Euripides (c. 485 to c. 406) was an Athenian dramatic poet who was heavily influenced by the new learning of the sophists. Although controversial, he had ninety-two plays accepted for production and became after his death the most performed of Greek tragedians. Eighteen or nineteen plays have survived, along with numerous fragments. He is said also to have written the elegy for the Athenian troops lost in Sicily (413).

Euripides' plays represented advanced views about the position of women, and seem also to have been critical of traditional beliefs about the gods and the morality they stood for. His work is important for an understanding of ancient Greek rhetoric and political theory of the fifth century. Here we print only some of the most important passages. (Dates of production, where known, are given in parentheses.)

Medea (431)

On discovering the unfaithfulness of her husband Jason, Medea says: