How did Euripides use a deus ex machina at the end of his plays?

In the plays of Euripides, the deus ex machina—literally "god from a machine"—was a structural convention used to resolve the plot at the play's conclusion.12

The device functioned through the following methods:

• Divine Intervention: A god would appear, often suspended above the stage by a crane (mēchanē), to intervene in the narrative.12
• Information Source: Because Euripides frequently depicted gods as irrational or indifferent to human justice, their appearance served as a convenient mechanism to provide the audience with essential information that could not otherwise be revealed.3
• Epilogue Function: The god’s appearance typically served as an epilogue, during which they would disclose the future fortunes of the characters.3

While modern critics have sometimes labeled this device as artificial or clumsy, it was a standard feature of Euripidean drama. It allowed the playwright to bring order to complex or seemingly insoluble crises, even when the preceding action was driven by human passion, chance, or meaningless suffering rather than divine moral governance.314