Featured Playwrights
Euripides
Born in roughly 485 BCE, Euripides is an Athenian playwright who has been credited with writing 90 plays, of which 19 (18 tragedies and one satyr play) survive in manuscript form. Some of the surviving plays are Medea, Bacchae, and Orestes, and may still be performed in the current day. He won five total victories (of which the last was post-death) in playwright competitions in Athenian religious festivals such as the City Dionysia. In his plays, Euripides focused on universal themes relevant to the audience and gave prominent roles to female characters and ordinary citizens. Additionally, unlike other playwrights, he put less emphasis on the gods, only allowing them to appear at the beginning or end of a play. He died in roughly 406 BCE at the court of Archelaus, the king of Macedon.
Aristophanes
Born between 460 and 450 BCE, Aristophanes is an ancient Greek comic poet who has written several plays (possibly 40 in total), of which only 11 currently survive. However, due to little being known about his life, most known details are referenced from his own plays. His inspirations draw from the social, literary, and philosophical life within Athens, his place of residence. Like Euripides, Aristophanes also won prizes at festival competitions. In his plays, he challenges social issues such as cultural change and the role of women, and frequently uses parody and bold, colourful language. He later died between 386 and 380 BCE.
References
"Euripides." Biography. Last modified August 9, 2023. https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/euripides.
Cartwright, Mark. "Aristophanes." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 13, 2013. https://www.worldhistory.org/Aristophanes/.
Cartwright, Mark. "Euripides." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 17, 2015. https://www.worldhistory.org/Euripides/.
Henderson, Jeffrey. "Aristophanes." In Perseus Encyclopedia. n.d. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0004%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D17%3Aentry%3Daristophanes.
New World Encyclopedia contributors. "Euripides." New World Encyclopedia. Last modified January 21, 2023. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Euripides.
Taplin, Oliver and Maurice Platnauer. "Aristophanes." Encyclopedia Britannica, Last modified January 18, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristophanes.