Euripides took his plots from the same general sources as previous poets. A' considerable num ber of plays are based on the legends of Thebes, Argos, and the stories of Heracles; the Trojan cycle had less charm for him, so that only about a fifth of his plots can be traced to that source, although ten of the extant plays, including the Rhesus, which popular taste has preserved to us, belong to this cycle. The myths of his native Attica, however, had a strong attraction for him, and he took pleasure in celebrating the Athenian heroes, iEgens, Theseus, and En-el:the:is. Ile also sought for subjects in new fields, especially for themes which exhibited ‘101Pnt passion or ro ma fit ic adventures. Such wore the stories of Bellerophon, Cresphontes, and Phaitthon, which he handled for the first time. Ile also treated his mythology with great freedom, sometimes varying it in different plays, or enlarging and developing a myth until it was practically own invention.
Tradition says that he left ninety-two plays in all. Of these we possess but eighteen, and the Rhesus, which is almost universally regarded as spurious. The genuine plays are: Alcestis (438) ; Andromache; Baceluri Hecuba ; Helena (412) : Electra; Iknielidw; Hercules •urens; Supplices ; ippolyt us (428) ; 1phiycnia A uli. densis 1phigenia Taurimi; ion; Cyclops (the single satyr drama extant) ; Medea ( 431); Orestes (408) ; Troades (415) ; and Phrenissw. Only the dates given are known with certainty; but the Haneha. and I phigcnia Aulidensis were produced after the poet's death. Besides the above complete plays, over 1100 fragments of the other dramas have been preserved. Of the extant
plays, the Medea, Hippolytus, Baecluc, and I phi gen ia Among the Tauria us are the best.
The best critical editions are by Kirchhoff ( Ber lin. 1855) Nauck (Leipzig. 1871) : l'rinz and Wecklein (Leipzig, 1878 et seq.), and a complete edition with English commentary by Paley (Lon don. 1858-60, 3 vols.; vols. i. and ii. in 2d ed., 1872-75). Commentated sditions of single plays are very numerous; only a few of the best Eng lisa editions can be named here: Alcestis, Earle (New York, 1894) : Haley (Boston, 1893) ; Bneehte, Sandys (2d ed., Cambridge, 1835) ; Tyrrell (London. 1892) : Helena, Jerram (Ox ford, 1881) ; Heraeleithr, Beck (Cambridge, 1882) : Hippolytus, Harry (Boston, 1899) ; /on, Verrall (Cambridge, 1890) ; at A ulis, England (London, 1891) : I ph igen ia Among the Tauria»s, England (London, 1880) ; Jerram (Ox ford, 1885) ; Medeo, Verrall (London, 1381) ; Allen-Noore (Boston, 1901) : Troades, •Tyrrell (London, 1897). The Scholia are best edited by Schwartz (Berlin, 1887-91). There is an excellent English translation in verse by Way (London. 1894-98) ; prose translation by Coleridge (London, 1885).
Consult: llahatry. Introduction to the Study of Euripides (London, 1879) ; Deeharme, Euri pide et l'esprit de son thi'd t re (Paris, 1893) ; Verrall, Euripides thr Rationalist (Cambridge, 1895) ; Haigh, Tragic Dra ma of the Greeks (Oxford, 189(;) ; England, Euripides and the Attic Ora tors (London, 1398) Nestle, Euri pides, der Pichler der grieehisehen A f rung (Stuttgart, 1901) : lluildilston, Greek Tragedy in the Light of Vase Paintings (New York, 1898).