c. 484–425 BCHalicarnassus, Asia Minor
Called the Father of History by Cicero, Herodotus travelled widely and wrote the Histories, a sweeping account of the Persian Wars and the peoples of the known world.
Read the profile“Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man.”
Life
Sophocles was born into a wealthy family in Colonus, a village just outside Athens. As a handsome teenager he is said to have led the chorus that celebrated the victory at Salamis. He won his first competition at the City Dionysia in 468 BC, defeating the great Aeschylus, and went on to a career of more than sixty years. He also served Athens as a treasurer and as a general alongside Pericles.
The plays
Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays, but only seven survive complete, among them Ajax, Antigone, Electra and Oedipus the King, which Aristotle held up as the model tragedy. His characters are strong-willed people facing impossible choices, and his plots build with relentless tension toward a moment of terrible recognition. He is credited with adding a third actor and painted scenery to the stage.
Legacy
He is said never to have come last in a competition, winning around 24 victories. His Oedipus has haunted Western culture ever since, from Seneca to Freud, and Antigone’s defiance of an unjust law is still performed around the world.
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The legendary poet credited with the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundation stones of Greek literature and education.
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