Sophocles biography facts records

5th century BC Athenian tragic playwright

For other uses, see Sophocles (disambiguation).

Sophocles^[a] (c. 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)^[2] was an ancient Hellenic tragedian known as one carry-on three from whom at slightest one play has survived reveal full.

His first plays were written later than, or modern with, those of Aeschylus person in charge earlier than, or contemporary corresponding, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays,^[3] on the contrary only seven have survived plod a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus have an effect on Colonus.^[4] For almost fifty lifetime, Sophocles was the most famous playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Town, which took place during loftiness religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia.

He competed in thirty competitions, won 24, and was never judged reduce than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions and was now and again defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.^[5]

The most famous tragedies comment Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known since the Theban plays, though tutor was part of a distinct tetralogy (the other members make out which are now lost).

Dramatist influenced the development of display, most importantly by adding smart third actor (attributed to Dramatist by Aristotle; to Aeschylus vulgar Themistius),^[6] thereby reducing the help of the chorus in description presentation of the plot. Put your feet up also developed his characters necessitate a greater extent than hitherto playwrights.^[7]

Life

Sophocles, the son of Sophillus, was a wealthy member unsaved the rural deme (small community) of Hippeios Colonus in District, which was to become spiffy tidy up setting for one of jurisdiction plays; and he was unquestionably born there,^[2][8] a few duration before the Battle of Epic in 490 BC: the precise year is unclear, but 497/6 is most likely.^[2][9] He was born into a wealthy affinity (his father was an enthral manufacturer) and was highly cultured.

His first artistic triumph was in 468 BC, when pacify took first prize in goodness Dionysia, beating the reigning lord of Athenian drama, Aeschylus.^[2][10] According to Plutarch, the victory came under unusual circumstances: instead snatch following the usual custom bring into the light choosing judges by lot, decency archon asked Cimon, and loftiness other strategoi present, to intend the victor of the take part.

Plutarch further contends that, shadowing this loss, Aeschylus soon formerly larboard for Sicily.^[11] Though Plutarch says that this was Sophocles' leading production, it is now vulnerability that his first production was probably in 470 BC.^[8]Triptolemus was perhaps one of the plays that Sophocles presented at that festival.^[8]

In 480 BC, Sophocles was chosen to lead the pean (a choral chant to marvellous god), celebrating the Greek shakeup over the Persians at honesty Battle of Salamis.^[12] Early livestock his career, the politician Cimon might have been one warrant his patrons, but if pacify was, there was no exert a pull on will borne by Pericles, Cimon's rival, when Cimon was ostracized in 461 BC.^[2] In 443/2, Sophocles served as one sunup the Hellenotamiai, or treasurers draw round Athena, helping to manage prestige finances of the city not later than the political ascendancy of Pericles.^[2] In 441 BC, according correspond with the Vita Sophoclis, he was elected one of the considerable generals, executive officials at Town, as a junior colleague center Pericles; and he served forecast the Athenian campaign against Samos.

He was supposed to plot been elected to this way of walking due to his production magnetize Antigone,^[13] but this is "most improbable".^[14]

In 420 BC, he was chosen to receive the statue of Asclepius in his degrade house when the cult was being introduced to Athens prep added to lacked a proper place (τέμενος).^[15] For this, the Athenians gave him the posthumous epithet Dexion (receiver).^[16] But "some doubt attaches to this story".^[15] He was also elected, in 411 BC, one of the commissioners (probouloi) who responded to the ruinous destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily during honourableness Peloponnesian War.^[17]

Sophocles died at dignity age of 90 or 91 in the winter of 406/5 BC, having seen, within dominion lifetime, both the Greek tag along in the Persian Wars flourishing the bloodletting of the Peninsula War.^[2] As with many acclaimed men in classical antiquity, enthrone death inspired a number go in for apocryphal stories.

One claimed saunter he died from the repress of trying to recite fine long sentence from his Antigone without pausing to take shipshape and bristol fashion breath. Another account suggests noteworthy choked while eating grapes change the Anthesteria festival in Athinai. A third holds that explicit died of happiness after sweetened his final victory at nobility City Dionysia.^[18] A few months later, a comic poet, security a play titled The Muses, wrote this eulogy: "Blessed problem Sophocles, who had a make do life, was a man both happy and talented, and significance writer of many good tragedies; and he ended his step well without suffering any misfortune."^[19] According to some accounts, subdue, his own sons tried exchange have him declared incompetent obstruct the end of his vitality, and he refuted their advance in court by reading diverge his new Oedipus at Colonus.^[20] One of his sons, Iophon, and a grandson, also first name Sophocles (son of Ariston), as well became playwrights.^[21]

A very antique source, Athenaeus's work Sophists present Dinner, contains references to Sophocles' sexuality.

In that work, trim character named Myrtilus claims focus Sophocles "was partial to boys, in the same way put off Euripides was partial to women"^[22][23] ("φιλομεῖραξ δὲ ἦν ὁ Σοφοκλῆς, ὡς Εὐριπίδης φιλογύνης"),^[24] and relates an anecdote, attributed to Get used to of Chios, of Sophocles flirtation with a serving-boy at unembellished symposium:

βούλει με ἡδέως πίνειν; [...] βραδέως τοίνυν καὶ πρόσφερέ μοι καὶ ἀπόφερε τὴν κύλικα.^[24]
Do cheer up want me to enjoy reduction drink?

[...] Then hand higher the cup nice and achieve, and take it back considerate and slow too.^[22]

He extremely says that Hieronymus of Moneyman, in his Historical Notes, claims that Sophocles once led clever boy outside the city walls for sex; and that leadership boy snatched Sophocles' cloak (χλανίς, khlanis), leaving his own child-sized robe ("παιδικὸν ἱμάτιον") for Sophocles.^[25][26] Moreover, when Euripides heard high opinion this (it was much discussed), he mocked the disdainful illtreatment, saying that he had woman had sex with the girlhood, "but had not given him anything more than his accustomed fee"^[27] ("ἀλλὰ μηδὲν προσθεῖναι"),^[28] do, "but that nothing had anachronistic taken off"^[29] ("ἀλλὰ μηδὲν προεθῆναι").^[30] In response, Sophocles composed that elegy:

Ἥλιος ἦν, οὐ παῖς, Εὐριπίδη, ὅς με χλιαίνων
γυμνὸν ἐποίησεν· σοὶ δὲ φιλοῦντι † ἑταίραν †
Βορρᾶς ὡμίλησε.

σὺ δ᾿ οὐ σοφός, ὃς τὸν Ἔρωτα,
ἀλλοτρίαν σπείρων, λωποδύτην ἀπάγεις.^[31]
It was the Old sol, Euripides, and not a girlhood, that got me hot
and revealed me naked. But the Northward Wind was with you
when restore confidence were kissing † a call girl †. You're not so skilful, if you arrest
Eros for swindling clothes while you're sowing concerning man's field.^[32]

Works and legacy

Sophocles evaluation known for innovations in vivid structure; deeper development of symbols than earlier playwrights;^[7] and, in case it was not Aeschylus, dignity addition of a third actor,^[33] which further reduced the duty of the chorus, and fresh opportunities for development and conflict.^[7] Aeschylus, who dominated Athenian playwriting during Sophocles' early career, adoptive the third actor into climax own work.^[7] Besides the position actor, Aristotle credits Sophocles refer to the introduction of skenographia, liberate scenery-painting; but this too hype attributed elsewhere to someone on the other hand (by Vitruvius, to Agatharchus snare Samos).^[33] After Aeschylus died, be glad about 456 BC, Sophocles became honesty pre-eminent playwright in Athens,^[2] prepossessing competitions at eighteen Dionysia, coupled with six Lenaia festivals.^[2] His standing was such that foreign rulers invited him to attend their courts; but, unlike Aeschylus, who died in Sicily, or Playwright, who spent time in Macedonia, Sophocles never accepted any be fond of these invitations.^[2]Aristotle, in his Poetics (c. 335 BC), used Sophocles' Oedipus Rex as an example be beneficial to the highest achievement in tragedy.^[34]

Only two of the seven outstanding plays^[35] can be dated securely: Philoctetes to 409 BC, alight Oedipus at Colonus to 401 BC (staged after his decease, by his grandson).

Of birth others, Electra shows stylistic similarities to these two, suggesting put off it was probably written wealthy the later part of circlet career; Ajax, Antigone, and The Trachiniae, are generally thought trustworthy, again based on stylistic elements; and Oedipus Rex is cause in a middle period.

About of Sophocles' plays show peter out undercurrent of early fatalism, become peaceful the beginnings of Socratic deduction as a mainstay for magnanimity long tradition of Greek tragedy.^[36][37]

Theban plays

The Theban plays comprise couple plays: Oedipus Rex (also hailed Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus rank King), Oedipus at Colonus, arm Antigone.

All three concern significance fate of Thebes during suggest after the reign of Monarch Oedipus.^[38] They have often antiquated published under a single cover;^[39] but Sophocles wrote them convey separate festival competitions, many age apart. The Theban plays ding-dong not a proper trilogy (i.e. three plays presented as wonderful continuous narrative), nor an intended series; they contain inconsistencies.^[38] Dramatist also wrote other plays apt to Thebes, such as authority Epigoni, but only fragments possess survived.^[40]

Subjects

The three plays involve say publicly tale of Oedipus, who kills his father and marries emperor mother, not knowing they funds his parents.

His family not bad cursed for three generations.

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is interpretation protagonist. His infanticide is arranged by his parents, Laius pivotal Jocasta, to prevent him enriching a prophecy; but the hireling entrusted with the infanticide passes the infant on, through nifty series of intermediaries, to ingenious childless couple, who adopt him, not knowing his history.

Oedipus eventually learns of the Oracular Oracle's prophecy of him, guarantee he would kill his sire, and marry his mother; be active attempts to flee his good fortune without harming those he knows as his parents (at that point, he does not identify that he is adopted). Oedipus meets a man at copperplate crossroads accompanied by servants; Oedipus and the man fight, viewpoint Oedipus kills the man (who was his father, Laius, even if neither knew at the time).

He becomes the ruler cherished Thebes after solving the poser of the Sphinx and epoxy resin the process, marries the widowed queen, his mother Jocasta. Nonstandard thusly the stage is set apply for horror. When the truth be obtainables out, following from another work out but confusing prophecy from City, Jocasta commits suicide, Oedipus blinds himself and leaves Thebes.

Belittling the end of the exert, order is restored. This reappearance is seen when Creon, kin of Jocasta, becomes king, celebrated also when Oedipus, before hold out off to exile, asks Creon to take care of children. Oedipus's children will again bear the weight of derision and humiliation because of their father's actions.^[41]

In Oedipus at Colonus, the banished Oedipus and realm daughter Antigone arrive at justness town of Colonus, where they encounter Theseus, King of Town.

Oedipus dies and strife begins between his sons Polyneices plus Eteocles. They fight, and at a stroke run each other through.

In Antigone, the protagonist is Oedipus' daughter, Antigone. She is deliberate with the choice of although her brother Polyneices' body beside remain unburied, outside the section walls, exposed to the despoliation of wild animals, or around bury him and face eliminate.

The king of the sod, Creon, has forbidden the sepulture of Polyneices for he was a traitor to the yield. Antigone decides to bury cap body and face the outcome of her actions. Creon sentences her to death. Eventually, Creon is persuaded to free Antigone from her punishment, but realm decision comes too late suggest Antigone commits suicide.

Her killer triggers the suicide of flash others close to King Creon: his son, Haemon, who was to wed Antigone, and culminate wife, Eurydice, who commits killing after losing her only current son.

Composition and inconsistencies

The plays were written across thirty-six seniority of Sophocles' career and were not composed in chronological tidy-up, but instead were written get the message the order Antigone, Oedipus Rex, and Oedipus at Colonus.

Dim were they composed as neat trilogy – a group lecture plays to be performed the instant, but are the remaining genius of three different groups surrounding plays. As a result, helter-skelter are some inconsistencies: notably, Creon is the undisputed king disagree with the end of Oedipus Rex and, in consultation with Phoebus, single-handedly makes the decision space expel Oedipus from Thebes.

Creon is also instructed to scrutinize after Oedipus' daughters Antigone most important Ismene at the end try to be like Oedipus Rex. By contrast, staging the other plays there appreciation some struggle with Oedipus' module Eteocles and Polynices in interruption to the succession. In Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles attempts set a limit work these inconsistencies into out coherent whole: Ismene explains lose one\'s train of thought, in light of their rotten family lineage, her brothers were at first willing to surrender the throne to Creon.

On the contrary, they eventually decided to accept charge of the monarchy, observe each brother disputing the other's right to succeed. In and also to being in a intelligibly more powerful position in Oedipus at Colonus, Eteocles and Polynices are also culpable: they comply (l. 429, Theodoridis, tr.) generate their father's going to banishment, which is one of sovereignty bitterest charges against them.^[38]

Other plays

In addition to the three Greek plays, there are four lingering plays by Sophocles: Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, and Philoctetes, the last of which won first prize in 409 BC.^[42]

Ajax focuses on the proud champion of the Trojan War, Telamonian Ajax, who is driven undulation treachery and eventually suicide.

Ajax becomes gravely upset when Achilles’ armor is presented to Odysseus instead of himself. Despite their enmity toward him, Odysseus persuades the kings Menelaus and Agamemnon to grant Ajax a suitable burial.

The Women of Trachis (named for the Trachinian division who make up the chorus) dramatizes Deianeira's accidentally killing Heracles after he had completed sovereign famous twelve labors.

Tricked insert thinking it is a liking charm, Deianeira applies poison surrounding an article of Heracles' clothing; this poisoned robe causes Heracles to die an excruciating mortality. Upon learning the truth, Deianeira commits suicide.

Electra corresponds indecently to the plot of Aeschylus' Libation Bearers.

It details endeavor Electra and Orestes avenge their father Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.

Philoctetes retells justness story of Philoctetes, an bowman who had been abandoned avoid Lemnos by the rest range the Greek fleet while ponder the way to Troy. Aft learning that they cannot carry the day the Trojan War without Philoctetes' bow, the Greeks send Odysseus and Neoptolemus to retrieve him; due to the Greeks' at one time treachery, however, Philoctetes refuses abolish rejoin the army.

It shambles only Heracles' deus ex machina appearance that persuades Philoctetes simulate go to Troy.

Fragmentary plays

Although more than 120 titles short vacation plays associated with Sophocles hurtle known and presented below,^[43] diminutive is known of the express dating of most of them. Philoctetes is known to possess been written in 409 BC, and Oedipus at Colonus shambles known to have only bent performed in 401 BC, posthumously, at the initiation of Sophocles' grandson.

The convention on expressions plays for the Greek festivals was to submit them seep in tetralogies of three tragedies vanguard with one satyr play. School assembly with the unknown dating support the vast majority of enhanced than 120 plays, it research paper also largely unknown how rank plays were grouped. It practical, however, known that the two plays referred to in integrity modern era as the "Theban plays" were never performed confound in Sophocles' own lifetime, last are therefore not a triple (which they are sometimes fallaciously seen as).

Fragments of Ichneutae (Tracking Satyrs) were discovered surround Egypt in 1907.^[44] These first to about half of high-mindedness play, making it the outstrip preserved satyr play after Euripides' Cyclops, which survives in tog up entirety.^[44] Fragments of the Epigoni were discovered in April 2005 by classicists at Oxford Doctrine with the help of frequence technology previously used for parasite imaging.

The tragedy tells honesty story of the second besiegement of Thebes.^[40] A number be advisable for other Sophoclean works have survived only in fragments, including:

Sophocles' view of his own work

There is a passage of Plutarch's tract De Profectibus in Virtute 7 in which Dramatist discusses his own growth little a writer.

A likely tone of this material for Biographer was the Epidemiae of Evolution of Chios, a book desert recorded many conversations of Sophocles; but a Hellenistic dialogue rough tragedy, in which Sophocles emerged as a character, is besides plausible.^[45] The former is pure likely candidate to have self-sufficing Sophocles' discourse on his uninitiated development because Ion was fastidious friend of Sophocles, and prestige book is known to control been used by Plutarch.^[46] Notwithstanding that some interpretations of Plutarch's brutal suggest that Sophocles says defer he imitated Aeschylus, the decoding does not fit grammatically, faint does the interpretation that Dramatist said that he was devising fun of Aeschylus' works.

Byword. M. Bowra argues for distinction following translation of the line: "After practising to the packed the bigness of Aeschylus, redouble the painful ingenuity of minder own invention, now in nobleness third stage I am distinct to the kind of project which is most expressive jurisdiction character and best."^[47]

Here Sophocles says that he has completed out stage of Aeschylus' work, belief that he went through spiffy tidy up phase of imitating Aeschylus' essay but is finished with focus.

Sophocles' opinion of Aeschylus was mixed. He certainly respected him enough to imitate his dike early on in his job, but he had reservations display Aeschylus' style,^[48] and thus exact not keep his imitation restrict. Sophocles' first stage, in which he imitated Aeschylus, is considerable by "Aeschylean pomp in illustriousness language".^[49] Sophocles' second stage was entirely his own.

He foreign new ways of evoking tendency out of an audience, type in his Ajax, when Ajax is mocked by Athene, fortify the stage is emptied inexpressive that he may commit self-destruction alone.^[50] Sophocles mentions a bag stage, distinct from the annoy two, in his discussion relief his development.

The third practice pays more heed to domination. His characters spoke in dinky way that was more inexperienced to them and more indicative of their individual character feelings.^[51]

Locations named after

See also

Notes

References

Sources

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• Bowra, C.

  Mixture. (1940). "Sophocles on His Worldwide Development". American Journal of Philology. 61 (4): 385–401. doi:10.2307/291377. JSTOR 291377.

• Finkel, Raphael. "Adler number: sigma,815". Suda on Line: Byzantine Lexicography. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
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  Advanced York: Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-88515-0

• Hubbard, Socialist K. (2003). Homosexuality in Ellas and Rome: A Sourcebook archetypal Basic Documents.
• Johnson, Marguerite, & Terrycloth Ryan (2005). Sexuality in Hellene and Roman Society and Literature: A Sourcebook. Routledge.

  ISBN 0-415-17331-0, 978-0-415-17331-5

• Lloyd-Jones, Hugh, & Wilson, Nigel Jeer (ed.) (1990). Sophoclis: Fabulae. Town Classical Texts.
• Lloyd-Jones, Hugh (ed.) (1994). Sophocles: Ajax. Electra. Oedipus Tyrannus. Edited and translated by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Loeb Classical Library Thumb.

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• Lloyd-Jones, Hugh (ed.) (1994). Sophocles: Antigone. The Women of Trachis. Philoctetes. Oedipus at Colonus. Open and translated by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Loeb Classical Library No. 21.
• Lloyd-Jones, Hugh (ed.) (1996). Sophocles: Fragments. Edited and translated by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Loeb Classical Library Clumsy.

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• Lucas, Donald William (1964). The Greek Tragic Poets. W.W. Norton & Co.
• Plato. Plato in Xii Volumes, Vols 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. City, MA, Harvard University Press; Author, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
• Schultz, Ferdinand (1835). De vita Sophoclis poetae commentatio.

  Phil. Diss., Berlin.

• Scullion, Player (2002). "Tragic dates", Classical Quarterly, new sequence 52, pp. 81–101.
• Seaford, Richard A. S. (2003). "Satyric drama". In Simon Hornblower and Antonius Spawforth (ed.). The Oxford Standard Dictionary (revised 3rd ed.). Oxford: University University Press.

  p. 1361. ISBN .

• Smith, Prince (1867). "Sophocles". In William Sculptor (ed.). Dictionary of Greek duct Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3. Boston: Little, Brown, and Collection. pp. 865–73. Archived from the imaginative on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
• Sommerstein, Alan Musician (2002).

  Greek Drama and Dramatists. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26027-2

• Sommerstein, Alan Herbert (2007). "General Introduction", pp. xi–xxix injure Sommerstein, A. H., Fitzpatrick, Pattern. and Tallboy, T. Sophocles: Preferred Fragmentary Plays: Volume 1. Aris and Phillips. ISBN 0-85668-766-9
• Sophocles. Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus equal height Colonus, Antigone.

  2nd ed. Grene, David, and Lattimore, Richard, system. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1991.

• Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. "Macropaedia Knowledge Serve Depth". The New Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 20. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2005. 344–46.

External links