How did Euripides portray women in his tragedies?

Euripides portrayed women in his tragedies through a lens of psychological realism, often depicting them as complex, down-to-earth characters with human flaws and vulnerabilities. His works frequently feature heroines who are fierce, treacherous, or adulterous.1

During his own lifetime, these depictions earned Euripides a reputation as a woman-hater, or misogynist. This perception was so widespread that the playwright Aristophanes wrote the comedy Women at the Thesmophoria, which depicts Athenian women gathering to plot against Euripides in retaliation for his constant attacks upon them in his plays.123

However, scholars note that labeling his work as simple misogyny is an oversimplification. Instead, his portrayals are better understood as part of his broader approach to drama, where he moved away from the larger-than-life figures of his predecessors to focus on the irrationality, uncontrolled passions, and internal struggles of human beings.1