Antigone / The Women of Trachis / Philoctetes / Oedipus at Colonus

by Sophocles, Hugh Lloyd-Jones

Sophocles with Aeschylus and Euripides, was one of the three great tragic poets of Athens, and is considered one of the world's greatest poets. The subjects of his plays were drawn from mythology and legend. Each play contains at least one heroic figure, a character whose strength, courage, or intelligence exceeds the human norm - but who also has more than ordinary pride and self-assurance. These qualities combine to lead to a tragic end.

Loeb Classical Library, #21. Volume 2 of 3 of the Loeb Classical Library Sophocles.
Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus (the climax of the fallen hero’s life), Antigone (a conflict between public authority and an individual woman’s conscience), The Women of Trachis (a fatal attempt by Heracles’s wife to regain her husband’s love), and Philoctetes (Odysseus’s intrigue to bring an unwilling hero to the Trojan War).

Genres: Plays, Classics, Drama, Fiction, Poetry, Literature, Tragedy

608 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 401

About the author

Sophocles (497/496 BC-406/405 BC), (Greek: Σοφοκλής ; German: Sophokles , Russian: Софокл , French: Sophocle ) 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. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.

Reviews

[Francisca · Rating 3 out of 5]

i meant to have read this months ago, right after finishing seamus heaney's translation/interpretation The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes. up until now, that remains being my favourite play read this year so far (sorry, brian friel). considering i've not read the original version before picking up heaney's, i was very curious to see how they compare one another in terms of storytelling and style.

then, life got in the way. and i couldn't make the time to pick this edition from the library--right until last week.

the original plan was reading only philoctetes . i had read an individual version of Antigone years ago and i knew next to nothing about the plot of the women of trachis . oedipus wasn't even a question because i've read it too many times throughout my education and did not need another re-read of it. yet, i thought to myself: i had read antigone years ago and know next to nothing about the women of trachis, why not give them a read not that i have a good translation? so, i did.

i find it both tragic and funny to know these plays allegedly centred around female characters end up being about the male ones--with the female protagonists literally sharing the same type of fate. it doesn't even surprise me at this point although it did affect my enjoyment of both stories. along these lines, philoctetes was still my favourite play from this collection. even more surprisingly, it does not differ as drastically as i had expected from heaney's version. in fact, i think my thoughts on this play are pretty much the same as those in heaney's play. and, since i'm scant for time and cannot bother finding and copy-pasting my own ideas into this, i will redirect you to the original review. just follow the link.

[Brian Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the ten best books I've ever read.

[Sandro Valery Gvaramia · Rating 5 out of 5]

better on every reread

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophocles still slaps

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Antigone in this volume; planning to use it for Oedipus at Colonus. Even though I couldn't read the full thing in Greek, it was a great help to have the Greek facing (especially for things like the significance of eros or machines). The Loeb translation was, as per usual, a bit ruddy, but my knowledge of Greek was strong enough to see the biggest holes & fill them with recourse to the Greek. & even in a less adept translation, Antigone's brilliance was plainly apparent. By far my favourite Greek tragedy so far.

Reading 2 (Oedipus at Colonus): Oedipus at Colonus was phenomenal. I haven't seen a clearer & more affecting depiction of the Greek model of salvation before; it gave me a feeling for the actual tone & conceptions of that faith which I had never had before.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a long time, I have been interested in Edmund Wilson's essay "The Wound and the Bow" and finally brought myself around to reading "Philoctetes," Sophocles' treatment of the story.

Ensiled, weakened by his suppurating wound, Philoctetes fears Odysseus and his sly tricks as he does not want to return to Troy; it was foretold, however, that only Philoctetes's bow, a weapon of Heracles, would conquer the towers of Troy. Thus, Odysseus tries to hide his identity; his voice gives him away. Philoctetes had been set off by his abandonment. Entrusted with keeping tabs on Philoctetes, the young Neoptolemus, Achilles's son, softens to his story and reacts negatively to Odysseus and his lies. Philoctetes wants only to return home, and so the possibility of luring him on board ship presents itself. But Neoptolemus even attempts to return Philostetes's bow, stopped only by Odysseus. Then, the whole of Helenus's prophecy is revealed, including Philostetes's healing by the sons of Asclepius, great heroism in the winning of Troy. Finally, Heracles, a true deus ex machina, appears to resolve the issue, reinforce Helenus's prophesy, and send Philoctetes on his way to Troy.

I enjoyed the play, watching Odysseus work at his best/lowest and seeing the acting out of Neoptolemus's naive crisis; the ugliness of Philoctetes's wound from the "man-slaying snake" and the agonies it puts him through give a set of contrasts/conflicts that keep up one's interest.

I did really enjoy the play and its revelation of Odysseus in action.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read a few Greek plays now I must say I prefer Euripedes to Sophocles. I read this story as we were going to see a modern adaptation and I wanted to know the story before we went. Reading it I wasn't sure how they'd be able to adopt it to the modern day as the entire point of the story seemed to be you shouldn't piss off the gods but give them their due or you will be horribly punished. There were however some really great lines mostly by Creon. But I must admit that sadly the story didn't inspire me enough to go and read the rest of the plays in this edition.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though staged at religious festivals, Athenian tragedy was foremost a political event. Nowhere is this purpose more apparent than in Sophocles, who writes propaganda with a wink and sharp elbow in his audience's side.

[Beth Shields-Szostak]

Greek Tragedies: Volume I

[Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philocetes was a surprise favourite

[Nick Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't get over how great is my esteem for Sophocles. There isn't a bad apple in this collection.