Gilbert Murray's Euripides and His Age is a vivid literary and historical study of Athens' most controversial tragedian, tracing the life, art, and enduring influence of a poet who was both attacked and admired. Euripides emerges here not as a simple rationalist or rebel, but as a dramatist of beauty, mystery, and tragic force whose clarity once delighted Greek audiences and can seem startlingly direct to modern readers. Murray follows the plays from early works to final masterpieces, showing how Euripides worked within tragic convention while pushing it to new expressive heights. The book also untangles the difficult legend of Euripides' life, separating history from comic gossip and biographical myth. Drawing on ancient sources, it reconstructs as much as possible of his career, solitude, friendships, and public reputation, while exposing the distortions created by Aristophanes and later writers. Along the way, Murray places Euripides in the intellectual turmoil of fifth-century Athens, highlighting his skepticism, his unsettlingly humane treatment of women, and his sharp criticism of religion, empire, and civic pride. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
