Sophocles was born in 496 BCE in Colonus. An Athenian playwright, Sophocles was one of the three great tragedians of ancient Greece, along with Aeschylus and Euripides. He wrote more than a hundred plays, of which seven survive complete, among them Oedipus the King, Antigone, Electra and Oedipus at Colonus. He won first prize at the dramatic festivals many times and is credited with adding a third actor and with developing the use of painted scenery. His plays explore fate, duty and human limits in a tight, dramatic form. Aristotle regarded Oedipus the King as the model tragedy. He also served Athens as a treasurer and as a general.
Before and after
- 6th century BCEOrigins of Judaism
- from 499 BCE to 493 BCEIonian Revolt
- from 499 BCE to 449 BCEGreco-Persian Wars
- 496 BCEOrigins of Temple of Castor and Pollux
- 496 BCEBirth of Sophocles
- 494 BCEBirth of Pericles
- 12 August 490 BCEBattle of Marathon
- 484 BCEBirth of Herodotus
- 11 August 480 BCEBattle of Thermopylae
More in Art, literature & culture
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- from 448 BCE to 433 BCEConstruction of the Parthenon begins
- 196 BCERosetta Stone
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 5th century BCE.