How many plays did Sophocles write and how many survive?
Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays, but only seven have survived in complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. Aristophanes of Byzantium recorded that 130 titles were attributed to Sophocles in antiquity.
How many dramatic competitions did Sophocles win?
Sophocles competed in 30 dramatic competitions and won 24 of them, and was never judged lower than second place. He won at both the Dionysia and the Lenaia festivals.
What theatrical innovations is Sophocles credited with?
Aristotle credited Sophocles with adding a third actor to Greek drama, which reduced the role of the chorus and expanded possibilities for conflict between characters. Aristotle also credited him with introducing skenographia, or scenery-painting, though Vitruvius attributed that innovation to Agatharchus of Samos.
Are the three Theban plays by Sophocles a trilogy?
No. Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone are grouped together today, but Sophocles wrote them for separate festival competitions many years apart and they were never performed together in his lifetime. They were also written out of narrative order: Antigone first, then Oedipus Rex, then Oedipus at Colonus.
When did Sophocles die and how old was he?
Sophocles died in the winter of 406 or 405 BC at the age of 90 or 91. Several apocryphal stories circulated about the cause of his death, including that he choked on grapes, died from reciting a long passage without breath, or died of happiness after a final victory.
What did Aristotle say about Sophocles in the Poetics?
In the Poetics, written around 335 BC, Aristotle used Sophocles's Oedipus Rex as his example of the highest achievement in tragedy. Aristotle also credited Sophocles with the addition of the third actor and the introduction of scenery-painting.