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The Complete Plays of Sophocles

sophocles moses hadas richard claverhouse jebb

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Oedipus the King - Antigone - Electra - Ajax
Trachinian Women - Philoctetes - Oedipus at Colonus

The greatest of the Greek tragedians, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, surpassing his older contemporary Aeschylus and the younger Euripides in literary output as well as in the number of prizes awarded his works. Only the seven plays in this volume have survived intact. From the complex drama of Antigone, the heroine willing to sacrifice life and love for a principle, to the mythic doom embodied by Oedipus, the uncommonly good man brought down by the gods, Sophocles possessed a tragic vision that, in Matthew Arnold's phrase, "saw life steadily and saw it whole."

This one-volume paperback edition of Sophocles' complete works is a revised and modernized version of the famous Jebb translation, which has been called "the most carefully wrought prose version of Sophocles in English."*
*Moses Hadas

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1,-0401

This edition

Format
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published
April 1, 1991 by Bantam Classics
ISBN
9780553213546
ASIN
0553213547
Language

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sophocles

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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.

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
30(30%)
4 stars
31(31%)
3 stars
39(39%)
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100 reviews All reviews
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TrenchKamen
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Briefly, since it's all been said:

Five stars for the plays. They set up convincing tensions and navigate them in moving and brilliant ways.

Three stars for the translation. I compared the language with several other translations, and I found Bagg's and Scully's interpretations consistently felt less earthy and musical. That might be part of their intent, and it might be true to the original text (I have no way of knowing), but on the page, it felt a little flat to me.
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Mon_uvu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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One of the most current, readable translations in print today. Having read the original Greek and multiple translations, these renditions are like hearing Sophocles' voice with babel fish running around in there somewhere!
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FatedScribe
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Nunca me había atraído leer teatro griego hasta que me llegó este libro y dije, vamos a probar. Pues quedé maravillado porque me encuentro con historias muy humanas que todavía resuenan en nuestra contemporaneidad, solo es cuestión de encontrar los modelos que remitan a paralelos de la cultura pop.

Me gustaron, sobre todo, los temas troyanos, la potencia de argumentación en Áyax o Filoctetes, esa manera de insultarse con tanta elegancia. Me pasa con todas las obras que termino por darle la razón a quienes son los perdedores, quizá por eso Electra no me encantó tanto, por sapa.

Traquinias lo viví al rojo vivo porque, en el momento en que lo estaba leyendo y ahora reseñando, se da este chismaso de Nodal y Angela Aguilar. ¿Y no es Cazzu una Deyanira dolida porque su horrendo esposo se enamoró de otra? Con sus asegunes, la tragedia griega tiene sus reverberaciones en esta tvnotas mexicana.

Y para ser franco, los temas tebanos no me atrajeron como pensé, quizá porque son los más manoseados en resúmenes. Sin embargo, como bien se ha visto en el discurrir de la cultura humana, son estas obras las que más resuenan en nuestra consciencia: el refugiado o la buscadora del cuerpo de su hermano, uff, su universalidad nos sigue pegando.

Con esta probadita de teatro griego quedo picado como para seguir buscando obras de este calibre. Su cadencia, ritmo, sintaxis, palabras me hacen leer en voz alta, sentirme en esa antigüedad donde los dioses conviven con los mortales y la lengua es exaltada hasta los límites divinos.
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Iplemons
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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who am i to give some of the most iconic plays of all time four stars? idk, i’m just basing this on how i liked it. there’s nothing much to say since these are such classics, but of course they’re good. it only took me so long to read because i’ve been busy. aristotle said something about oedipus being the best tragedy of all time and i might have to agree. the oedipus cycle was great, but so are all of sophocles’ other plays. i especially liked electra since i was very familiar with agamemnon’s story from the illiad and the odyssey. it was nice to see the aftermath there. also like reading a positive take on neoptolemus in philoctetes. i could comment on them all, but nobody wants that. bottom line is these are good and necessary additions to the tbr of an ancient greece enthusiast
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pospmdemicanon16
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Dans l'ensemble je pense que je préfère les pièces de Sophocles à celles d'Euripide, il a des vrais moments d'humour que j'ai beaucoup appréciés.

3.5

Ajax - 4/5 - Sophocle est beaucoup plus drôle qu'Euripide, la dispute entre Teucros et Menelas (booh) et Agamemnon (boohx2) m'a achevée.
Antigone - 5/5 - Antigone mon amour ma vie.
Œdipe roi - 4/5 - Iconique
Électre - 3/5 - Je trouve que la version d'Euripide était non seulement mieux écrite mais aussi plus intéressante. Cette Electra est presque une version soldée d'Antigone.
Les trachiniennes - 2.5/5 - Hercule aurait dû souffrir plus... Quel gros porc.
Philoctète - 2/5 - Ah super. Mes deux personnages préférés, Ulysse et Néoptolème, unis pour manipuler un mec qu'Ulysse a abandonné sur une île pendant dix ans afin de conquérir Troie. Génial. J'aime trop.
Œdipe à colone - 4/5 - J'aime beaucoup, je suis une grande fan de rancune, donc Oedipe qui meurt et se fait enterrer loin de chez lui pour faire chier ses proches est très iconique à mon avis
Les limiers - C'est un fragment de rien du tout, donc je ne donne pas de note.
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stardustpuff
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Siete obras maestras de la literatura universal. Por un lado, una pena que se hayan perdido tantas (según la introducción Sófocles escribió mas de 100 obras) pero por otro, qué privilegio haber leído estas siete. Las más conocidas son las de Edipo y Antígona ("Edipo Rey", "Edipo en Colono" y "Antígona"), pero todas ellas están a la altura. Recomiendo encararlas sin miedo, ya que son relativamente accesibles, teniendo en cuenta que fueron escritas hace mas de dos mil años. Esta edición de Gredos cuenta con un aparato de notas que asisten al lector y no entorpecen la experiencia. Me deja con ganas de seguir leyendo tragedias griegas. Me anoto las de Esquilo y Eurípides.
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Anondesuu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Non sono d'accordo con quello che sento spesso dire. Rileggere le tragedie di Sofocle è stato un ritorno a casa, una grande emozione, ma non è vero che questo testi sono più belli se letti da adulti. Non dimenticherò mai cosa provava la me adolescente di fronte al dolore di Aiace che vince la sua sfida agli dei col suicidio e ad Odisseo, tessitore di inganni e suo grande nemico, che nella sventura soffre con lui. Di fronte al coraggio di Antigone, lei che mi ha insegnato quando avevo sedici anni che esiste un'Etica più forte di qualunque Legge e che una donna deve saper morire in piedi. Di fronte allo strazio di Edipo che prima scopre da solo il suo terribile lato d'ombra, lo disvela con le sue mani, ed infine entra nella luce dopo aver imparato a conviverci, illuminando l'ombra tremenda che abita dentro ognuno di noi. Sofocle spinge alla compassione fra i viventi, alla condivisione della fragilità. Fragilità incarnata da figure memorabili. Le sue tragedie, lui sacerdote del dio guaritore Ascelpio, sono una medicina. Non è giusto privare i ragazzi di questo. Sono convinta che l'educazione civica passi anche di qui. L'anno prossimo nei trienni dei professionali ci sarà un'ora in meno di italiano. Quanta bellezza non permettiamo di scoprire, perché ci manca sempre il tempo?
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Ageeko
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Spoilers, of course.

I finished this back in July - and then met with my friend in early October, which is to say this year's reading is primarily relying on my notes and one big theme that stood out, rather than my memory. It's at least my 7th time through the Theban plays - and I'm aiming to finish all of the surviving Sophocles, though I haven't - even though they're all contained in this collection.

Previous reviews, before we get into this review:

2017: Storr

2018: Banks

2019: Watling

2020: Roche

2021: Fagles

2022: Nisetch

2022: Heaney (Antigone only).

And now, here we are: 2023. Seventh time through, and I've forgotten so much of what I'd asked myself to remember.

I just skimmed through my previous reviews. Highlighting Tiresias's line, "Alas, alas, what misery to be wise when wisdom profits nothing!" in Storr's edition - and rehighting it, "The most terrible knowledge is the kind it pays no wise man to possess." in Bragg. (Lines 383 and 384, by the way.) And of course always coming back to, "I don't take to those who take to talk." - which is a line I may always remember, and rendered, "I don't want love that just shows up in words," here. (Line 588)

The guard in Antigone is still my favorite, and I'm putting dots beside my favorite speeches. I'm noting the amount of foreshadowing/dramatic irony in King: pgs. 400, 401, 405, 411, 419, 441, 442, 452... And 452: how ironic: Leader: "This woman is his wife and mother... of his children." Messenger: "I wish her joy, and the family joy that comes when a marriage bears fruit."

Learning and relearning from the various introductions and footnotes. That Sophocles won a lot of these competitions, but the amount of randomness in those victories:

"...each judge... would inscribe on a tablet the names of the three competing playwrights in descending order of merit. The rest of the process depended on chance. The judges placed their ballots in a large urn. The presiding official drew five at random, counted up the weighted vote totals, and declared the winner."

Or the note on 831 about Gaia and Eurydice... "Eurydike's violent suicide presents Kreon with the silenced woman he wanted in Antigone, and it gives Antigone the vengeance she sought against Kreon- a silent funeral..."

Which... reminded me that my biggest thought throughout this read was this: what does a modern mental health expert make of Sophocles? What of the suicides? Jocasta and Eurydice. Antigone. Haemon. One could argue Polynices and Eteocles. And for what? Love? Anger? Pride? Justice? Duty? Revenge? Depression?

And, along those lines - reading back through my reviews: unbelievable. "Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."

This from my second reading:

Reading Oedipus always makes me edgy. The irony of being so far gone and not even realizing it, "...As if he were my father..." at line 252, or "...his build was not unlike yours..." at line 705.

None but a fool would scorn life that was brief.

In vain we say man is happy, till he goes beyond life's final border, free from pain.

I just made some significant career moves, and it makes me nervous after reading Oedipus. I was a hero where I was - well-loved and respected. But my story isn't finished being told yet. And it won't be until the very, VERY end.


It's shocking, in light of everything that happened, that I wrote that.

But I'm still alive. And I still have my eyes. And I still have my daughters, and my wife, and my home. Food and drink and entertainment.

Count no man happy until he's dead. Who knows what will be taken from you tomorrow.

Assuming we're all still here next year, I want to revisit this topic.
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