WRITER

Sophocles

497 BC - 406 BC

Photo of Sophocles

Icon of person Sophocles

Sophocles (c. 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC) 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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sophocles has received more than 3,451,592 page views. His biography is available in 143 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 137 in 2019). Sophocles is the 13th most popular writer (down from 10th in 2019), the 9th most popular biography from Greece and the 2nd most popular Greek Writer.

Sophocles is most famous for writing the three Theban plays: "Oedipus Rex", "Oedipus at Colonus", and "Antigone".

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.5M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 86.01

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 143

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 18.89

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.94

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Oedipus Rex
1715
Sophocles
1832
Ajax
Literary Criticism
1714
Electra
1588
Antigone
The Pearson Education Library Collection offers you over 1200 fiction, nonfiction, classic, adapted classic, illustrated classic, short stories, biographies, special anthologies, atlases, visual dictionaries, history trade, animal, sports titles and more
1835
Οἰδίπους Τύραννος (Oidípous Týrannos)
fate, Oedipus (Greek mythology), Free will
Oedipus Rex chronicles the story of Oedipus, a man that becomes the king of Thebes and was always destined from birth to murder his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. The play is an example of a classic tragedy, noticeably containing an emphasis on how Oedipus's own faults contribute to the tragic hero's downfall, as opposed to having fate be the sole cause. Over the centuries, Oedipus Rex has come to be regarded by many as the Greek tragedy par excellence.
1715
Antigone
Drama, Continental european drama (dramatic works by one author), Classical philology
1581
Oresteia
Agamemnon (Greek mythology), Drama, Electra (Greek mythology)
The Oresteia -- Agamemnon, Choephori, and The Eumenides -- depicts the downfall of the house of Atreus: after King Agamemnon is murdered by Clytemnestra, their son, Orestes, is commanded by Apollo to avenge the crime by killing his mother, and he does so, bringing on himself the wrath of the Furies and the judgment of Athens. Together, the three plays are one of the major achievements of Greek antiquity. - Publisher.
1845
Agamemnon
Drama, Agamemnon (Greek mythology), Translations into English
The Classical Department produced the play Agamemon, performed in the stadium on June 16 and 19, 1906
1816
Sophocles
Drama, Oedipus (Greek mythology), Translations into English
1832
Prometheus Bound
Classical literature, Drama, Greek Mythology
An ancient Greek tragedy attributed to Aeschylus. The play follows the sufferings of the Titan Prometheus who has been fastened to a rock by Zeus as punishment for giving the knowledge of fire to mankind.
1559
Electra
Drama, Electra (Greek mythology), Translations into English
Electra is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Set in the city of Argos a few years after the Trojan War, it recounts the tale of Electra and the vengeance that she and her brother Orestes take on their mother Clytemnestra and step father Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Agamemnon.
1588
Sophocles
Drama, Oedipus (Greek mythology), Translations into English
1832
Οἰδίπους Τύραννος (Oidípous Týrannos)
fate, Oedipus (Greek mythology), Free will
Oedipus Rex chronicles the story of Oedipus, a man that becomes the king of Thebes and was always destined from birth to murder his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. The play is an example of a classic tragedy, noticeably containing an emphasis on how Oedipus's own faults contribute to the tragic hero's downfall, as opposed to having fate be the sole cause. Over the centuries, Oedipus Rex has come to be regarded by many as the Greek tragedy par excellence.
1715
Antigone
Drama, Continental european drama (dramatic works by one author), Classical philology
1581
Ajax
Drama, Ajax (Greek mythology), Translations into English
Brought boldly to life by Herbert Golder and Richard Pevear's translation and contextualized by Herbert Golder's eloquent introduction, this early Sophoclean tragedy tells the story of the Homeric hero better known as Ajax, who was second only to Achilles among the Greek warriors. In Greek tradition, Aias figures as the archaic warrior who dies in shame after his betrayal by the Greeks. Sophocles turns tradition inside out, portraying Aias' suicide not as a disgrace but as heroism. He endows Aias' suicide with a meaning radically different from previous versions of the Aias myth - Aias is not the hero whom time has passed by, but rather the man who steps beyond time. Most previous versions and interpretations have equivocated over Sophocles' bold vision. This edition of Aias translates precisely that transformation of the hero from the bygone figure to the man who transcends time.
1714
Antigone
Drama, Antigone (Greek mythology), Oedipus (Greek mythology)
Publisher's description: Echoing through western culture for more than two millennia, Sophocles' play has been a touchstone of thinking about human conflict and human tragedy, the role of the divine in human life, and the degree to which men and women are the creators of their own destiny. This exciting new translation of the Antigone is both extremely faithful to the Greek and poetically striking and convincing.
1835

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Sophocles ranks 13 out of 7,302. Before him are J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord Byron, Voltaire, Hans Christian Andersen, Leo Tolstoy, and Victor Hugo. After him are Franz Kafka, Miguel de Cervantes, Jules Verne, Virgil, Albert Camus, and Molière.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 497 BC, Sophocles ranks 1.  Among people deceased in 406 BC, Sophocles ranks 1. After him are Euripides, Hannibal Mago, Callicratidas, and Thrasyllus.

Others Born in 497 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previous
  • Photo of Sophocles

    Sophocles

    WRITER

    497 BC - 406 BC

    HPI: 86.01

    Rank: 1

Load previous

Others Deceased in 406 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Sophocles ranks 9 out of 1,024. Before him are Socrates (-470), Alexander the Great (-356), Pythagoras (-570), Homer (-800), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881), and Hippocrates (-460). After him are Pericles (-494), Democritus (-460), Epicurus (-341), El Greco (1541), Kösem Sultan (1590), and Saint Stephen (1).

Others born in Greece

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In Greece

Among writers born in Greece, Sophocles ranks 2. Before him are Homer (-800). After him are Euripides (-480), Aristophanes (-448), Aeschylus (-525), Sappho (-630), Menander (-342), Pindar (-517), Nikos Kazantzakis (1883), Alcaeus of Mytilene (-620), Archilochus (-680), and Nâzım Hikmet (1902).

Greek born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous