The son of Faust and Helen, Euphorion is a beautiful, brilliant boy, a pure figure bathed in light. Euphorion represents the union of Faust’s striving, Romantic culture and Helen’s harmonious Classical Greek culture—but the boy has, tragically, inherited too much of his father’s ambitions to transcend natural limits. Euphorion chases a radiant chorus girl into the sky and falls to his death, marking the failure of the modern world to successfully integrate its Greek model. Goethe modeled this character on an English poet he admired, Lord Byron, who died fighting in the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832).
Euphorion Character Timeline in Faust
The timeline below shows where the character Euphorion appears in Faust. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2: Act 3: A Shaded Grove