Other Works of Sophocles

Hi!! I will be posting other works of Sophocles. I did this to show you and appreciate his other works. I put also a little summary of each story so that you would know what the story is about. Make sure to give time to read them and enlighten yourself with his other works just like Oedipus Rex.



Sources tells us that Sophocles wrote 123 plays in his lifetime, of which we know the titles of 118. Of this huge output of plays (Shakespeare, in comparison, wrote somewhere between 36-39 plays in his lifetime) only seven survive: Antigone, Oedipus Rex (sometimes also called Oedipus Tyrannos, Oedipus at Colonos, Ajax, Electra, The Women of Trachis, and Philoctetes.

 Antigone

Oedipus at Colonos


Oedipus was eventually exiled from Thebes.  After years of wandering with his daughter Antigone, Oedipus arrived at a grove in Colonus, a village near Athens.
In the meantime, Oedipus' sons -- each claiming the right to the throne of Thebes -- prepared to go to war.  Eteocles, the younger son, supported by Creon, took over the throne.  He and his brother Polynices were supposed to share it six months at a time.  Once in power, he did not wish to give it up.  Polynices gathered an army to attack Thebes.
Interest was awakened in the former king when it was learned that a prophecy promised victory in battle to the city in which Oedipus was buried.  Suddently, the aged pariah became of great value to any city which proved his final resting place.

Both Polynices and Creon came to bring Oedipus away.  But Oedipus, defended by King Theseus of Athens, chose to stay at Colonus.  Creon attempted to kidnap Antigone in order to force Oedipus' hand, but she was rescued by Theseus.  Polynices admitted to Oedipus that he should have remained by his father's side, but Oedipus was unforgiving.  He foresaw that the brothers would slay themselves in battle.  Polynices knew that he would die in battle, but decided to fight anyway -- as an example to his supporters.  Antigone vowed to see that his body would receive a proper burial.

The gods themselves summoned Oedipus to his mysterious end in the grove, a scene witnessed only by the great Theseus, who swore never to reveal it.  Evidently, it was a victorious and exalted exit for one who had lived such a life of suffering.
Assisted by six chieftains, Polynices attempted to invade Thebes.  The seven men led attacks against each of the seven gates of Thebes; Eteocles defended the gate attacked by Polynices.  The two brothers, as Oedipus predicted, died at each other's hands.  Then, the Theban army finally beat back the attack.


Ajax

Sophocles's play recounts the tale of the ill-fated Ajax. The tale begins while Odysseus is searching for Ajax, whom he believes has killed a herd of cattle over the night. The Greek commander is soon approached by Athena, who tells him that his enemy, possessed, killed the herd, mistaking them for Greek soldiers. She calls Ajax from his tent, and reveals that he truly is possessed.

In the next scene, Tecmessa, Ajax's captive bride, informs the chorus that Ajax is possessed. Ajax emerges from the tent,sane this time, and expresses remorse for his actions. He decides he must die. Tecmessa pleads with him, but he appears to have made up his mind.

Later, Ajax reappears and expresses a change of heart. He decides that rather than dying, he will devote himself to yielding to the gods and to Greek leaders. The chorus rejoices.
Next, a messenger arrives to the Greek headquarters and announces the return of Ajax's half-brother, Teucer. He also warns Ajax to remain inside his tent if he wants to stay alive.
In the next episode, Ajax is seen alone with Hector's sword in front of him. He makes his final speech and then kills himself with the sword. Tecmessa finds his body and laments. Teucer joins her mourning. Then Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon appears, and proclaims that Ajax's body should be left unburied. He and Teucer have an altercation that
escalates when Agamemnon joins. Finally, Odysseus arrives and makes peace, persuading Agamemnon to bury his enemy. The play ends as Teucer carries out Ajax's final burial rites.
Electra

is based around the character 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.

The Women of Trachis

Philoctetes

Before the Greeks go to war against the Trojans, the greatest of the Greek archers, Philoctetes, suffers a snakebite on his foot. While he is at sea on his way to Troy, his wound becomes infected and his cries of pain are so piercing that his shipmates abandon him on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea.

The play begins in the ninth year of the Trojan War. At that time, the cunning Greek warrior Odysseus travels to Lemnos, a lonely island in the northern Aegean Sea, with Neoptolemus, the son of mighty Achilles, to find the greatest of the Greek archers, Philoctetes, and return with him to Troy. The Greeks desperately need Philoctetes, for a seer has warned that only his bow and poisoned arrows—weapons that once belonged to Heracles—can end the Trojan War.

After their arrival on the island, Neoptolemus and Odysseus discover the abode of Philoctetes, a cave in which he sleeps on leaves and eats from a crude wooden bowl. Philoctetes himself is not there. They believe that he his is out searching for food or for herbs to treat his wound. Odysseus realizes that Philoctetes will become angry at the sight of any of the Greeks who abandoned him and may draw his deadly bow against them. Odysseus then comes up with a plan: Neoptolemus will approach Philoctetes and pretend to be a Greek warrior ill-used by Odysseus, then offer to return with Philoctetes to Greece. Odysseus says that Neoptolemus will be revered for ages to come as a wise and courageous warrior if he sets in motion a course of action that results in a Greek victory. Therefore, Neoptolemus agrees to play the deceiver.

All goes well when Neoptolemus meets with Philoctetes. However, after a time, Neoptolemus, is deeply affected byPhiloctetes' misery..Consequently, Neoptolemus confesses the truth to him, telling everything, but nevertheless tries to persuade Philoctetes to accompany him to Troy. When Odysseus appears, Neoptolemus declares asks forgiveness for his trick and invites Philoctetes to come back with him to be healed and to contribute to the Greek cause in the war. Philoctetes agrees to return because of a mandate issued by Heracles, When he returns to Troy, Heracles says, his wound will heal.