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Meet the Author
Sophocles
Ancient Greek (Athenian) · c. 496 BCE–c. 406 BCE · Tragic playwright
The Athenian dramatist whose flawed, stubborn heroes made tragedy about character as much as fate.
2 StoryBites Editions2 Big Books2 Full texts
Why read Sophocles?
Sophocles wrote about people who refuse to bend: a king who must know the truth whatever it costs, a young woman who defies the state to bury her brother. His plays are short, tightly built, and still argued over, because he gives both sides of every conflict real force. Read him to see where Western drama’s ideas about pride, conscience, and recognition begin.
A life in six dates
- c. 496 BCEBorn at Colonus, near Athens
- 468 BCEWins first prize at the Athenian dramatic festival
- c. 441 BCEAntigone
- c. 429 BCEOedipus Rex
- c. 406 BCEDies in Athens
- 401 BCEOedipus at Colonus staged after his death
Themes across the collection
The StoryBites Editions
Context that actually matters
Athenian drama festivalsPlays were performed in competition at religious festivals, before thousands of citizens, which made tragedy a public way of thinking through civic questions.
The chorusA group of citizens who sing between scenes, commenting on the action and voicing the community’s fears.
Survival of the playsHe is said to have written more than a hundred plays, but only seven complete tragedies survive.
Reading the plays and snagging on the language? A Glossary of Common Shakespearean Words →
Influence
Echoes of Sophocles run through Jean Racine, Jean Anouilh, Seamus Heaney, among many others.