Sophocles

I

Introduction

Sophocles (c. 496-406 bc), one of the three great tragic dramatists of ancient Athens, with Aeschylus and Euripides. Sophocles’s best-known plays are Antigone and Oedipus Tyrannus (Oedipus the King, Oedipus Rex in Latin).

II

Life of Sophocles

Sophocles was born in about 496 bc in Colonus Hippius (now part of Athens), the son of Sophillus, reportedly a wealthy armour-maker. Sophocles was provided with the best traditional aristocratic education. As a young man, he was chosen to lead the chorus of youths to celebrate the Greek naval victory over the Persians at Salamís in 480 bc (see Graeco-Persian Wars). In 468 bc, at the age of 28, he defeated Aeschylus, whose pre-eminence as a tragic poet had long been undisputed, in a dramatic competition. From 468 bc, Sophocles was the most consistently successful Athenian dramatist, winning first prize about 20 times and many second prizes. He was also the most prolific dramatist.

Sophocles was not only a popular playwright but also a popular man. His life, which ended in 406 bc when he was around 90, coincided with the period of Athenian greatness. He numbered among his friends the historian Herodotus, and he was an associate of the statesman Pericles. He was not politically active or militarily inclined, although he accepted several political positions and was twice elected by the Athenians to high military office.

III

Sophocles the Dramatist

Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays. Of these, 7 complete tragedies and fragments of 80 or 90 others are preserved. The seven extant plays are Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae (The Maidens of Trachis), Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. Also preserved is a large fragment of the satiric drama Ichneutae (The Trackers), discovered on papyrus in Egypt in 1907. The earliest of the surviving tragedies is thought to be Ajax (c. 451-444 bc). Next probably are Antigone and Trachiniae (both after 441). Oedipus Tyrannus is generally dated shortly after 430 because of a probable reference to a plague in Athens that year. Most experts consider Electra to be a late play, dating as late as 410 bc. Philoctetes is known to date from 409 bc. Oedipus at Colonus was first produced posthumously in 401 bc.

IV

Technique

All seven extant Sophoclean tragedies are considered outstanding for their powerful, intricate plots and dramatic style. At least three—Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus, and Oedipus at Colonus—are generally regarded as masterpieces. Sophocles introduced a major innovation when he abandoned the trilogy format of his predecessor Aeschylus, who presented at dramatic festivals three plays united by plot, characters, and theme. Sophocles, in contrast, presented plays that, so far as we know, were unconnected. By turning away from the trilogy, Sophocles could create tighter, more concentrated plots.

By abandoning the trilogy, Sophocles also reduced the importance of the chorus in Greek tragedy. In Aeschylus’s plays the chorus constantly relates the actions and suffering of individuals to an overall framework of divine purpose; the chorus also relates the present to the past and the future. Sophocles continues to use the chorus in most of his plays, but it serves primarily to suggest the larger moral and religious dilemmas posed by human actions.

Another technical innovation for which Sophocles was famous was the introduction of the third character. Previous plays had been built around two characters. The high points of Sophoclean drama are scenes of revelation that feature three actors.