EURIPIDES, the son of Mnesarchus, a celebrated tragic poet, was born 480 b. c. in the island of Salamis, to which place his parents had been obliged to fly from Athens at the time it was threatened by the invasion of Xerxes. His birth took place on the very day that the battle was fought near the strait Euripus, the prelude to the more decisive engagement in the vicinity of Salamis. To commemorate this event, the embryo poet was called Euripides. As of every illustrious man, there arc some stories told which predicted his future destiny, and, amongst these, an oracle declared that he should be crowned at the Olympic games. His father, misunderstanding its true meaning, trained him for athletic exercises, and it appears that he was victorious at the games celebrated in honour of Theseus and Ceres. But fate had destined him for a higher and a more ennobling occupation; he began to devote himself to the study of eloquence under Prodicus of Chios, and to take lessons from the philosopher Anaxagoras. It is said by some that he was a disciple of Socrates, but we can scarcely credit this statement, as the philosopher was thirteen years younger than the poet. The persecutions which Anaxagoras underwent from the bigotry of the Athenians clearly demonstrated to Euripides the dangerous path which he was pursuing, and induced him to renounce the study ’ of philosophy, and direct his attention to the stage. This took place, it is said, in his eighteenth year, and in .455 b. c. he succeeded in gaining the third prize. Of all the plays which he wrote, only five, according to Varro, were reckoned worthy of being crowned; but this fact may be explained by the violent spirit of rivalry and jealousy which seems to have prevailed at Athens at this time. In his domestic affairs he was by no means fortunate; both his wives disgraced him by the irregularity of their lives; and from this circumstance probably arose his violent hatred of the sex, the weakness of which he took every opportunity of ridiculing and exposing. His private grief became the butt of the comic writers of the day, and Aristophanes more particularly held him up to the ridicule of the public. It was no doubt in consequence of these incessant attacks that Euripides determined to retire to the court of Archelaus, king of Macedonia, who reigned from 413 to 339 b. c., and was then the beneficent patron of literature and science. By him he was received with all that respect to which his distinguished talents entitled him, and some say that he was appointed one of his principal ministers. Here be resided till his death (406 b. c.), which was as full of tragic circumstances as any story ever exhibited upon the stage. As he was strolling through a wood, a pack of the royal hounds attacked the poet, and tore him in pieces. His remains were removed to Pella by the king, and every honour was shown to his memory. The Athenians [7:9:404]were now anxious to procure his ashes, but Archelaus refused to gratify those who had neglected the poet in his lifetime.

It is difficult to convey an exact idea of the character of Euripides as a dramatist to those who have not read the original. His language is raised but little above that of common conversation, yet he possesses the rare art of choosing his words so well, that the most common are ennobled by their happy combination. He has none of the dithryambic boldness of Aeschylus, none of the pompous magnificence of Sophocles, yet he touches the hidden springs of human passion with a masterly hand. Still he is full of faults, which the good taste of all ages must condemn. He is too fond of learned digressions, “of wise saws” and philosophical maxims; and the plots of his plays are not always so clear and unembarrassed as they ought to be. Of eighty-four tragedies, of which Barnes has given a list, only nineteen have been preserved. They are, Hecuba, Orestes, Phoenissoe, Medea, Hippolytus, Alcestes, Andromache, Supplices, Iphigenia in Aulis, Iphigenia in Tauris, Rhesus, Troades, Bacchee, Cyclopae, Heraclidae, Helena, Ion, Hercules Furens, Electra.

There are numerous editions of his works. But we believe that of Barnes, Cambridge, 1694, fol. and that of Matthiae, Leipsic, 1813-1829, vol. ix. to be the best.