Euripides

American  

[yoo-rip-i-deez, yuh-] / yʊˈrɪp ɪˌdiz, yə- /

noun

1. c480–406? b.c., Greek dramatist.

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Euripides British  

/ jʊˈrɪpɪˌdiːz /

noun

1. ?480–406 _bc , Greek tragic dramatist. His plays, 18 of which are extant, include Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, Hecuba, Trojan Women, Electra, Iphigeneia in Tauris, Iphigeneia in Aulis, and Bacchae

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Euripides Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek dramatist. He was the author of numerous tragedies, including the Bacchae, Medea, and The Trojan Women. He often used the device of deus ex machina (literally, “a god from the machine”) to resolve his plots.

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Today, a “deus ex machina” refers to any person or event that provides a sudden, unexpected solution to a problem or situation.

Other Word Forms

• Euripidean adjective

Example Sentences

But while the bloody rites of the original Euripides are at the heart of the tale, this version is so relentlessly digressive and irreverent that it plays more like parody than tragedy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

It depicts Dionysus journeying to Hades to retrieve a poet who can help Athens in crisis, culminating in a contest between Aeschylus and Euripides.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2025

Perhaps Aeschylus and Euripides and the other big winners of fifth century B.C.

From New York Times • Apr. 18, 2024

Euripides first put Medea on the stage in ancient Greece, and she’s never left it.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2023

Euripides, the youngest, died at the end of the fifth century.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton