Sophocles - Greek Tragic Playwright

Sophocles is a Greek playwright who wrote around 125 tragic plays. He had three periods of development as an author. His plays deal with the connection between man and divine beings and how characters respond to pressure. He also drew on the ideas of kinship and family to bring about powerful social messages. In a tragic play, the main character faces various tests.

Sophocles’ dramatic style is a unique combination of control and strength. His plays are paced in a logical order. They explore painful human situations, setting personal suffering in a cosmic context. His plays explore the conflict between wisdom and folly. This makes them timeless. Sophocles’ plays are performed throughout the world.

Sophocles began his artistic career in the 468 BC when he won the Dionysia theatre competition. In this competition, he beat out the reigning Athenian drama master, Aeschylus. He also served in the army and became an influential member of the government.

Sophocles’ first marriage was to Nicostrata. They had a son together named Iophon. His second marriage was to a woman from Sicyon, who bore him the son Ariston. He is said to have had three other sons. Sophocles’ children include the sons Ariston, Dexion, and Pheidias.

After Aeschylus’ death in 456 BCE, Sophocles became one of the most popular playwrights in Athens. His plays have survived in seven complete versions. Sophocles won many competitions and was regarded as the best playwright for almost fifty years.

The style of Sophocles’ plays is characterized by its sophisticated delicacy of diction. As one of the great playwrights in the Western literature, Sophocles’ plays have influenced the development of the dramatic genre. Many of the stage conventions he created are still central to dramatic art today.

Sophocles was born in Colonus, near Athens. He died in Athens. One of the three great tragic playwrights of classical Athens, Sophocles is best known for his tragedy, Oedipus the King. He was also influenced by Euripides, and is considered the father of comedy.

Sophocles’ life was filled with achievements and tragedies. He died at the age of ninety, and it is estimated that he wrote approximately 125 plays during his life. He won the prize in tragic competitions twenty times, and never placed worse than second. Aside from writing the great tragedy Antigone, Sophocles wrote Electra, Niobe, and Pelias.

Sophocles won his first dramatic competition in 468 BC, defeating the great Aeschylus. This was just the beginning of his prolific career. During his lifetime, he produced more than 120 plays, and won twenty-four of them. His greatest triumph was when he won the Dionysiac festival, in which he fought against the great Aeschylus. Sophocles composed over 120 plays, and the first of these plays, Philoctetes, was performed in the festival.

Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles’ play about Oedipus, is a sequel to Oedipus the King. This play tells the story of the old Oedipus during his last day on earth. The play depicts the same traits of his first play, including the murder of his father and his marriage to his mother. Despite the fact that he admits his sinful actions, Oedipus at Colonus shows a gradual transformation and heroization. By the end of the play, he is a demigod.