Sophocles died in 406 BCE in Athens, aged about 90. 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
- c. 420s BCEConstruction of Temple of Athena Nike
- 425 BCEDeath of Herodotus
- c. 421 BCEConstruction of the Erechtheion
- from 415 BCE to 413 BCESicilian Expedition
- 406 BCEDeath of Sophocles
- from 5th century BCE to 10th centuryKingdom of Aksum
- 5th century BCEOrigins of Temple of Zeus in Olympia
- 5th century BCEFounding of Aetolian League
- 5th century BCERise of Cynicism
More in Art, literature & culture
- c. 1,500 BCEOrigins of Zoroastrianism
- 551 BCEBirth of Confucius
- 6th century BCEOrigins of Judaism
- c. 375 BCEWriting of the Allegory of the Cave
- 33 CEOrigins of Christianity
- 381 CEFirst Council of Constantinople
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.