(1629-1699), a great French tragic poet. His earliest play, La Thebaide, dealing with the struggle between Polynices and Eteocles, was performed by Moliere's troupe at the Palais Royal in 1664, as was also his next, Alexander the Great. The first of his great plays was Andromaque, which on its performance at the Hotel de Bourgogne, in 1667, produced a profound impression. Within ten years after the appearance of Andromaque, Racine produced Britannicus, Berenice, Bajazet, Mithridates, Iphigenie and Phedre. In 1673 he obtained a seat in the French Academy. His withdrawal from the theater in 1677 was due partly to chagrin at the success of a hostile party of theatrical critics, who applauded a rival, and partly, perhaps, to religious motives. At this period his friends persuaded him to marry, and soon after he was appointed, along with Boileau, historiographer to the king, whom he accompanied in his campaign to Flanders. The only dramatic works he produced after 1677 were Esther and Athalie. The latter, at least, is ranked among Racine's greatest works.