Fragments

by Sophocles, Hugh Lloyd-Jones (Editor and translator)

Sophocles (497/6-406 BCE), the second of the three great tragedians of Athens and by common consent one of the world's greatest poets, wrote more than 120 plays. Only seven of these survive complete, but we have a wealth of fragments, from which much can be learned about Sophocles' language and dramatic art. This volume presents a collection of all the major fragments, ranging in length from two lines to a very substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers. Prefatory notes provide frameworks for the fragments of known plays.



Many of the Sophoclean fragments were preserved by quotation in other authors; others, some of considerable size, are known to us from papyri discovered during the past century. Among the lost plays of which we have large fragments, The Searchers shows the god Hermes, soon after his birth, playing an amusing trick on his brother Apollo; Inachus portrays Zeus coming to Argos to seduce Io, the daughter of its king; and Niobe tells how Apollo and his sister Artemis punish Niobe for a slight upon their mother by killing her twelve children. Throughout the volume, as in the extant plays, we see Sophocles drawing his subjects from heroic legend.This is the final volume of Lloyd-Jones's new Loeb Classical Library edition of Sophocles. In volumes I and II he gives a faithful and very skilful translation of the seven surviving plays. Volume I contains Oedipus Tyrannus, Ajax, and Electra. Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, and Philoctetes.

Genres: Classics

448 pages, hardback

First published January 1, 1974

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

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta edición de Fragmentos de las obras de Sófocles de la Editorial Gredos merece todas las estrellas. Obviamente la calidad de discursos, parlamentos y contenido de Sófocles pues es casi nula de apreciar pues se trata sólo de algunos fragmentos muy recortados, muchas veces con casi ningún sentido. Pero lo realmente excepcional es la cantidad de estudios tanto históricos, literarios y filológicos que acompañan toda la obra. Con sus más de 1700 notas eruditas sobre estudios hechos en torno a las obras, conjeturas y sobre todo el relato mitológico que es abordado en un nivel muy exhaustivo y erudito. De esta manera es realmente este libro como una gran enciclopedia de todas las leyendas de la Mitología griega.
Sófocles compuso más de 100 obras a lo largo de su vida (este libro tiene 133), entre ellas de un interés muy grande para mí como: "Odiseo loco", "Meleagro" (que debía tratar de la muerte de este gran héroe), "Peleo", "Pelias" (la muerte de este rey enemigo de Jasón), "Sísifo" (y su terrible castigo por sus artimañas contra los dioses), "Eurípilo" (y su tragedia a manos de Neoptólemos el hijo de Aquiles), "Alcmeón" (un héroe poco conocido pero de gran importancia en la antiguedad, que lamentablemente no nos ha llegado muchas obras, un matricida, vengador de su padre Anfiarao), "Los epígonos" (y sus hazañas para vencer a los tebanos que asesinaron a sus padres), "Memnón", "Nausíacaa", "Neoptólemo". Podría mencionar decenas de obras que la verdad dan ganas a uno de suicidarse por el enorme potencial mitológico perdido.
Un libro que me ha encantado por su significado y sus estudios eruditos. De colección para los amantes de la mitología griega.

[Cymru Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's a thought: instead of remaking B movies from the 80s and 90s, why not take the premises of these fragments and make movies out of them instead!?

Clytemnestra
Iphigenia
Odysseus Wounded by a Spine
"The Searchers" (!)

And so so many more. All you need to do is briefly describe the scene and guaranteed you can make something better than Twisters 3 or Expendables 12 or Mister Marbles 11.

A note on the text to say that whoever formatted this book is a right tool. Seems like these classical types like to make things harder than they need to be so they can brag about being smart and knowing a lot of "hard" stuff. It's nigh unreadable at times. However, the greek on one side english on the other is super cool in that we can see what greek names look like in Greek! (hint: super friggin awesome). Booyaka!

In Heaven we get to read the full texts of all of Sophocles, one can hope....

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ojalá no faltasen tantos fragmentos, me encanta esta historia 🥲

Pd: adoro la escena de Cyllene defendiendo a Hermes de que él no es un ladrón y no se cree que haya robado el ganado de Apolo jsjsj.

" Cyllene
The child is no thief.

Chorus
If he does bad things, then he is bad.

Cyllene
I don't like to hear bad things about Zeus's son.

Chorus
But if it's the truth, then I have to say it.

Cyllene
Don't say ... (Here follow about 8 lines of which we have only the initial letters.)

Cyllene
Where are the cattle pastured?

Chorus
Most of them now ...

Cyllene
Who has them, wretch? Who ...

Chorus
The boy has closed them up inside.

Cyllene
Stop saying bad things about Zeus's son! "

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is great to have these quotes and fragments from Sophocles in a readable edition, and even better to have them in both Greek and English. Fortunately, some Sophoclean fragments have been discovered since the publication of this book, so it is incomplete, but at 448 pages there is a lot of Sophocles here that you do not have in the extant plays. Some lines can be very hard to understand out of the context of the lost plays that are quoted, but it is Sophocles, damn it, and so worth having.

[John Cairns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this to track down the quotation from Iris Murdoch in Greek. 'the Cyprian is not the Cyprian alone, but she is called by many names. ...she rules over the heart of Zeus.' It's beautiful and ends, 'All the plans of mortals and of gods are cut short by the Cyprian.' I recognised the quotation from the Greek for alone. I don't have to tell you who the Cyprian is. I read the rest of the book too. Lots of lovely quotable bits in it that sound modern.

[Mikael · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd only to aeschyluss fragments which is 2nd only to anne carsons sappho

[Erik Rostad · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have seven surviving plays from Sophocles out of a potential 130 total. This book considers the 100+ plays that didn't survive. They are a mix of tragedy and satyr plays (satyr plays were a mix of tragedy & comedy and contained a number of body part humor). It's so neat to consider different lines from plays and how they would have fit into the whole work. It's also incredible to think that Sophocles created so much during his lifetime. I'm holding out hope that we one day find some of these missing plays. It would be amazing to discover these after being lost for 2,000+ years.