Download Sophocles (496-406 B

Sophocles (496-406 B.C.) 90 years!
Family
From distinguished Athenian family
Father = Sophillus – wealth from slave-manufactured weaponry
Boyhood Education
 the usual poetry & gymnastics
 Music (Lampros = teacher) – lead boys’ chorus to celebrate Athenian
victory over Persians (480 B.C.)
 Actor – solo lyre playing, sang and danced female roles
Social Prominence
 military general/admiral, saw no battle himself
 president of treasury board
 member of government advisory board
 reputation for sanity and diplomacy
Success in Tragedy
 468 B.C. (28 yrs. old) entered Dionysia Competition, and WON!
 Devoted life to theatre
 Popularity
 Conventional Religion
 Immutable order in the universe, enforced by fate & gods
 One must take responsibility for one’s life
 Personality
 Peace-loving, happy temperament
 Loved Athens
 Wit, Charm, Wisdom, stability, common sense
 Universal Human Experience

Theatrical Devices & Contributions
 mechane/deus ex machina “god from machine”
 increased # of chorus to 15
 added 3rd separate individual character, more complex plots
The Math
123 plays in 63 years of writing; 7 survive today
24 = 1st Prize Award
99 = 2nd Prize Award
Died 1-2 years before his beloved city fell to Spartans (405 or 406 B.C.)