As one of the greatest playwrights of ancient Greece, Sophocles, best-known for Oedipus and Antigone, developed the art of tragic drama from the work of the first tragic playwright, Aeschylus.
Nutshell Biography of Sophocles
Sophocles was born c. 496 B.C. into a wealthy family at Colonus, near the city of Athens. He was well-educated and socialized with some to the most powerful and prominent figures of his day. At that time, drama played an important part of the ancient Athenian society.
During Sophocles's lifetime, Athens fought a long and bitter war with its archrival, the city of Sparta. The war is called the Peloponnesian War.
Drama Competitions in Ancient Greece
Regular drama competitions were held and attended by most of the city's citizens, and winners were highly esteemed. Plays were treated as a public political and religious discussion.
In ancient Greece, playwrights addressed important issues of the day by presenting stories from mythology that contained dilemmas or problems similar to the ones being faced by the city and its people.
Sophocles' Plays
Many of Sophocles's plays were patriotic, reflecting the mood of the Athenian people as well as their desire for peace. His play Antigone, which is about the moral dilemmas faced by people during a war, deeply impressed the Athenians that they elected him to be a general in the army.
Sophocles Challenges Aeschylus
In 468 B.C. Sophocles entered the most important Athenian drama competition of the year for the first time.Aeschylus, by then the well-respected and prominent figure, Aeschylus, regularly won the competition. Amazingly the unknown Sophocles beat him to first place.
In his lifetime, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays and went on to win first place 24 times. About seven of his plays have survived. He died at the age of c. 90, in c. 406 BC.
"All that is mine will go today,
and you will need take no more onerous care of me;
It's harsh, children, I know:
And yet one word alleviates this kind of suffering.
There is no man than he from whom you part to live out your remaining life,
from whom you could have had more love."
~Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus
Works by Sophocles
- Ajax, c. 450 BC
- Antigone, c. 442
- Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), c.430 BC
- Women of Trachis, c. 420 BC
- Electra, c. 413 BC
- Philoctetes, 409 BC
- Oedipus at Colonus, 401 BC, Published after his death
Sources:
- Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994.
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers / Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
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