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The third actor. Medea. "God out of a machine"
Euripides (485-406 B.B.) represented men not as they should be, as Sophocles, but as they are. The language too is more like spoken and colloquial. The choral portions arte not as closely interwoven as Sophocles', but are more like interludes. Often the traditional endings are not what might be expected from the play, but ;imposed by a "god of a machine." (Hadas)
In all, Sophocles won 20 competitions. Although far behind Sophocles in the medal count with a mere five, Euripides has since eclipsed both Sophocles and Aeschylus in popularity.
The modern attraction to him stems largely from his point of view, which finds a strong echo in modern attitudes. His plays were not about Gods or royalty but real people. He placed peasants alongside princes and gave their feelings equal weight. He showed the reality of war, criticised religion, and portrayed the forgotten of society: women, slaves, and the old. Euripides is credited with adding to the dramatic form the prologue, which "set the stage" at the beginning of the play, and the deus ex machina, which wrapped up loose ends at the close. Aside from those devices, there is less contrivance, fate or philosophy in Euripides than in either Aeschylus or Sophocles. There is instead a poignant realism, such as in this scene from the anti-war Trojan Women, in which a grandmother grieves over the daughter and grandson she has outlived.
During
his life, Euripides was viewed as a heretic and was often lampooned in
Aristophanes' comedies. Extremely cynical of human nature, he became a
bookish recluse and died in 406 BC, two years before Sophocles.
(these
three paragraphs (from http://anarchon.tripod.com/indexGREEKTH.html)
Reading Greek tragedy: background and play structure
timeline, origins, an structure of Greek theater from Reed College
introduction to Greek theater from CUNY
Terminology for Greek drama from about.com
The Illustrated Greek theater from Dr. J.
tragedy: setting the stage from About.com; great background
page two: some images and information on the theater
page three: some inormation on play structure
Wheeler High School
North Stonington, CT
wevenski@northstonington.k12.ct.us