Tragedies VII

1593

Shoults La 1593 S

[Leyden]: Franciscum Raphelengium,

Along with the Greek tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides (c. 480-406 BC), Sophocles (c. 496-406 BC) enjoyed success at the Dionysia. Sophocles wrote about 120 plays and, like Aeschylus, only seven are extant. During his 50 years of success as a playwright he won at the festival of Dionysus 24 times. Indeed on his inaugural outing in 468 BC, Sophocles beat Aeschylus for the top prize. Perhaps his most well-known play is Οίδίπους Τύραννος or Oedipus Rex which was performed for the first time in Athens in 429 BC. The play tells the story of the ill-fated mythical character Oedipus and how he unsuspectingly kills his father and marries his mother. Peter Watson believes that ‘[Oedipus Rex’s] influence is felt in our own day, thanks to Freud and the Oedipus complex’.