Sophocles: The Ancient Greek City Of Dionysia

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Sophocles In the period when Sophocles was alive, the Greek city-states, especially Athens, were booming. Commerce, economy, culture, and ideas were spread throughout the entire Mediterranean area; this period of time was known as the Classical Period of Greece. However, social structure still remained, and only aristocrats or the wealthy could afford a tutor to educate their sons (or possibly their daughters although that was unlikely). Among these was Sophocles father, a wealthy manufacturer of armor, who lived right outside the walls of Athens in the village of Colonus. Therefore, Sophocles was able to received one of the best education offered to upperclassmen, but Sophocles did not put his knowledge just for show. City of Dionysia was …show more content…
He also made further dramatic innovations such as introducing the third actor. Previously, there were only two actors who exchanged dialogue and sometimes the chorus would act as a stand-in actor. With the introduction of the third character, Sophocles was able to increase the number of characters and widen the possibilities of interactions among characters. The story line went much smoother and the plot could be more complex and vivid. Previously, Aeschylus had reduced the chorus from 50 men to 12 men, but Sophocles decided to increase the chorus to 15 men. Finally, he was able to introduce the use of the “skene” or the backdrop, which helped develop an …show more content…
Known as one of his best works, Oedipus the King has been reproduced by many. It was also considered the perfect example of a “good tragedy” by Aristotle in his book, The Poetics. The play features a story of Oedipus who was abandoned because of a prophecy which states that he would grow up to kill his own father and marry his own mother. The diseased king of Thebes, who was Oedipus’ biological father, was killed by Oedipus unknowingly. The kingdom of Thebes falls under the deathly hands of a plague, and Oedipus must find the killer of the previous diseased king to save the kingdom. When Oedipus discovers that he, himself, was the killer, and fulfilled the prophecy, he stabbed his eyes and sent himself to exile. He would forever be blind to the world around him but carry the scars and truth of his
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