Sophocles

One of the lesser known plays of the Greek tragedian Sophocles, "Electra" tells the tale of a young daughter's revenge for her father's death. Electra is one of the daughters of "Agamemnon," the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was killed by his wife's lover, and Electra wishes to avenge Agamemnon with the help of her twin brother Orestes. When she receives word that he is dead, Electra laments and fears she will not be able to avenge...

Sophocles' Philoctetes begins with their arrival on the island. Odysseus explains to Neoptolemus that he must perform a shameful action in order to garner future glory - to take Philoctetes by tricking him with a false story while Odysseus hides. Neoptolemus is portrayed as an honorable boy, and so it takes some persuading to get him to play this part. To gain Philoctetes's trust, Neoptolemus tricks Philoctetes into thinking he hates Odysseus as well....

"Available for the first time as an independent work, David Grene's legendary translation of Oedipus the King renders Sophocles' Greek into cogent, vivid, and poetic English for a new generation to savor. This new. stand-alone edition of Sophocles' searing tale of jealousy, rage, and revenge will continue the tradition of the University of Chicago Press's classic series."--Jacket.

Regarded by many as the masterpiece of Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes, whilst in the process unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. This edition follows the Francis Storr Translation.

Ajax Sophocles - Ajax is enraged because Achilles' armor was awarded to Odysseus, rather than to him. He vows to kill the Greek leaders who disgraced him. Before he can enact his extraordinary revenge, though, he is tricked by the goddess Athena into believing that the sheep and cattle that were taken by the Achaeans as spoil are the Greek leaders. He slaughters some of them, and takes the others back to his home to torture, including a ram which...

Excerpt: "The Hellenic spirit has been repeatedly characterized as simple Nature-worship. Even the Higher Paganism has been described as 'in other words the purified worship of natural forms.'[1] One might suppose, in reading some modern writers, that the Nymphs and Fauns, the River-Gods and Pan, were at least as prominent in all Greek poetry as Zeus, Apollo, and Athena, or that Apollo was only the sweet singer and not also the prophet of retribution."...

Oedipus the King is Sophocles' legendary rendition of the myth of the great king Oedipus, perhaps the best known of all of the Greek Tragedies.

When an oracle foretells that the young prince Oedipus will grow up to murder his father he is cast out of the kingdom by the king who hopes by doing so that he will avoid his fate. Oedipus grows up and many years later, not knowing his own identity, or the identity of his father, meets him at

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Award-winning poet and playwright Robert Bagg offers a set of exciting and authentic new translations of Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Kolonos, and Antigone-together known as The Oedipus Cycle. One of the unquestionable acmes of world literature, Sophocles's immortal series of plays centers upon the royal family of Thebes, whose struggles for nobility and greatness lead paradoxically to their own tragic downfalls. Portraying humankind at its worst...

The oldest surviving play of the great Greek tragedian Sophocles, "Aias" or "Ajax" unfolds the destiny of the warrior "Aias" after the Trojan War. He is infuriated with the Greek leaders for awarding the armor of Achilles to Odysseus, and he vows to kill them in his vengeance. When he attempts to seek his revenge, however, the goddess Athena interferes, leading him into disgrace. Determined to end his own life, Aias disregards the pleading of his...

Three of Greatest Greek Plays in one Collection. Oedipus Rex Sophocles' three Thebian plays, Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, are cornerstones of western civilization and dramatic history. Each play stems from the fated tragedy that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother.