Life of EuripidesEuripides, the last of the great tragedians, lived a life full of controversies and moral questions that influenced, as well as shocked, many people of his time. Over the centuries it has gained more and more acceptance in literary circles as well as in the eyes of the public. It's hard to write about his life just because he lived a long time ago and there are many different opinions and theories about what is real and what isn't. What is known about his life and how he lived it has remained an interesting topic. What influenced his work and who followed his ideas contributed to his lasting popularity. His life was full of triumphs and controversies that contributed to his greatness. It is this greatness that people have been following for the last two thousand years. Euripides was born on the island of Salamis around 480 BC However, a Parian marble states that his birth occurred in 485 BC (Bates 5). He was born into a rather wealthy family and was educated in the arts (such as painting) and trained in athletics. He began writing around the age of eighteen and soon after became interested in philosophy. Many people considered his ideas and thoughts too controversial for the time period. Euripides wrote on topics such as religion, injustice, gods, and women. Being the free thinker that he was, these topics were considered socially abnormal. Euripides often wrote about socially insignificant people such as women and slaves giving them divine powers. He often made his female characters evil by making them as violent as Medea. Even the more taboo theme of incest was introduced into his works. Euripides wrote many great works during his lifetime, but was constantly beaten in state competitions. The official judges of the competitions were against him because he did not satisfy the views and opinions of the Athenian public. During his life he won only five awards and the fifth was awarded to him only after his death (www.imagi-nation.com). He was constantly criticized by others for his tragedies. A well-known critic was Aristophanes, who constantly spoke negatively about Euripides (Bates 7). He wrote Donne alle Thesmophoria, which was about the murder of Euripides, and Rane, in which Euripides was again parodied. Euripides' works had influenced many other authors over the years..