The Three Theban Plays

bySophocles, Bernard Knox (Introducer), Robert Fagles (Translator)

Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus

Antigone defending her integrity and ideals to the death, Oedipus questing for his identity and achieving immortality—these heroic figures have moved playgoers and readers since the fifth century BC.Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, these three plays are among the most enduring and timeless dramas ever written. Robert Fagles' translation conveys all of Sophocles' lucidity and power: the cut and thrust of his dialogue, his ironic edge, the surge and majesty of his choruses and, above all, the agonies and triumphs of his characters.

About Sophocles

Sophocles was born just outside Athens, in 496 BC, and lived ninety years. His long life spanned the rise and decline of the Athenian Empire; he was a friend of Pericles, and though not an active politician he held several public offices, both military and civil. Sophocles wrote over a hundred plays for the Athenian theater, and is said to have come first in twenty-four contests. Only seven of his tragedies are now extant, these being Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus the King, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes, and the posthumous Oedipus at Colonus. He died in 406 BC.
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Details
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • ISBN: 9780140444254
  • Length: 432 pages
  • Dimensions: 197mm x 20mm x 130mm
  • Weight: 259g
  • Price: £12.99