Sophocles, Volume I. Ajax. Electra. Oedipus Tyrannus (Loeb Classical Library No. 20) by Sophocles, Hugh Lloyd-Jones (1994) Hardcover

by Sophocles

Sophocles (497/6-406 BCE), with Aeschylus and Euripides, was one of the three great tragic poets of Athens, and is considered one of the world's greatest poets. The subjects of his plays were drawn from mythology and legend. Each play contains at least one heroic figure, a character whose strength, courage, or intelligence exceeds the human norm—but who also has more than ordinary pride and self-assurance. These qualities combine to lead to a tragic end.

Hugh Lloyd-Jones gives us, in two volumes, a new translation of the seven surviving plays. Volume I contains Oedipus Tyrannus (which tells the famous Oedipus story), Ajax (a heroic tragedy of wounded self-esteem), and Electra (the story of siblings who seek revenge on their mother and her lover for killing their father). Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus (the climax of the fallen hero's life), Antigone (a conflict between public authority and an individual woman's conscience), The Women of Trachis (a fatal attempt by Heracles' wife to regain her husband's love), and Philoctetes (Odysseus's intrigue to bring an unwilling hero to the Trojan War).

Of his other plays, only fragments remain; but from these much can be learned about Sophocles' language and dramatic art. The major fragments—ranging in length from two lines to a very substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers—are collected in Volume III of this edition. In prefatory notes Lloyd-Jones provides frameworks for the fragments of known plays.

Genres: Classics, Plays, Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Literature, Tragedy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 401

About the author

Sophocles (497/496 BC-406/405 BC), (Greek: Σοφοκλής ; German: Sophokles , Russian: Софокл , French: Sophocle ) was an ancient Greek tragedian, known as one of three from whom at least one play has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus; and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.

Reviews

[Wolf Vanlaer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ajax: veel thematische gelijkenissen met Antigone maar dan zonder de goede uitwerking en tragiek van Antigone. Het volgt ook niet het (striktere) Aristotelische structuur van een tragedie, wat ook wel sipjes is, want wat is er beter dan hamartia en katharsis

Elektra: 3 jaar geleden gelezen, dus niet meer zo fris in mijn hoofd, maar ik vond dat niet slecht toen

Oedipus Tyrannus: absoluut geweldig, lees zo vlot, zo veel drama en pijn en tragiek!! Ik had het nog meer uitgewerkt gewild maar de tragische ironie is wel echt de pan uit aan het swingen. Hij is wel een beetje een motherfucker (haha) tegen Creon en Tiresias! Met alweer een vrouw die just niks misdoet en toch sterft:/

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

ajax gets 3 stars for having too much agamemnon and menelaus being douches (god sophocles... god), the others are decent i suppose

[Arthur Sperry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy rereading the Greek Plays and Classics. There are so many excellent quotations and they never go out of date, since they deal with universal human emotions and thinking.

[jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten stars!

[Jdamaskinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oedipe Roi: chef d’oeuvre!

[celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

*read oedipus tyrannrus only (part 3)

[Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woo man. Oedipus Tyrannus is some play.

[Debi · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, I can't find exactly what I wanted to put in here...I'm currently translating Sophocles' Electra, using the Cambridge commentary by J.H. Kells.

And occasionally looking at this Loeb edition as well.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nietzsche's midwife.

Come for Oedipus, stay for Ajax.

[Brian Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the ten best books I've ever read.