Sophocles biography summary page

We know almost all there is to know about the life of Sophocles — much more than we know about the more modern Elizabethan playwrights. That is because he was not an anonymous writer but also a public figure who served on the Board of Generals, a committee that controlled the civil and military affairs of Athens, and also he was at one point director of the Treasury.

His immortality is due to his writing, however. He was deeply immersed in the theatre, and he transformed drama into something like it exists today. As he grew up he was already famous as a child and youth in Athens for his beauty and stunning intelligence. Oedipus's children will always bear the weight of shame and humiliation because of their father's actions.

Oedipus dies and strife begins between his sons Polyneices and Eteocles. They fight, and simultaneously run each other through. In Antigone , the protagonist is Oedipus' daughter, Antigone. She is faced with the choice of allowing her brother Polyneices' body to remain unburied, outside the city walls, exposed to the ravages of wild animals, or to bury him and face death.

The king of the land, Creon, has forbidden the burial of Polyneices for he was a traitor to the city. Antigone decides to bury his body and face the consequences of her actions. Creon sentences her to death. Eventually, Creon is persuaded to free Antigone from her punishment, but his decision comes too late and Antigone commits suicide.

Her suicide triggers the suicide of two others close to King Creon: his son, Haemon, who was to wed Antigone, and his wife, Eurydice, who commits suicide after losing her only surviving son. The plays were written across thirty-six years of Sophocles' career and were not composed in chronological order, but instead were written in the order Antigone , Oedipus Rex , and Oedipus at Colonus.

Nor were they composed as a trilogy — a group of plays to be performed together, but are the remaining parts of three different groups of plays. As a result, there are some inconsistencies: notably, Creon is the undisputed king at the end of Oedipus Rex and, in consultation with Apollo, single-handedly makes the decision to expel Oedipus from Thebes.

Creon is also instructed to look after Oedipus' daughters Antigone and Ismene at the end of Oedipus Rex. By contrast, in the other plays there is some struggle with Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polynices in regard to the succession. In Oedipus at Colonus , Sophocles attempts to work these inconsistencies into a coherent whole: Ismene explains that, in light of their tainted family lineage, her brothers were at first willing to cede the throne to Creon.

Nevertheless, they eventually decided to take charge of the monarchy, with each brother disputing the other's right to succeed. In addition to being in a clearly more powerful position in Oedipus at Colonus , Eteocles and Polynices are also culpable: they consent l. In addition to the three Theban plays, there are four surviving plays by Sophocles: Ajax , Women of Trachis , Electra , and Philoctetes , the last of which won first prize in BC.

Ajax focuses on the proud hero of the Trojan War, Telamonian Ajax , who is driven to treachery and eventually suicide. Despite their enmity toward him, Odysseus persuades the kings Menelaus and Agamemnon to grant Ajax a proper burial. The Women of Trachis named for the Trachinian women who make up the chorus dramatizes Deianeira 's accidentally killing Heracles after he had completed his famous twelve labors.

Tricked into thinking it is a love charm, Deianeira applies poison to an article of Heracles' clothing; this poisoned robe causes Heracles to die an excruciating death. Upon learning the truth, Deianeira commits suicide. Electra corresponds roughly to the plot of Aeschylus' Libation Bearers. It details how Electra and Orestes avenge their father Agamemnon 's murder by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.

Philoctetes retells the story of Philoctetes , an archer who had been abandoned on Lemnos by the rest of the Greek fleet while on the way to Troy. After learning that they cannot win the Trojan War without Philoctetes' bow, the Greeks send Odysseus and Neoptolemus to retrieve him; due to the Greeks' earlier treachery, however, Philoctetes refuses to rejoin the army.

It is only Heracles' deus ex machina appearance that persuades Philoctetes to go to Troy. Although more than titles of plays associated with Sophocles are known and presented below, [ 43 ] little is known of the precise dating of most of them. Philoctetes is known to have been written in BC, and Oedipus at Colonus is known to have only been performed in BC, posthumously, at the initiation of Sophocles' grandson.

The convention on writing plays for the Greek festivals was to submit them in tetralogies of three tragedies along with one satyr play. Along with the unknown dating of the vast majority of more than plays, it is also largely unknown how the plays were grouped. It is, however, known that the three plays referred to in the modern era as the "Theban plays" were never performed together in Sophocles' own lifetime, and are therefore not a trilogy which they are sometimes erroneously seen as.

Fragments of Ichneutae Tracking Satyrs were discovered in Egypt in The tragedy tells the story of the second siege of Thebes. There is a passage of Plutarch 's tract De Profectibus in Virtute 7 in which Sophocles discusses his own growth as a writer. A likely source of this material for Plutarch was the Epidemiae of Ion of Chios, a book that recorded many conversations of Sophocles; but a Hellenistic dialogue about tragedy, in which Sophocles appeared as a character, is also plausible.

One of his most significant contributions to the evolution of Greek tragedy was his introduction of a third actor on stage, which allowed for more dynamic character interactions and deeper narrative complexity. He also made significant changes to the role of the chorus, reducing its prominence in favor of individual character development, and he enhanced the dramatic tension by focusing on internal psychological struggles.

Perhaps the most iconic of Sophocles' works is Oedipus Rex , which centers on King Oedipus and his doomed attempt to escape a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. The play explores themes of fate, free will, and human ignorance, and it exemplifies Sophocles' skill in crafting tragic irony. Antigone , another masterpiece, deals with the conflict between individual conscience and state law, highlighting the tragic consequences of moral absolutism.

Unlike Aeschylus, whose works often emphasized divine justice and the gods' role in human affairs, Sophocles shifted the focus to the personal responsibility of individuals and their moral choices. His characters are not passive victims of fate but active participants in their own downfall, which gives his tragedies a profound sense of human agency and moral complexity.

Sophocles was a transformative figure in the history of Greek theater. His most significant innovation was the addition of a third actor, which enabled more intricate dialogue and complex interactions between characters. This allowed for more nuanced storytelling and a greater focus on character development, distinguishing his work from that of his predecessors.

Prior to Sophocles, Greek drama typically featured only two actors, with the chorus playing a more central role in the narrative. Another key innovation was Sophocles' enhancement of dramatic irony, particularly evident in Oedipus Rex , where the audience is aware of Oedipus' true identity long before he discovers it himself. This dramatic technique heightened the emotional impact of the play and deepened the audience's engagement with the characters' tragic fates.

He also reduced the role of the chorus, making it less integral to the plot and more of a reflective, commenting presence. This shift allowed for a greater focus on the individual characters and their psychological complexity. His works are distinguished by their exploration of human emotions, moral dilemmas, and ethical conflicts, themes that remain relevant in contemporary theater.

Antigone, an original play written by Sophocles. Translated by R. A tragic play about Antigone and her defiance of the king's law to honor her brother's burial.

Sophocles biography summary page

Read the book and explore the timeless conflict! Antigone by Sophocles is one of the most enduring and powerful Greek tragedies. This is a closer analysis of the play, focusing on the conflict between personal conviction and state law, with tragic consequences for the central characters.