Euripides

This bust of Euripides from the Farnese collection housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. It is the archetype of the Farnese portrait style of Euripides, replicated in approximately thirty copies. Euripides is depicted with long, wavy hair, receding slightly at the front and cascading in narrow locks across his prominent forehead. His beard is thick and voluminous. The playwright’s gaze is subtly directed downward, and his nose exhibits a distinctive hump at the top of the bridge. Thin, closed lips and a subtle overbite contribute to his expression. Drapery gracefully drapes from his left shoulder. Euripides, a tragedian of classical Athens, stands among the revered trio of ancient Greek playwrights alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles. Together, they have left a significant legacy of surviving plays that continue to captivate audiences.