Sophocles Biography

Sophocles, Author
Known asSophocles of Athens
Occup.Author
FromGreece
Born496 BC
Athens, Greece
Died405 BC
Athens, Greece
Sophocles, among the greatest and most influential Greek playwrights, was born in 496 BCE in Colonus Hippius, a town near Athens, Greece. He belonged to a well-off and noticeable family and also took pleasure in a blessed upbringing. His papa, Sophilus, was an effective business person as well as supplied Sophocles with a superb education and learning that consisted of songs, gymnastics, and poetry.

As a young man, Sophocles won numerous honors and obtained an online reputation for his musical and poetic ability. At the age of 16, he was selected to lead the young boys' chorus that celebrated the Greek victory over the Persians at the Fight of Salamis. This honor marked the beginning of his public profession, as well as Sophocles assumed different political, armed forces, and also spiritual roles along with his remarkable work in drama.

Sophocles was a modern of other wonderful Athenian dramatists such as Aeschylus and Euripides. The three of them participated and also often completed in the famous significant celebrations kept in Athens, the City Dionysia. Although Aeschylus is thought to have been his advisor, Sophocles made significant innovations to the typical movie theater of his time. He raised the number of actors on phase as well as lowered the duty of the carolers. This shift boosted the character's growth, allowing for more facility and psychological plotlines.

Throughout his career, Sophocles edited 120 plays, yet however, only seven have actually been maintained in their full form: Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus the King, The Females of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes, and also Oedipus at Colonus. Several of these plays, especially Antigone and Oedipus the King, are considered masterpieces of ancient Greek misfortune.

His job largely focused on human frailty, tensions within families, as well as the battle in between personal and also public tasks. Sophocles frequently depicted the terrible repercussions that arised from the clash between divine will as well as human endeavor. As an example, in Oedipus the King, the protagonist's quest for fact results in the discovery that he has unsuspectingly satisfied a heartbreaking prediction.

Throughout his life, Sophocles got numerous honors and also honors for his operate in dramatization. He won the very first prize at the City Dionysia celebration over 20 times and was never ranked less than 2nd area. His success were not limited to drama, nonetheless. Sophocles was also a valued military leader as well as, along with his pal Pericles, joined the Samian expedition in 440 BCE. Moreover, he functioned as a clergyman of Alcon and was chosen to the setting of basic (strategoi) two times in his life.

Sophocles' impact on ancient Greek dramatization and society is evident also today, especially in regards to significant structure, personality development, as well as thematic exploration. His misfortunes act as ageless reminders of the human condition and the unpreventable effects of hubris and blind aspiration. Sophocles passed away around 405 BCE at the age of 91, leaving behind an abundant cultural legacy that remains to be significant as well as pertinent throughout the globe.

Our collection contains 101 quotes who is written / told by Sophocles, under the main topics: Motivational - Age - Mom.

Related authors: Euripides (Poet), Philo (Philosopher), Aeschylus (Playwright), Pericles (Statesman), Pindar (Poet), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

Frequently Asked Questions
  • Q: Where did Sophocles live?
    A: Ancient Athens, Greece
  • Q: What is Sophocles known for?
    A: Writing Greek tragedies, such as 'Oedipus Rex', 'Antigone', and 'Electra'
  • Q: How many of Sophocles plays survived?
    A: 7 out of approximately 120
  • Q: Sophocles Full Name
    A: Sophocles, son of Sophilus
  • Q: Sophocles Family
    A: Father: Sophilus; Mother: Unknown; Spouse: Nicostrate or Nicippe; Children: Iophon, Agathon, and Ariston
Sophocles Famous Works:
Source / external links:

101 Famous quotes by Sophocles

Small: The oaths of a woman I inscribe on water
"The oaths of a woman I inscribe on water"
Small: Trust dies but mistrust blossoms
"Trust dies but mistrust blossoms"
Small: A man growing old becomes a child again
"A man growing old becomes a child again"
Small: It is the merit of a general to impart good news, and to conceal the truth
"It is the merit of a general to impart good news, and to conceal the truth"
Small: I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating
"I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating"
Small: A short saying often contains much wisdom
"A short saying often contains much wisdom"
Small: A human being is only breath and shadow
"A human being is only breath and shadow"
Small: There is a point at which even justice does injury
"There is a point at which even justice does injury"
Small: When trouble ends even troubles please
"When trouble ends even troubles please"
Small: What house, bloated with luxury, ever became prosperous without a womans excellence?
"What house, bloated with luxury, ever became prosperous without a woman's excellence?"
Small: Not knowing anything is the sweetest life
"Not knowing anything is the sweetest life"
Small: Men of ill judgment ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it
"Men of ill judgment ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it"
Small: Its a terrible thing to speak well and be wrong
"It's a terrible thing to speak well and be wrong"
Small: If you were to offer a thirsty man all wisdom, you would not please him more than if you gave him a dri
"If you were to offer a thirsty man all wisdom, you would not please him more than if you gave him a drink"
Small: I see the state of all of us who live, nothing more than phantoms or a weightless shadow
"I see the state of all of us who live, nothing more than phantoms or a weightless shadow"
Small: Do not grieve yourself too much for those you hate, nor yet forget them utterly
"Do not grieve yourself too much for those you hate, nor yet forget them utterly"
Small: A soul that is kind and intends justice discovers more than any sophist
"A soul that is kind and intends justice discovers more than any sophist"
Small: A lie never lives to be old
"A lie never lives to be old"
Small: There is no greater evil for men than the constraint of fortune
"There is no greater evil for men than the constraint of fortune"
Small: Now I see that going out into the testing ground of men it is the tongue and not the deed that wins the
"Now I see that going out into the testing ground of men it is the tongue and not the deed that wins the day"
Small: Not all things are to be discovered many are better concealed
"Not all things are to be discovered; many are better concealed"
Small: Money is the worst currency that ever grew among mankind. This sacks cities, this drives men from their
"Money is the worst currency that ever grew among mankind. This sacks cities, this drives men from their homes, this teaches and corrupts the worthiest minds to turn base deeds"
Small: If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a
"If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a less valuable thing than weeping"
Small: I see that all of us who live are nothing but images or insubstantial shadow
"I see that all of us who live are nothing but images or insubstantial shadow"
Small: Hush! Check those words. Do not cure ill with ill and make your pain still heavier than it is
"Hush! Check those words. Do not cure ill with ill and make your pain still heavier than it is"
Small: How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when theres no help in the truth
"How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there's no help in the truth"
Small: All a mans affairs become diseased when he wishes to cure evils by evils
"All a man's affairs become diseased when he wishes to cure evils by evils"
Small: You should not consider a mans age but his acts
"You should not consider a man's age but his acts"
Small: Whoever lives among many evils just as I, how can dying not be a source of gain?
"Whoever lives among many evils just as I, how can dying not be a source of gain?"
Small: Whoever gets up and comes to grips with Love like a boxer is a fool
"Whoever gets up and comes to grips with Love like a boxer is a fool"
Small: When a man has lost all happiness, hes not alive. Call him a breathing corpse
"When a man has lost all happiness, he's not alive. Call him a breathing corpse"
Small: War never takes a wicked man by chance, the good man always
"War never takes a wicked man by chance, the good man always"
Small: There is no witness so terrible and no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us
"There is no witness so terrible and no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us"
Small: There is no greater evil than anarchy
"There is no greater evil than anarchy"
Small: There are some who praise a man free from disease to me no man who is poor seems free from disease but
"There are some who praise a man free from disease; to me no man who is poor seems free from disease but to be constantly sick"
Small: One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love
"One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love"
Small: No one longs to live more than someone growing old
"No one longs to live more than someone growing old"
Small: It was my care to make my life illustrious not by words more than by deeds
"It was my care to make my life illustrious not by words more than by deeds"
Small: It is best to live however one can be
"It is best to live however one can be"
Small: Ignorant men dont know what good they hold in their hands until theyve flung it away
"Ignorant men don't know what good they hold in their hands until they've flung it away"
Small: If one begins all deeds well, it is likely that they will end well too
"If one begins all deeds well, it is likely that they will end well too"
Small: Hide nothing, for time, which sees all and hears all, exposes all
"Hide nothing, for time, which sees all and hears all, exposes all"
Small: Dont you know that silence supports the accusers charge?
"Don't you know that silence supports the accuser's charge?"
Small: Best to live lightly, unthinkingly
"Best to live lightly, unthinkingly"
Small: A fearful man is always hearing things
"A fearful man is always hearing things"
Small: A day lays low and lifts up again all human things
"A day lays low and lifts up again all human things"
Small: Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness
"Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness"
Small: Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future
"Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future"
Small: To him who is in fear everything rustles
"To him who is in fear everything rustles"
Small: Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way
"Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way"
Next page