by force, then farewell, Athenian freedom! Everyone will say, That out of fear of Argos, I insulted the plea of Treason. Consciousness is worse than the loop (242-250).

The Athenians defeated the troops of Eurystheus and return their hometown to the Heraclides. At the end of the tragedy, the choir sings the glory of Athens. The main idea of the tragedy is expressed by the luminary of the choir, saying: "This is not the first time the Athenian land has stood for the truth and the unfortunate" (330).

The tragedy of Euripides "The Petitioner" is also patriotic. It depicts the relatives of the soldiers who fell under the walls of Thebes during the fratricidal war between Eteocles and Polynicus. The Thebans do not allow the families of those killed to take the bodies for burial. Then the relatives of the dead soldiers turn to Athens for help. The conversation between the Athenian king Theseus and Adrastus, the messenger of the relatives of the fallen soldiers, is a glorification of democratic Athens, the protector of the weak and oppressed. The choir sings:

You help the mothers, help, about the city of Pallas, May they not trample the laws of general, - You observe justice, unfair injustice, You are the patron of everyone, whoever was dishonestly offended (378-381).

In the same dialogue, through the mouth of Theseus, condemned wars of conquest, started by the rulers because of their own selfish interests. Theseus says to Adrast:

Those strive for glory, these inflate the Game of War and corrupt citizens, Those mark them as commanders, those mark them as leaders, Show their temper, and those who are attracted by profit - Do not think about the disasters of the people (233-237).

Euripides reflected the hatred of the Athenians towards Sparta in the tragedies "Andromache" and "Orestes". In the first of these tragedies, he depicts the cruel Menelaus and his no less cruel wife Elena and daughter Hermione, treacherously breaking their word, not stopping to kill the child Andromache, born by her to the son of Achilles Neoptolemus, to whom she was given as a concubine after the fall of Troy ... Andromache sends curses on the heads of the Spartans. Peleus, father of Achilles, also curses the haughty and cruel Spartans. The anti-Spartan tendencies of the Andromache tragedy met with a lively response in the souls of the Athenian citizens, everyone knew the cruelty of the Spartans towards prisoners and enslaved helots. The same ideas are carried out by Euripides in the tragedy "Orestes", depicting the Spartans as cruel, treacherous people. So, the father of Clytemnestra Tindar demands the execution of Orestes for killing his mother, although Orestes says that he committed this crime on the orders of the god Apollo. Menelaus is pitiful and cowardly. Orestes reminds him of his father Agamemnon, who, like a brother, came to the aid of Menelaus, went with his troops to Troy to save Elena and, at the cost of great sacrifices, saved her, returned Menelaus the lost happiness. Recalling his father, Orestes asks Menelaus to help him now, the son of Agamemnon, but Menelaus replies that he does not have the strength to fight the Argians and can only act with cunning. Then Orestes notes with bitterness:

Nothing like a king, but a worthless coward at heart Leaving friends in trouble in trouble, you run! (717-718)

Tragedies of Euripides with anti-Spartan tendencies are closely related to the tragedies in which the author expresses his anti-war views, condemns wars of conquest. These are the tragedy "Hecuba", staged around 423, and the tragedy of "Troyanka", staged in 415.

The tragedy "Hecuba" describes the suffering of Priam's family, which, together with other captives, after the capture of Troy, the Achaeans lead to Greece. Hecuba's daughter Polixenus is sacrificed in honor of the murdered Achilles, and her only surviving son Polydor is killed by the Thracian king Polymestor, to whom the child was sent to save him from the horrors of war. Hecuba humbly asks Odysseus to help her save her daughter, but he is relentless. Euripides paints Polyxena as a proud girl who does not want to humiliate herself before the victorious Greeks and goes to her death:

What does the temper of my future masters promise me? Some savage, having bought me, will force Grind wheat, a house of revenge ... ... And the languid day will end, and the slave bought me will desecrate my bed ... (358-365). I have nothing and no reason to fight (371). ... Life will become a burden to Us when there is no beauty in it (378).

As a great connoisseur of the human soul, Euripides portrays the last minutes of Polyxena's life, proudly going to her death; but dying in the prime of life is hard, and she, clinging to her mother, sends greetings to her sister Cassandra, who became Agamemnon's concubine, and to her little brother Polydor. Polyxena dies as a heroine. The last were her words:

You, sons of Argos, That they have destroyed my city! I die of my own will. Let no one hold Me ... ... But let me die Free, I conjure the gods. As I was free. It is a shame to descend as a Slave to the shadows of the princess (545-552).

The tragedy of "Hecuba" is pessimistic in its mood, the author seems to want to say that human life is hard, injustice, violence, the power of gold reign everywhere - this is the law of life and these are the last words of the tragedy: "necessity is inexorable."

The tragedy of Troyanka is close to this tragedy in its anti-war tendencies and even in its plot. It also describes the suffering of the captured Trojans, among whom are the women of the family of King Priam.

This tragedy, like the tragedy of Hecuba, depicts the war between the Greeks and the Trojans, contrary to the usual mythological interpretation that praises the feats of the Achaeans. The Trojans depicts the insane suffering of women and children after the fall of Troy.

A messenger from the victorious Greeks informs the family of Priam that the wife of King Hecubus will be a slave to Odysseus, her eldest daughter Cassandra will become Agamemnon's concubine, the younger Polyxena will be sacrificed at the grave of Achilles, Hector's wife Andromache will be given as a concubine to Achilles' son Neoptolemus.

Andromache is deprived of her baby, the son of Hector, although she begs to leave him to her, since the child is not guilty of anything before the Greeks. The victors kill the child, throwing it off the wall, and the corpse is brought to his grandmother, Hecuba, distraught with suffering.

An unhappy old woman who has lost her homeland and all her loved ones yells over the corpse of her grandson:

Blood flows from the crushed skull ... I will keep silent about the worst ... O hands, Just like the father's! The joints are all Crushed ... O sweet mouth ... (1177-1180). ... What will the poet write on your tombstone? "This boy was killed by the Argives Out of fear" is a verse shameful for Hellas (1189-1191).

In many tragedies where the idea of patriotism is carried out, Euripides portrays heroes who sacrifice their lives for the sake of their homeland. So, in the tragedy "Heraclides", the daughter of Hercules, young Macarius, sacrifices herself, saving her hometown, her brothers and sisters.

In the tragedy "The Phoenicians" (staged between 410-408), the son of Creon, the young man Menekei, sacrifices his life for the victory of his homeland over the enemies. The father persuades his son not to undertake such a feat, but to go somewhere far, outside the homeland. Menekei pretends to agree with his father's will, but in his heart he has already firmly decided to give his life for the salvation of his homeland.

Euripides grieved the entire course of the Peloponnesian War, the hardships and military defeats of his fellow citizens. He saw that the principles of a democratic polis system were crumbling, that the privileged social groups, the rich, the money-makers, the owners of land and businesses. Therefore, the playwright in his tragedies with such passion defends the principles of Athenian democracy and condemns tyranny. He considered the basis of Athenian democracy to be medium social groups, that is, small free workers, peasants and artisans. In the tragedy "The Supplicant" its main character Theseus, the spokesman for the views of Euripides himself, says:

There are three kinds of citizens: some are rich And useless, everything is always not enough for them, Others are poor, in eternal lack. They are formidable, they are seized by envy, And in anger they aptly sting the rich. They are knocked down by the bad tongues of the Troubles. The third genus is the middle one, the support of the state and the protection of the Law in it ... (238-246).

Aristotle adhered to the same views (Politics, VI, 9).

Euripides portrayed free small workers with deep sympathy, especially the workers of the earth. The old honest farmer in the tragedy "Electra", for whom the queen Clytemnestra marries her daughter in order to remove her from the palace, as she is afraid of her daughter's revenge for her murdered father, understood the plan of the insidious Clytemnestra, considers his marriage to be fictitious, protects the honor of Electra and treats her as a daughter. The peasant is kind and hardworking, he says: "Yes, whoever is lazy, let the words of prayer never leave his lips, and he does not take bread" (81).

The same image of an honest farmer, keeper of the democratic principles of Athens is given in the tragedy "Orestes". Only he alone spoke out in defense of Orestes at a popular meeting, demanding leniency to this young man, since the murder of Clytemnestra was committed by him on the orders of the god Apollo. This is how Euripides characterizes this citizen, dear to his heart:

An orator stands up - not a handsome man, but a strong husband; not often a footprint On the square of Argos, leaving, He plows his land - on such Now the country rests. He is not poor in reason, since there is sometimes an opportunity to measure himself in a verbal competition. And in life he is an impeccable husband (917-924).

5. Social dramas.

The tragedies of Euripides should be divided into two groups: on the one hand, tragedies in the full sense of the word, and on the other, social dramas, which portray not heroes outstanding in their thoughts and deeds, but ordinary people. In these dramas, he will introduce a comic element, which the classical ancient tragedy did not allow at all, and a prosperous denouement, which also contradicts the canon of the tragic genre. These include, for example, plays such as "Alkesta", "Elena", "Ion".

a) "Alkesta".

"Alkesta" was delivered in 438; This is the earliest of the surviving works of Euripides. The hero of the drama is the Thessalian king Admet, to whom the gods promised that his life could be extended if someone voluntarily agreed to die for him. When Admet fell seriously ill and was threatened with death, none of his relatives, not even elderly parents, wanted to die in his place, and only his young wife, the beautiful Alkesta, agreed to such a sacrifice.

Euripides with great skill depicts the last minutes of Alcesta's life, her farewell to her husband, children, slaves. Alkesta loves life, and it is hard for her to die, but in her dying delirium she thinks about the fate of her husband and children.

Alkesta's husband, Tsar Admet, is an ordinary person, not a hero: a good family man, loves his wife and children, is hospitable to friends, a hospitable host, but an egoist and loves himself most of all. Admet curses himself for accepting the sacrifice of his wife, but is not capable of self-sacrifice, of feat.

There is a scene in the play that really convinces that there is only one step from the tragic to the comic - when Admet Feret's father brings a veil and wants to cover the corpse of the deceased with it. Admet is outraged by the behavior of his father, who did not sacrifice his dying life for the sake of saving his only son, but reproaches his father for selfishness, and the father, in turn, scolds his son for hoping for self-sacrifice from his parents. The old man accuses his son that he lives, in essence, at the expense of his wife, who sacrificed her young life. This squabble of two egoists is both comical and bitter. Euripides very vividly conveys it with the help of short, everyday, catchy phrases:

Admet (pointing to the corpse of Alkesta) You see your guilt there, old man. Feret Or they bury her for me, you say? Admet You will need me too, I hope. Feret Change your wives more often, you will be more whole. Admet You are ashamed of yourself. Why did you spare yourself? Feret Oh, this torch of god is so beautiful. ADMET Is this a husband? Shame among husbands ... Feret I would become a laughingstock for you, if I die. Admet You will die too - but you will die ingloriously. Feret The infamy does not reach the dead. Admet Such an old man ... And even a shadow of shame ... (717 - 727).

Admet and Feret are ordinary people as they are. It was not for nothing that Aristotle noted that Sophocles depicts people as they should be, and Euripides - as they are (Poetics, 25).

Hercules, the playwright draws not in a halo of exploits, but in an ordinary a good man who knows how to enjoy life, capable of a deep sense of friendship. Euripides tells how Hercules, on the way to Thrace, comes to Admetus and he, not wanting to upset his friend, does not tell him about the death of his wife, but arranges a meal in one of the distant rooms of the palace. Hercules gets drunk, sings songs loudly, and this behavior outrages the slave who served him, who grieves for Alcesta. Hercules is in bewilderment and utters a whole speech in which he tells his everyday life about what to live, they say, is necessary for fun, for love, for pleasure. But when Hercules learns from the slave that Alkesta died, then for the sake of his friend he descends to Hades, fights off the demon of death Alkesta and returns her to Admet, distraught with joy.

b) "Elena".

Euripides' play "Helena", staged in 412, must also be attributed to the same genre of social and everyday dramas. It uses a little-known myth that Paris did not take Helen with him with him, but only her ghost, and the real Helena was transferred to Egypt by the will of Hera to King Proteus. The son of this king Theoclemenus wants to marry Elena, but she persists, wanting to remain faithful to her husband. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus goes home by ship; a storm crashed his ship, but Menelaus, with several companions and the ghost of Helena, escaped and was thrown onto the coast of Egypt. Then he accidentally meets at the gate with the real Elena, who comes up with a cunning escape plan. She tells Theoclemenus that she will become his wife, but she only asks for one favor - to allow her, according to Greek custom, to perform a funeral rite at sea in honor of the deceased Menelaus. The king gives her a boat, rowers, and now Elena in a mourning dress sits in the boat, the rowers enter there, among whom are Menelaus and his comrades, all dressed in Egyptian clothes. When the boat was already far from the coast, Menelaus and his friends killed the Egyptian rowers, their corpses were thrown overboard and with raised sails went to the shores of Hellas.

Again, before us is not a classical Greek tragedy, but a household drama with a happy ending, with ups and downs of an adventurous nature, with the idea of glorifying faithful conjugal love. Elena of this drama is not at all like Elena, depicted in the tragedies "Andromache", "The Trojan Women" and "Orestes", where she appears before us as a narcissistic beauty, cheating on her husband and throwing herself into the arms of Paris. This image is also far from the Homeric image of the beautiful Helen, forcibly taken by Paris to Troy, languishing far from her homeland, but taking no steps to return to her own family.

c) "Ion".

In terms of social drama, Euripides also created the play "Ion". It depicts the son of Apollo Ion, born of Creusa, the victim of this god. To hide his shame, Creusa throws the child into the temple. Subsequently, she marries the Athenian king Xuf and by chance, thanks to the surviving diapers in which the child was once thrown, finds her son, who has already become a young man. The plot about an abandoned child later, in the era of Hellenism, will become the most popular among Greek comedians, who generally believed that they "emerged from the dramas of Euripides", since in terms of ideological content, in the depiction of characters, in composition, Hellenistic comedies are undoubtedly very close to social - everyday dramas of Euripides. In the dramas of Euripides, one of the most important guiding forces is no longer fate, but a chance that befell a person. As you know, the role of chance will be especially significant in Hellenistic literature.

6. Psychological tragedy.

Among the works of Euripides, the famous tragedies with a pronounced psychological orientation, due to the playwright's enormous interest in the personality of a person with all its contradictions and passions, stand out especially.

a) "Medea"

One of the most remarkable tragedies of Euripides - "Medea" was staged on the Athenian stage in 431. The enchantress Medea is the daughter of the Colchis king, the granddaughter of the Sun, who fell in love with Jason, one of the Argonauts who came to Colchis for the golden fleece. For the sake of a loved one, she left her family, homeland, helped him to master the golden fleece, committed a crime, and came with him to Greece. To her horror, Medea learns that Jason wants to leave her and marry the princess, the heiress of the Corinthian throne. It is especially difficult for her, because she is a "barbarian", lives in a foreign land, where there are no relatives or friends. Medea is outraged by the clever sophistic arguments of her husband, who is trying to convince her that he marries the princess for the sake of their young sons, who will be princes, heirs of the kingdom. A woman offended in her feelings realizes that the driving force behind her husband's actions is the desire for wealth, for power. Medea wants to take revenge on Jason, who mercilessly ruined her life, and destroys her rival, sending her a poisoned outfit with her children. She decides to kill the children, for the sake of whose future happiness, according to Jason, he is entering into a new marriage.

Medea, contrary to the norms of polis ethics, commits a crime, believing that a person can act as his personal aspirations and passions dictate to him. This is a kind of refraction in everyday practice of the sophistic theory that "man is the measure of all things," a theory undoubtedly condemned by Euripides. As a deep psychologist, Euripides could not help showing the storm of torment in the soul of Medea, who planned to kill children. Two feelings are fighting in her: jealousy and love for children, passion and a sense of duty to children. Jealousy tells her the decision - to kill the children and thereby take revenge on her husband, love for children makes her abandon the terrible decision and take a different plan - to flee Corinth with the children. This painful struggle between duty and passion, portrayed with great skill by Euripides, is the culmination of the entire chorus of tragedy. Medea caresses the children. She decided to leave their lives and go into exile:

A stranger to you, I will drag out days. And never, having changed life for another, you cannot see me, Who carried you ... With these eyes. Alas! Alas! Why are you looking at me and laughing with your last laugh? .. (1036-1041).

But the words involuntarily escaping with "the last laugh" express another, terrible decision, which has already matured in the recesses of her soul - to kill the children. However, Medea, moved by their appearance, tries to convince herself to abandon the terrible intention dictated by insane jealousy, but jealousy and offended pride prevail over maternal feelings. And a minute later we have before us again a mother who convinces herself to abandon her plan. And there and then the destructive thought of the need to take revenge on her husband, again a storm of jealousy and the final decision to kill the children ...

So I swear by Hades and all my subtle power, That the enemies of my children, abandoned by Medea for mockery, will not be seen ... (1059-1963).

The unhappy mother caresses her children for the last time, but realizes that murder is inevitable:

Oh sweet hugs, Cheek so tender, and mouth Pleasant breath ... Go away ... Go away rather ... There is no strength To look at you ... I am crushed by torment ... What I dare, I see ... Only anger Is stronger than me , and there is no more ferocious and zealous executioner for the mortal clan (1074-1080).

Euripides reveals the soul of a man tormented by an inner struggle between duty and passion. Showing this tragic conflict without embellishing reality, the playwright comes to the conclusion that passion often prevails over duty, destroying the human personality.

b) In terms of the idea, dynamics and character of the main heroine, the tragedy "Hippolytus", staged in 428, is close to the tragedy "Medea". The young Athenian queen, wife of Theseus Phaedra, passionately fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. She understands that her duty is to be a faithful wife and an honest mother, but she cannot wrest the criminal passion out of her heart. The nurse pushes Phaedra out of her secret and informs Hippolytus of Phaedra's love for him. The young man in anger stigmatizes his stepmother and sends curses on the heads of all women, considering them the cause of evil and depravity in the world.

Offended by the undeserved accusations of Hippolytus, Phaedra commits suicide, but in order to save her name from shame and protect her children from it as well, she leaves her husband a letter in which she accuses Hippolytus of infringing on her honor. Theseus, having read the letter, curses his son, and he soon dies: the god Poseidon, fulfilling the will of Theseus, sends a monstrous bull, in horror from which the horses of the young man rushed, and he crashes on the rocks. The goddess Artemis reveals to Theseus the secret of his wife. In this tragedy, as in the tragedy "Medea", Euripides masterfully reveals the psychology of Phaedra's tormented soul, who despises herself for her criminal passion for her stepson, but at the same time only thinks about her beloved, tirelessly dreams of meeting and intimacy with him.

Both tragedies are similar in composition: the prologue explains the reason for the situation that has arisen, then the heroines are shown in the grip of a painful conflict between duty and passion, the whole tragedy is built on this high tension, realistically revealing the secret places of the heroines' souls. But the denouement of the tragedies is mythological: Medea will be rescued by her grandfather, the god Helios, and she flies away with the corpses of the murdered children in his chariot. The goddess Artemis comes to Theseus and informs him that his son is innocent, that he has been slandered by Phaedra. Such endings, where the knot of conflict is resolved with the help of the gods, sometimes contradicting the entire logical course of tragedies, is usually called in the practice of ancient theater yeiz ex tasynpa, are characteristic of Euripides, a master of complex, confusing situations.

7. Special interpretation of the myth.

In his tragedies, Euripides often changes old myths, leaving from them only the names of the heroes. The great tragedian, using mythological plots, expresses in them the thoughts and feelings of his contemporaries, raises topical issues of his time. He, so to speak, modernizes the myth. And this is the big difference between Euripides and Aeschylus and Sophocles. Difference in art system playwrights is especially noticeable when comparing the tragedy of Euripides "Electra" with the tragedy of the same name by Sophocles and with the tragedy of Aeschylus "Choephora", which is the second part of his trilogy "Oresteia". The plot in them is the same - the murder of Clytemnestra by her children Orestes and Electra as revenge for their murdered father.

In Aeschylus, both heroes, Orestes and Electra, are still completely at the mercy of religious principles; they carry out Apollo's order to kill his mother because she killed their father, her husband, the head of the family and state, violating the priority of the paternal principle.

Aeschylus still has a great respect for myth, for him the gods largely decide the fate of people. For Sophocles, Electra and Orestes are also champions of the laws given by the gods, for Euripides, they are simply unfortunate children, abandoned by their mother for the sake of their lover Aegisthus. Wanting to strengthen his position, Clytemnestra deliberately passes off Electra for an old poor farmer, so as not to have applicants for the throne from her daughter. Orestes and Electra kill their mother for the fact that she deprived them of the joy of life, deprived of their father.

The whole interpretation of the murder by Orestes and Electra of their mother in Euripides is revealed in a more vital, psychologically more profound way.

In the tragedy "Electra" Euripides condemns the methods by which Aeschylus and Sophocles recognize their brother by Electra: by the lock of Orestes' hair, which he cut off and laid on his father's grave, by the trace of his feet near this grave. In Euripides, when Orestes's uncle invites Electra to estimate a lock of hair found on the grave to her ringlets, she, expressing the author's own arguments, laughs at him.

And this strand? Could it be that the color of the Tsarevich's hair, who grew up in the palestra, And the delicate color of the Maiden's braids nurtured by the comb, could preserve the resemblance? (526-530)

When the old man invites Electra to compare the footprint on the ground near the grave with the footprint of her foot, the girl again says with a sneer:

Is there a trace on the stone? What are you saying, old man? Yes, even if a trace of him remained, Surely the brother and sister can be like the size of their feet? (534-537)

The old man asks Electra that maybe she recognizes her brother by the clothes of her work, in which Orestes was once sent to a foreign land. Euripides laughs at this too, putting the following sarcastic objections into Electra's mouth:

Or are you delusional? Why, then, old man, I was a child: this chlamydah Will my brother put on now? Or maybe the clothes grow with us? (541-544)

In a completely different way than in Aeschylus, Euripides depicts the scene of Orestes' murder of his mother. He without hesitation, even with malevolence, kills her lover Aegisthus, as the culprit of all the sufferings of his family, but he is afraid and painful to kill his mother. In Aeschylus, only the moment of hesitation of Orestes before the murder of his mother is shown. Euripides, on the other hand, depicts the terrible torment of his son, who cannot raise his hand to his mother, and when Electra reproaches him for cowardice, he, covering his face with a cloak so as not to see his mother, strikes her with a sword ...

After the murder of Orestes, they are tormented by pangs of conscience. In the tragedy "Orestes", which was staged in 408 and which reveals the same plot as the tragedy "Electra", only slightly expanding it, the ailing Orestes to the question: "What ailment torments?" - answers directly: "His name is and the villains have a conscience."

In Aeschylus' trilogy "Orestes" Erinias, the terrible goddesses, defenders of maternal rights, persecute Orestes, while Euripides in the tragedy "Orestes" is a sick young man suffering from seizures, and after the murder, during delirium, it only seems to him that Erinia is around longing for his death. And in Medea, contrary to the myth, Euripides forces his mother to kill her children. It is not the mythology of tragedy that is important to Euripides, but the closeness of characters and life situations.

8. "Iphigenia in Aulis" is an example of a pathetic tragedy.

The posthumous tragedies of Euripides were the tragedies of "Bacchae" with its complex religious and psychological problems and "Iphigenia in Aulis". Both of them were staged at the feast of urban Dionysios in 406. For the tragedy "Iphigenia in Aulis" the author was awarded the first prize. "Iphigenia in Aulis" is one of the perfect tragedies of Euripides. It depicts the Achaean army, ready to sail on ships from Aulis to Troy. The goddess Artemis, offended by Agamemnon, does not send a tailwind. For the wind to blow and the Greeks reached Troy, and therefore conquered it, it is necessary to sacrifice Agamemnon's eldest daughter Iphigenia to Artemis. Her father calls her together with her mother under the pretext of the girl's wedding with Achilles, but the goddess Artemis herself saves Iphigenia and invisibly to everyone around her during the sacrifice takes her to her temple, to distant Taurida.

If in the tragedies of Euripides "Hecuba", "Andromache", "Troyanka", "Electra" and "Orestes" the Greeks' campaign in Troy is depicted as a war of conquest, the purpose of which is to defeat Troy and take Helen, the wife of Menelaus, then in the tragedy "Iphigenia in Aulis "the war of the Greeks with the Trojans is covered from Homeric positions, that is, as a war for the honor of Hellas. This interpretation, raising the patriotic spirit of the Greeks, was especially relevant in the last years of the 5th century. BC. for Hellas and the cities exhausted by the Peloponnesian War. People sacrificing themselves for the sake of their homeland were more than once depicted in the tragedies of Euripides: Macarius in the tragedy "Heraclides", Menecaeus in the tragedy "The Phoenicians", Praxitea in the tragedy "Erechtheus" (only a fragment came down) - but these images were not the main ones there.

Iphigenia, the central character of this tragedy, sacrifices her life for the sake of her homeland. She is shown surrounded by individuals who are experiencing an excruciating conflict between duty and personal happiness. So, Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter for the victory of Greece, but he does not dare to do so. Then, after excruciating torment, he still sends his wife a letter asking her to bring Iphigenia to Aulis, since Achilles allegedly wooed the girl. Soon Agamemnon comes to the conclusion that it is impossible to sacrifice his daughter and writes his wife a second letter that it is not necessary to come with Iphigenia, since the wedding is being postponed. This letter was intercepted by Menelaus, he reproaches Agamemnon for selfishness, for lack of love for the homeland. Meanwhile, Clytemnestra, having received her husband's first letter, arrives with Iphigenia in Aulis. Agamemnon suffers greatly when meeting his daughter, but a sense of duty wins. He knows that the entire army understands the inevitability of this sacrifice. Agamemnon convinces Iphigenia that her motherland needs her life, that she must die for her honor. In contrast to Agamemnon, Clytemnestra only cares about the happiness of her family and does not want to sacrifice her daughter for the common good.

Achilles indignantly learns that Agamemnon deliberately lied in a letter to his wife about his matchmaking to their daughter, but he is touched by the girl's beauty, her defenselessness, and he offers her his help. However, Iphigenia has already decided on the sacrifice and refuses his offer. Achilles is struck by the nobility of the girl's soul, her heroism, and love for Iphigenia arises in his heart. After a while, he already persuades her to give up self-sacrifice, since he puts personal happiness above her duty to her homeland. Thus, the people surrounding Iphigenia are depicted by Euripides immersed in the experience of the conflict between duty and personal happiness. Iphigenia herself plays the main role in resolving this conflict. Her image is revealed by the author with high pathos and love, and the achievement of Euripides is that he is not static, like most images of ancient tragedies, but is given in his inner development. At the beginning of the tragedy we have in front of us just a sweet, glorious girl, happy from the consciousness of her youth, full of joy from the upcoming marriage with the glorious hero of Hellas, Achilles. She is glad to meet her beloved father, but she feels that her father is alarmed by something. Soon she learns that she was brought to Aulis not for marriage with Achilles, but for a sacrifice to the goddess Artemis, and that this sacrifice is needed by the homeland. But the girl does not want to bring life to the altar of her homeland, she wants to live, just live and begs her father not to ruin her: "After all, looking at the light is so sweet, and going down into the underworld is so scary - have mercy" (1218 et seq.). Iphigenia recalls to her father the days of her childhood, when she, caressing, promised to rest him in old age:

I keep everything in my memory, all the words; And you forgot, you're glad to kill me (1230 et seq.).

Iphigenia forces her little brother Orestes to kneel down and beg his father to spare her, Iphigenia. Then she exclaims in despair:

What else can I think of to say? It is gratifying for a mortal to see the sun, And underground is so scary ... If someone does not want to live, he is sick: the burden of life, All torment is better than the glory of a dead man (1249-1253).

Further, Euripides shows the indignation of the army, which is eager to go to Troy, and demands that Iphigenia be sacrificed, otherwise there will be no tailwind, otherwise they will not swim to the enemy and not defeat him. And so, seeing the warriors eager to defend the honor of their homeland, ready to give their lives for it, Iphigenia gradually realizes that it is shameful for her to put her happiness above the common good of the warriors, that she must give her life to defeat the enemy. Even when Achilles tells her about his love and offers to secretly run with him, she firmly declares her readiness to die for the honor of the fatherland. So Iphigenia from a naive frightened girl turns into a heroine who has realized her sacrifice.

9. General conclusion.

Euripides in his tragedies raised and resolved a number of topical issues of his time - the question of duty and personal happiness, the role of the state and its laws. He protested against wars of conquest, criticized religious traditions, and promoted the idea of a humane attitude towards people. In his tragedies, people of great feelings are portrayed, sometimes committing crimes, and Euripides, as a deep psychologist, reveals the fractures of the soul of such people, their painful suffering. No wonder Aristotle considered him the most tragic poet (Poetics, 13).

Euripides is a great master of constructing the vicissitudes of tragedies, they are always causally motivated, vitally justified.

The language of tragedies is simple and expressive. The choir no longer plays a big role in his tragedies, he sings beautiful lyric songs, but does not participate in resolving the conflict.

Euripides was not fully understood by his contemporaries, since his rather bold views on nature, society, religion seemed too far beyond the usual framework of the majority ideology.

But this tragedian was highly appreciated in the era of Hellenism, when his social and everyday dramas began to enjoy particular popularity, which undoubtedly had a great influence on the drama of Menander and other Hellenistic writers.

Euripides is an ancient Greek philosopher-tragedian, the youngest in the triad of famous ancient Greek playwrights after Aeschylus and Sophocles.

His homeland was Salamis, where he was born around 480 BC. e. Some ancient sources indicate the exact date of his birth - September 23, 480 BC. e., however, most likely, to make it more significant, it is simply tied to the day when the famous naval battle took place, in which the Greeks defeated the Persians. 486 BC is also mentioned as the year of birth. e. and 481 BC. e. It is believed that his parents were well-to-do, but not noble people by origin, but this thesis is also questioned by a number of researchers, since there is evidence of his excellent education, as well as participation in some celebrations, where the road was closed to commoners.

In childhood, Euripides' dream was the Olympic Games (he was known as a capable gymnast), but too young age prevented him from taking part in them. Soon he began to study literature, philosophy, oratory, and his works eloquently testify that he succeeded in this occupation. His worldview was largely formed under the influence of the teachings of Protagoras, Anaxagoras, Prodicus. Euripides collected books in his personal library, and one day the moment came when he decided to write himself.

Euripides began to try himself in creativity at the age of 18, but the first competition in dramatic art, in which he decided to take part with the play "Peliad", dates back to 455 BC. e. And only in 440 BC. e. he was awarded the highest honor for the first time. Creative activity has always remained a priority for him, he stayed away from the social and political life of the country and the city, but was not completely indifferent to it. There is also such a fact from his biography as a special attitude to the fair sex: the unhappy experience of two marriages made Euripides a real misogynist in the eyes of those around him.

It is known that Euripides composed until his death; in antiquity, according to various sources, from 75 to 92 plays were attributed to him, and up to our time, 17 dramatic works have been entirely preserved, including "Electra", "Medea", "Iphigenia in Taurida", etc. In the performance of Euripides, the ancient tragedy was transformed: it began to pay more attention to the everyday, private life of people, their mental suffering; in the works you can see the reflection of the philosophical thoughts of that time. Innovation, the merits of his creative manner were not properly appreciated by his contemporaries. Of all his many plays in theatrical competitions, only four won awards. It is this circumstance that is called the main reason that in 408 BC. e. the playwright accepted the invitation of Archelaus, the Macedonian king, and left Athens for good. This ruler treated the famous guest extremely respectfully, showed him great honors.

In 406 BC. e. Euripides died, and the circumstances of his death were called different - for example, a conspiracy of envious people who bribed the courtier in charge of the royal kennel: he allegedly launched a pack of hounds on Euripides. It was also said that the playwright, who went on a date to his mistress (or to his lover), was torn apart not by dogs, but by maddened women. Modern researchers tend to believe that the tragedian, who was already over seventy, was killed by the harsh Macedonian winter. In the capital of this country, Euripides was buried, although the Athenians turned to Archelaus with a request to hand over the body of a fellow countryman for burial. Faced with rejection, they paid their respects by erecting a statue of the playwright within the walls of the theater.

It was after his death that Euripides' work gained the greatest popularity, received a worthy assessment. He was considered the most popular and famous ancient playwright until the 5th century. BC e. The works of the youngest of the great triad had a noticeable influence on Roman tragedy, later European literature, in particular, the work of Voltaire, Goethe and other famous masters of the pen.

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