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Hello, I'm Ryan Stitt and welcome back to the History of Ancient Greece, Episode 107, Sparta Triumphant.

At the end of the last episode, Athens somehow, with an ad hoc fleet and crew, managed to win a huge naval victory at Argonusa,

in which they killed the Spartan commander and practically annihilated his fleet.

But the Athenians did the opposite of capitalize on this incredible success.

Instead, in their anger at their general's failure to collect their own war dead in a violent post-battle storm,

they put them on trial and had them execute it.

This was a huge mistake with disastrous consequences, as it removed the Athenians' most experienced and successful military leaders.

And so, they now had to face the challenge of Lysander and Persia, without their most experienced commanders,

and those who were selected in their place, must have been unnerved that the same fate could await them.

The Athenians immediately came to regret their rashness, and the city was not only in mourning for their war dead, but also for their foolishness.

Just three months later, the city would publicly mourn even further over the recent passings of their two dramatic geniuses.

Euribides and Sophocles.

At some point after his last performance at the city-dainnesian 408 BC, Euribides migrated to the Macedonian royal court at Pella,

where he had been commissioned to compose plays for King Arkeleus.

But in early 406 BC, while out on a hunting trip with the King's royal entourage, the 74-year-old Euribides was said to have been torn to death by the King's dogs.

Before this gruesome death, though, Euribides had written three plays that would be performed posthumously at the city-dainnesia, the following spring in 405 BC, under the direction of either his son or his nephew.

Whoever it was, one first prize, and included among the three plays, were the Bacchai and Iphigenion Aulis, both of which have survived, as well as Alchemyon and Quant, which has been lost.

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