The Relevance of Sophocles to Today’s World :: Biography Biographies Essays

The relevance of Sophocles to Todays WorldA receive is meant to entertain. A play that amuses the audience is considered a comedy, and a play that saddens is classified as a tragedy. Sophocles wrote tragedies about ordinary people and their interaction with fate. All of Sophocles major characters posses a heroic flaw. A heroic flaw is a trait that brings two good and bad events upon the character (Magill 3). Sophocles use of heroic flaws, the irony amidst a prophecy and a characters attempt to avoid it, his definition of what makes soulfulness great, and his view of laws are the reasons why his plays are still read nigh two thousand years after they were written. Sophocles was born in Colonus, Greece in 496 b.c.e. At the time of his birth, there was a legend about an exiled Theban king, Oedipus. It was said that Oedipus disappeared somewhere around Colonus, and because of this he protected the area (Magill 1). This boloney was the source of three of Sophocles greatest plays Oe dipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone (Romilly 2). Sophocles involvement in dramatics started at a young age. He sang in a chorus celebrating an Athenian naval battle. As an adult, Sophocles was credited with contend the lyre, a musical instrument, and he also played the lead role in one of his plays. However as he aged, he stopped appearing on stage because of his weakened voice. This ended the Greek custom of playwrights playing the lead role in their own plays (Magill 1). Sophocles won his frontmost destine for his plays at the festival of Dionysius in 648b.c.e. The other contender for this award was Aeschylus, an aged and more experienced Greek playwright. A legend about this first victory states that because of high tensions over the competition, ten Athenian generals presented Sophocles the award quite of the customary ten government officials. Sophocles went on to win this award twenty dollar bill more times, more frequently than any other playwright. When he did non win, he came in second. He never came in last power (Magill 2). A position in the government was a symbol of a persons status in society. When Sophocles plays were at the peak of their popularity, he served as the head of the treasury and as a general for the city of Athens (Magill 2). Sophocles power, popularity, and the greed of his eldest son provide an insight into how he viewed himself.