Σοφοκλῆς
Sophocles
Athenian tragedian; seven plays survive of well over a hundred.
Oedipus cycle Written years apart, not as a trilogy. Listed in the order of the story.
- Oedipus Tyrannus Οἰδίπους Τύραννος
Oedipus hunts Laius' killer through Thebes and finds it was himself: he killed his father and married his mother.
- Oedipus at Colonus Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ
Blind and exiled, Oedipus comes to rest in a grove outside Athens as his sons war over Thebes.
- Antigone Ἀντιγόνη
Antigone defies Creon's edict and buries her brother Polynices at the cost of her life.
- Ajax Αἴας
Shamed by his madness and the slaughter of the army's cattle, Ajax turns on himself.
Date unknown, probably the 440s BC
- Women of Trachis Τραχίνιαι
Deianeira tries to win Heracles back with a love charm, and poisons him.
Date unknown
- Electra Ἠλέκτρα
Electra waits years for her brother Orestes to come home and avenge their father.
Date unknown, probably c. 420–410 BC
- Philoctetes Φιλοκτήτης
Abandoned on Lemnos with a festering wound, Philoctetes is courted for his fatal bow.
City Dionysia, 409 BC · first prize