The Bacchae and Other Plays

Euripides turned to playwriting at a young age, achieving his first victory in the dramatic competitions of the Athenian City Dionysia in 441 b.c.e. He would be awarded this honor three more times in his life, and once more posthumously. His plays are often ironic, pessimistic, and display radical rejection of classical decorum and rules. In 408 b.c.e., Euripides left worn-torn Athens for Macedonia, upon the invitation of King Archelaus, and there he spent his last years as a confidant of the king. This edition contains four of the eighteen extant works by this renowned Greek dramatist. In his final years, he produced «The Bacchae» – one of the most produced ancient plays of the twentieth century. Produced by his son or nephew in 405 b.c.e., after his death, «The Bacchae» was part of a trilogy that won first place at the Athens City Dionysia. In addition to «The Bacchae» this edition includes «Ion», «The Trojan Women» and «Helen».