The Theban Plays

by Sophocles

Genres: Classics

Paperback

Published January 1, 1973

About the author

Sophocles (497/496 BC-406/405 BC), (Greek: Σοφοκλής ; German: Sophokles , Russian: Софокл , French: Sophocle , Catalan: Sòfocles ) 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

[charles egbulefu]

I enjoyed reading the tragedies of Sophocles. I recommend it to anyone who loves reading great literary works. It was an easy read and full of life lessons. One of the recurrent themes in the three tragedies (King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone) was that our life is an unfolding one and the older we get the more wisdom we tend to learn in good way or a bad way.

Among my favorite quotes are:
Oedipus to Teiresias: “to help his fellow-men with all his power is man’s most noble work.”

The confession of Creon after realizing his mistakes is so true: “it is by the laws of heaven that man must live.”

Chorus: after Oedipus is led away says: we must learn in life “that mortal man must always look to his ending. And none can be called happy until that day when he carries His happiness down to the grave in peace.” This wisdom is echoed in Christian wisdom of Christ that in the end “the last may be the first and the first may the last.”

Ismene: after joining her sister Antigone at Colonus to help their outcast father says “we cannot grudge our pains when parents need us.”

Chorus ends the tragedies (Antigone) by saying “we learn when we are old.”