Euripides

Born around 480 BCE and dying around 406 BCE, Euripides was the youngest of the three most famous Athenian tragic playwrights, alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles. Ancient sources leave many parts of his life uncertain, but he is consistently remembered as a major voice in the theater of classical Athens.

He was credited in antiquity with around 90 plays, and 18 or 19 survive today in full—more than for any other ancient tragedian. His dramas often stand out for their intense emotions, sharp questioning of power and convention, and unforgettable portrayals of figures pushed to extremes.

Readers still return to Euripides for the way his plays bring myth close to real human feeling. Works such as Medea, The Trojan Women, Electra, and The Bacchae show why his writing has remained central to literature, theater, and the study of the ancient world for more than two millennia.