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 Sophocles | Sophocles (496?-406 B.C.), tragic dramatist, priest, and for a time one of ten Athenian generals, was among three great ancient Greek writers of tragedy. (The other two were his contemporaries: Aeschylus, his senior, and Euripides, his junior.) Sophocles won his first victory in the Athenian spring drama competition in 468 B.C., when a tragedy he had written defeated a tragedy by Aeschylus. He went on to win many prizes, writing more than 120 plays, of which only seven have survived in their entirety—Ajax, Antigonê, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes, The Trachinian Women, and Oedipus at Colonus. (Of the lost plays, about a thousand fragments remain.) In his long life, Sophocles saw Greece rise to supremacy over the Persian Empire. He enjoyed the favor of the statesman Pericles, who made peace with enemy Sparta and ruled Athens during a Golden Age (461-429 B.C.), during which the Parthenon was built and music, art, drama, and philosophy flourished. The playwright lived on to see his native city-state in decline, its strength drained by the disastrous Peloponnesian War. His last play, Oedipus at Colonus, set twenty years after the events of Oedipus the King, shows the former king in old age, ragged and blind, cast into exile by his sons, but still accompanied by his faithful daughter Antigonê. It was written when Sophocles was nearly ninety. Oedipus the King is believed to have been first produced in 425 B.C., five years after plague had broken out in Athens. |
Sophocles was born in Colonus, a village about one mile northwest of Athens. His father, Sophillus, was a rich man, though not an aristocrat. Sophocles spent his boyhood in Colonus, a town he would describe fondly in this last play, Oedipus at Colonus, as a place where nightingales sing in the green glades, where narcissus and crocus bloom, and where the sleepless fountains of Cephius wander over hills. Music, dancing, and gymnastics played an important part in Sophocles' education. His instructor, Lamprus, was a celebrated musician. Sophocles excelled at his studies and showed tremendous talent in the arts. When the Greeks defeated the Persians, Sophocles was the boy chosen to lead the chorus and play the harp at the victory celebration. Nothing more is known about the life of Sophocles until he challenged the mighty Aeschylus in a dramatic competition.
Classical Greek drama evolved from religious festivals honoring Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. Plays were important civic events and were very well attended; some surviving amphitheaters hold over fourteen thousand people.
Sophocles appeared as a tragic poet in 468 B.C., when he competed against Aeschylus, who was twice Sophocles' age and at the height of his fame. Legend says that during their contest the audience became increasingly excited and eventually violent. While it is not clear whether or not rioting actually broke out during the competition, one thing is certain: young Sophocles was the winner. After that first victory, Sophocles enjoyed continuous success for about sixty years. He usually exhibited every other year, as Aeschylus did. He almost always won first place. Even when he failed to win first place, he never placed lower than second. Interestingly, his production of Oedipus the King did not win first place, but placed second to the tragedies of Aeschylus's nephew, Philocles.
Few poets have lived through a more eventful period of history than Sophocles. During his long life, he saw Athens defeat the Persians and rise to become a dominant political and cultural power under Pericles. Toward the end of his life, his saw Athens's glory spent during the Peloponnesian Wars and the end of the Golden Age after the subsequent surrender to Sparta. Sophocles embodied the best of Athenian culture, as a statesman, treasurer, priest and award-winning dramatist. He was twice elected general—the highest office an Athenian could hold—though he did not show much interest in political office or military command. His family included his wife, Nicostrata, with whom he had a son, Iophon. Sophocles also had a relationship with a woman of Sicyon named Theoris, and at least four other sons. Sophocles was always described as well-liked, friendly, and witty. When he died in the autumn of 406 B.C., he was more than ninety years old.
In addition to producing acclaimed tragedies, Sophocles broke the tradition of using only two actors. By adding a third actor, dialogue became more intricate and relationships more complex. He reduced the role of the chorus, placing more emphasis on the actors. He also wrote with specific actors in mind. Many dramatists, including Shakespeare, would continue this practice. His plays, particularly Oedipus the King, are the most influential dramatic tragedies in the world.
Additional Resources: The online Bibliography includes an extended list of writings about Sophocles. Continue your Web Explorations by visiting Sophocles Links.
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