Sophocles

Dates: c. 496 - 406 B.C.

Interesting Tidbit 1

• Sophocles' tragedies probe the depth of human suffering and despair as profoundly as the works of any writer in world literature. He, however, grew up in a well-to-do family in Athens, enjoyed a carefree childhood and education, and eventually became a distinguished public official as well as an outstanding dramatist.

Interesting Tidbit 2

• Was first recognized as a good playwright after he beat Aeschylus in a dramatic competition. He went on to win 24 first place prizes over the next 6 decades--the best record of any Greek playwright. He produced 123 plays but only seven of them survive today.

Interesting Tidbit 3

• Sophocles' seven surviving plays depict characters caught up in unsolvable dilemmas that test their faith in divine and human justice.

Sophocles- well educated, politician, dramatist

Genre

Oedipus Rex

• The city of Thebes is beset by a terrible plague, and there is no end in sight. According to the oracle of Apollo, the plague will continue until the murderer of King Laius, still living in Thebes, is caught and punished for his crime. Oedipus, casting himself in the role of savior of Thebes, as he did once before with the deadly Sphinx, vows to do everything in his power to apprehend the murderer and save his people.

Oedipus Rex Cont.

• Little does he realize that his vow will relentlessly lead him to an encounter with himself and his darkest secrets.

Other Work

Time Period Event 1

• Lived and wrote at the same time that Pericles, Herodotus, Thucydides and Socrates were at a high point. This could have impacted Sophocles as a writer because this created a time of success which then made Athen's downfall so devastating It could be one of the reasons that Sophocles' writing is so troubling.

Time Period Event 2

• Athens was in a period of historical expansion and social optimism. This gave then sense that anything was possible. Sophocles would have felt comfortable writing about whatever he wanted to write about because of this sense of freedom.

Time Period Event 3

• Toward the end of Sophocles' life, the expansion spirit began to dwindle, largely because of the costly investment of Athenian lives and resources in the long Peloponnesian War. This conflict pitted Athens and her allies against the rival city of Sparta and various other city-states for 27 year. This may be one of the reasons that Sophocles' surviving plays are so deeply troubling.

Time of success - democracy

Seven surviving plays