• • • • • Sophocles (;: Σοφοκλῆς, Sophoklēs, Ancient Greek:; c. 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC) is one of three whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of, and earlier than or contemporary with those of. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form:,,,,, and. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the of that took place during the religious festivals of the and the. He competed in 30 competitions, won 24, and was never judged lower than second place.

Aeschylus won 13 competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles, while Euripides won 4 competitions. The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature and also: they are generally known as the, although each play was actually a part of a different, the other members of which are now lost.

Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor, thereby reducing the importance of the in the presentation of the. He also to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus. A marble relief of a poet, perhaps Sophocles Sophocles, the son of Sophilus, was a wealthy member of the rural (small community) of in, which was to become a setting for one of his plays, and he was probably born there. Sophocles was born a few years before the in 490 BC: the exact year is unclear, although 497/6 is the most likely. Sophocles was born into a wealthy family (his father was an armour manufacturer) and was highly educated. Sophocles' first artistic triumph was in 468 BC, when he took first prize in the theatre competition over the reigning master of Athenian drama,.

According to, the victory came under unusual circumstances. Instead of following the usual custom of choosing judges by lot, the asked and the other present to decide the victor of the contest. Plutarch further contends that following this loss Aeschylus soon left for Sicily. Although Plutarch says that this was Sophocles' first production, it is now thought that his first production was probably in 470 BC.

Triptolemus was probably one of the plays that Sophocles presented at this festival. In 480 BC Sophocles was chosen to lead the (a choral chant to a god), celebrating the Greek victory over the at the. Early in his career, the politician might have been one of his patrons, although if he was, there was no ill will borne by, 's rival, when Cimon was ostracized in 461 BC. In 443/2 he served as one of the, or treasurers of Athena, helping to manage the finances of the city during the political ascendancy of Pericles. Star Trek New Worlds Free Full Download. According to the Vita Sophoclis, in 441 BC he was elected one of the ten generals, executive officials at Athens, as a junior colleague of Pericles, and he served in the Athenian campaign against; he was supposed to have been elected to this position as the result of his production of Antigone. In 420 BC, he welcomed and set up an altar for the image of at his house, when the deity was introduced to Athens.

Sophocles The Oedipus Myth •instead of receiving glad tidings, Laius and Jocasta were told their unborn son would one day marry his mother and. Oedipus the King Sophocles (c. 420 BCE) This translation, which has been prepared by Ian Johnston of Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, BC, is in the public. OEDIPUS My children, latest born to Cadmus old, Why sit ye here as suppliants, in your hands Branches of olive filleted with wool? What means this reek of incense. Oedipus the King Sophocles Translated by David Grene CHARACTERS OEDIPUS, King of Thebes FIRST MESSENGER JOCASTA, His Wife SECOND MESSENGER CREON, His Brother-in-Law A.