Other Works by Sophocles

        Sophocles wrote many plays throughout his lifetime. It is believed that he wrote over a hundred but the majority of them did not survive to this day. If you have read my previous blog posts I'm sure you heard of the plays Oedipus Rex and Ajax. If you haven't heard of them they are just two of Sophocles' seven plays that survived to this very day. The others plays were Antigone, Electra, Oedipus at Colonus, Philoctetes, and Trachinian Women. 


Links to the plays... 


Antigone: 
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10092/9681/1+-+Seven+Tragedies+of+Sophocles+-+Antigone.pdf?sequence=8

Electra: 
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/10445/4%20-%20Seven%20Tragedies%20of%20Sophocles%20-%20Electra.pdf;sequence=5

Oedipus at Colonus: 
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/10505/7%20-%20%20Seven%20Tragedies%20of%20Sophocles%20-%20Oedipus%20at%20Colonus.pdf?sequence=2

Philoctetes: 
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/10504/6%20-%20Seven%20Tragedies%20of%20Sophocles%20-%20Philoctetes.pdf?sequence=3

Tranchinian Women: 
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/10444/3%20-%20Seven%20Tragedies%20of%20Sophocles%20-%20Women%20of%20Trachis.pdf;sequence=5

Works Cited

Woodhard, Thomas M. "Sophocles." Encyclopedia Britannica.

        britannica.com. 2019. 20 July 1998. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sophocles

The Famous People. "Sophocles." The Famous People. 

        thefamouspeople.com. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sophocles-260.php

Summary of Ajax

        Ajax is another example one of Sophocles' seven tragedies that survived to this day. It was first performed around 442 B.C. In the play there were seven main characters and the chorus. The characters were Odysseus, Agamemnon, Ajax the Great, Menelaus, Teucer, Athena and The Messenger. The play is written around the main character Ajax who's pride takes over and gets the best of him. 
        The play begins and it is revealed that Achilles was killed during battle. Ajax becomes extremely offended when he finds out Achilles' armor is awarded to Odysseus instead of him. Ajax was then seeking revenge on Odysseus and the contest judges (who awarded Odysseus) so he planned to kill them. But instead, he is tricked by the goddess Athena into killing and torturing cattle instead. When Ajax realizes what he had done he was very ashamed of himself. In the end of the play, he decides to kill himself by burying his sword into the ground blade up and throwing himself onto it. Ajax let his pride control his actions and that was his weakness in being a tragic hero.

Link where you can find a PDF of the play:
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/10443/2%20-%20Seven%20Tragedies%20of%20Sophocles%20-%20Ajax.pdf;sequence=5

Oedipus Rex, Fate or Free Will?

        The play Oedipus Rex, had quite an effect on people's thoughts about whether Oedipus was a victim of his fate or of his own free will. Throughout my life I have always believed that your destiny is written in the stars. Even if you have opposing thoughts, try to think of it like this, what if the decisions you make in your life are because of your fate and isn't because of your own free will? You can try and avoid your fate the way Oedipus did, but in the end, the prophecy still came true and he had to face it. His fate might have actually began with him leaving Corinth because that was when he first crossed paths and killed his father. Then he completed the prophecy when he married his mother. No matter what he would have done, fate would have found a way.

Summary of Oedipus Rex

        Oedipus Rex was Sophocles' most famous play. It was first performed around 429 B.C. In the play there were six main characters and the chorus. They were: Oedipus, Creon, Jocasta, Antigone, Shepherd and Tiresias. Just before the start of the play, Oedipus leaves Corinth because he thinks that by doing this he will escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother. But little does Oedipus know that him leaving Corinth only jumpstarted the prophecy. And so he ends up killing his father Laius and marrying his mother Jocasta. Oedipus and Jocasta then have four children named Antigone, Polynices, Eteocles and Ismene. 

        In the beginning of the play, a priest and his followers ask Oedipus to save them from the plague that was emerging. Creon then announces that Laius, the king, had been killed and that the murderer needs to be punished. Oedipus promises that he will find the murderer and punish him for what he has done. When Oedipus goes to see Tiresias to figure out who killed Laius he is bewildered to find out it is Oedipus himself who had committed the murder of Laius. Oedipus then starts to ask around about his death because he was in denial about murdering Laius. A messenger from Corinth tells Oedipus that he was adopted and that his birth father is dead so there was no need to worry about the prophecy coming true. Jocasta is the one who ends up figuring out the truth about Oedipus, that he is her son. Then, the Herdsman who rescued Oedipus as a baby tells him that he was indeed Laius and Jocasta's child, and that he killed his father. At this point in the play, it is reported by a servant that Jocasta has committed suicide. Oedipus then gauges his eyes out, making himself blind, and is exiled from Thebes.

Link where you can find a PDF of the play:

https://www.slps.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=22453&dataid=25126&FileName=Sophocles-Oedipus.pdf

Class Reflection

        Before taking professor Candia's class I had a very little interest in reading. I never thought of it as something that I could actually enjoy doing. Some of my favorite genres of literature we read and discussed in class were of course tragedy, and poetry as well. I feel that the main reason I enjoyed poetry is because of the rhythm and music like qualities it has. Some of my favorite poems were "The Silken Tent" by Robert Frost, "I, Too" by Langston Hughes and "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. Professor also helped me open my mind up to new ways of analyzing stories and poems and I ended up loving it.
        If I'm going to be honest, I don't think my writing has gotten much better but it is not professor Candia's fault. The reason why I think it hasn't improved much is because I never had a strong interest in writing. Yet I always try to the best of my ability, considering writing was never a strong point for me. I know that after taking professor's class my thinking process is deeper when I read a piece of literature. And I have not taken many classes that made me feel that way in college. 
        In the future, I know there is only room for improvement for me. I have a feeling that my writing and thinking will make huge improvements as I fully mature. Whether you believe it or not I know everyone's language, writing and thinking skills improve throughout their life. This is because of our life experiences and that is what helps us grow.

About Me

         Hello my fellow readers and writers! My name is Isidora Malatos. I am 19 years old and I'm currently studying liberal arts. My plans for the future are to eventually transfer schools so I can study music therapy because of my passion for music. But I will go into more detail about that in another post.

        I am 100% Greek on my mom and dad's side. Although they did not grow up in Greece themselves, their parents did. Fun fact about me, the majority of the people I know including my family, call me Samantha. It's a nickname for my legal name Isidora which is "Ισίδωρα" in Greek. One thing all Greeks are, is proud of is their culture and country. I have been to Greece a few times before and have seen the Herodes Atticus theatre in Athens. It is quite breathtaking. Especially when you realize how many years ago that the ancient people were performing and sitting in the theater there. It is unbelievable how good of a condition the theatre is still in, considering how old it is. I feel that my experience and the fact that I was able to physically see an Ancient Greek theatre in person is what helped me decide that I wanted to write my blog about Sophocles.

Sophocles' Achievements

        Throughout Sophocles' lifetime, he accomplished awfully a lot. Ancient people gave him a large amount of credit for major and minor dramatic changes. One example of his many brilliant ideas of the time were scene paintings which helped establish the atmosphere of the play. This was very helpful because it gave the audience a better mental picture of what the playwright was 
envisioning. 

        One of Sophocles' biggest contributions he made to drama was introducing a third actor to plays. Formerly, it was acceptable for two actors to play other roles during a play. The introduction of a third actor allowed the playwright to create an increase in characters and widen the interactions between them. And so the plot and situations could then be more structured. Lastly, the chorus' importance was reduced majorly because of this change in the number of characters in a play.

Sophocles' Life

       Sophocles was born in Colonus, a village just outside of Athens. Although the year is not exact it is believed that he was born in 496 B.C. Sophocles' father, Sophillus, was a wealthy manufacturer of weaponry. Sophocles was lucky enough to receive a good education from his childhood into adulthood, which surely played a role in his successful future. When he was about 16 years old he was chosen to lead the Paean, which was known as a choral chant to a god, to celebrate the victory over the Persians in the Battle of Salamis. 
        Sophocles was very popular and favorited because of his activeness in the community and his extraordinary artistic talents. In 413 B.C., he was chosen to become a proboulos, which was an advisory commissioner and very high position to be put in. Sophocles was one of ten people who were responsible to help with the financial and domestic recovery of Athens after being defeated by Sicily. The last recorded act he had done in his community was leading a chorus during a public mourn of one of his rivals whose name was Euripides. Sophocles died around the age of 90 in the winter of 405 or 406 B.C. 

Who is Sophocles?

        Sophocles was an ancient Greek tragedian writer who's plays have survived until this very day. His plays were written during the period after Aeschylus and earlier than Euripides. According to Suda, a 10th century encyclopedia, during his lifetime Sophocles wrote 123 plays and only 7 of those plays have survived to the present day. He was the most famous playwright in the competitions held in Athens during the religious festivals that were  called Lenaea and Dionysia. Sophocles entered thirty competitions, won twenty four, and never placed below second in the ones he lost. Sophocles made many contributions to and had an outstanding influence on drama. 

Music in My Life

        Music hasn't always been such a big part of my life. It was about freshman year of high school when I took my first chorus class and fell in love with singing and playing music. During my first winter show where all the chorus classes performed, I had been given a solo, and that was the day when my parents had found out that I had a natural talent in music. It was also the first time I had sang in front of a crowd of people, and in my opinion, it is so much worse than just speaking in front of people. My parents then allowed me to take voice and guitar lessons, that I today still take, to help me become better and have more of a variety of talent in music. Another instrument I have been learning to play more recently is the piano.

        As I had mentioned in my previous about me post, I would like to become a music therapist in the future. The thought of playing music for people for a living makes me feel so content. I love people and I love music so I know that I would be successful if I did that as a career. Theater and music come hand in hand nowadays and I know that is another reason why I was so drawn toward the idea of writing my blog about Sophocles. Music and theater both have a story to tell, they are just told in different forms.