Euripides, A Man Before His Time

A detailed Summary of Euripides, A Man Before His Time


Euripides was a very modern writer for an Ancient Greece playwright. He has been described as a rebellious youth, a skeptic and a loner. He rejected the traditional Greek gods, and instead of making men larger than life, Euripides shows men as they are with uncompromising realism. Unlike other dramatists of his time he opposed the double standard applied to women and it shows in his works. Ion is an example of one his works that portrays all three of these beliefs. As performed in its contemporary version all of these aspects are very apparent.

Right from the beginning of the play Hermes relates the incident of Creusa's ravishing. It serves to portray Apollo as far from considerate. As a god he wields his power and uses Creusa for his own means, leaving her feeling violated and childless. Ion, himself having been raised within the walls of the temple as a faithful servant to Apollo, has doubts in to the character of Apollo upon learning of the circumstances of his conception and birth. After all, how could a god act


in such and ungodly manner? Finally, Athena emerges to confirm Creusa's story. And while she does manage to placate Ion, in the process her actions oppose her image as goddess of wisdom, as she blunders her way through her speech appearing rather flippant and no so wise after all.

The contemporary style that Ion was presented in played a large part in developing a sense of the characters. The use of modern techniques made many points more obvious to the modern viewer. Not everyone is an expertise in Greek culture and theater. The costume design immediately separated the chorus from the man characters. Their trendy styles brought out the personality of the group as a whole and helped them relate to the viewer. While their dialogue was still within the setting of the play it had a distinctly modern slant. The alternative music and modern dance added to the picture of the trendy chorus and added a little flair to the play as a whole. The dancing and chanting unified them as the group they were rather than singling them

Some common words found in the essay are:
Uniquely Euripides, Ancient Greece, Creusa's Apollo's, Finally Athena, , human characters,

Approximate Word count = 695
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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