|
Euripides ( or ;〔Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.〕 ; ) (c. 480 – 406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. He is one of the few whose plays have survived, with the others being Aeschylus, Sophocles, and potentially Euphorion. Some ancient scholars attributed 95 plays to him but according to the ''Suda'' it was 92 at most. Of these, 18 or 19 have survived more or less complete (there has been debate about his authorship of ''Rhesus'', largely on stylistic grounds)〔Walton (1997, viii, xix)〕 and there are also fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly due to mere chance and partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined〔B. Knox,'Euripides' in ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature'', P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 316〕〔Moses Hadas, ''Ten Plays by Euripides'', Bantam Classic (2006), Introduction, page ix〕he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes and Menander.〔L.P.E.Parker, ''Euripides: Alcestis'', Oxford University Press (2007), Introduction page lx〕 Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. Yet he also became "the most tragic of poets",〔The epithet "the most tragic of poets" was coined by Aristotle, probably in reference to a perceived preference for unhappy endings, yet it has wider relevance: "For in his representation of human suffering Euripides pushes to the limits of what an audience can stand; some of his scenes are almost unbearable."B. Knox,'Euripides' in ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature'', P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 339〕 focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown.〔Moses Hadas, ''Ten Plays by Euripides'', Bantam Classic (2006), Introduction, pages xviii-xix〕〔A.S. Owen, ''Euripides: Ion'', Bristol Classical Press (1990), Introduction page vii〕 He was "the creator of...that cage which is the theatre of Shakespeare's ''Othello'', Racine's ''Phèdre'', of Ibsen and Strindberg," in which "...imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates",〔B.M.Knox, 'Euripides' in ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature'', P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 329〕 and yet he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.〔Moses Hadas, ''Ten Plays by Euripides'', Bantam Classic (2006), Introduction, pages viii-ix〕 He was also unique among the writers of ancient Athens for the sympathy he demonstrated towards all victims of society, including women.〔〔Nussbaum, Martha. ''The Fragility of Goodness'', pp. 411-13.〕 His conservative male audiences were frequently shocked by the 'heresies' he put into the mouths of characters, such as these words of his heroine Medea: ::::::::Sooner would I stand ::Three times to face their battles, shield in hand, ::Than bear one child!〔Denys L. Page, ''Euripides: Medea'', Oxford University Press (1976), Introduction page xi, (quoting translation by Murray)〕 His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism, both of them being frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Whereas Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence, Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia.〔Denys L. Page, ''Euripides: Medea'', Oxford University Press (1976), Introduction pages ix-xii〕 Recent scholarship casts doubt on ancient biographies of Euripides. For example, it is possible that he never visited Macedonia at all,〔Robin Mitchell-Boyask, ''Euripides: Medea'', Diane Svarlien (trans.), Hackett Publishing Company (2008), Introduction, page xii〕 or, if he did, he might have been drawn there by King Archelaus with incentives that were also offered to other artists.〔Justina Gregory, 'Euripidean Tragedy', in ''A Companion to Greek Tragedy'', Justina Gregory (ed.), Blackwell Publishing Ltd (2005), page 253〕 ==Life== Traditional accounts of the author's life are found in many commentaries and include details such as these: He was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC, with parents Cleito (mother) and Mnesarchus (father), a retailer who lived in a village near Athens. Upon the receipt of an oracle saying that his son was fated to win "crowns of victory", Mnesarchus insisted that the boy should train for a career in athletics. In fact the boy was destined for a career on the stage, where however he was to win only five victories, one of which was after his death. He served for a short time as both dancer and torch-bearer at the rites of Apollo Zosterius. His education was not confined to athletics: he also studied painting and philosophy under the masters Prodicus and Anaxagoras. He had two disastrous marriages and both his wivesMelite and Choerine (the latter bearing him three sons)were unfaithful. He became a recluse, making a home for himself in a cave on Salamis (The Cave of Euripides, where a cult of the playwright developed after his death). "There he built an impressive library and pursued daily communion with the sea and sky". Eventually he retired to the "rustic court" of King Archelaus in Macedonia, where he died in 406 BC.〔Mary Ellen Snodgrass, ''Cliff Notes on Greek Classics'', Wiley Publishing Inc. (1998), pages 147-48〕 However, as mentioned in the introduction, biographical details such as these should be regarded with scepticism. They are derived almost entirely from three unreliable sources:〔Justina Gregory, 'Euripidean Tragedy', in ''A Companion to Greek Tragedy'', Justina Gregory (ed.), Blackwell Publishing Ltd (2005), page 252〕 *folklore, employed by the ancients to lend colour to the lives of celebrated authors; *parody, employed by contemporary comic poets to ridicule tragic poets; *'autobiographical' clues gleaned from his extant plays (a mere fraction of his total output). This biography is divided into three sections corresponding to the three kinds of sources. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Euripides」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|