Sophocles is a 496 BC native of Colonus in Athens. He was born to wealthy weapons makers and prominent citizens. Sophocles had a talent for music and dance as a boy. In his early years, Sophocles was fascinated by playwriting. He began studying The Odyssey and The Iliad. A biographer from that time, who wished to remain anonymous, called Sophocles the “pupil of Homer”. This implied that Sophocles received his power directly from the greatest Greek writer. Sophocles won the first prize in 468 BC for his play Triptolemus, and his teacher came second. Sophocles served in Athens as a general, diplomat, and healer. Sophocles was appointed treasurer of Delian Confederation 443 B.C. The money he gathered boosted Athenian prestige in Athens and throughout the Mediterranean. Sophocles’ service as a military general during the siege on Samos was recognized three years later. Historians believe he served another 20 years. He investigated Athenian victory in Sicily during 413 B.C. He was also a negotiator for allies in the Peloponnesian war. His death in 406 B.C. His death in 406 B.C. inspired a nationalist cult which worshipped him and built a shrine for him.
Sophocles’ primary role was to be a dramaticist. In his lifetime, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays. As only seven of the complete tragedies remain, today we only have fragments or titles. These are Ajax, Antigone and Electra. In Egypt, in 1907 a papyrus that contained hundreds of the lines from The Ichneutae had been found. The discovery of this papyrus gives hope to find more work by the playwright in the near future.
We can determine where Sophocles got his inspiration from by analyzing themes in Sophocles’s life and Athens’ society. Specifically, Electra. The story is inspired by “The Nostoi”, part of an ancient Greek epic lost to time. It was written between Homer’s Iliad (the Iliad of Homer) and Odyssey. Sophocles. It was already stated that Sophocles learned from Homer and took inspiration from him. Electra has a strong emotional side and is devoted to justice and honor, even if she sometimes seems to have a questionable grasp on them. The Greeks valued these characteristics. The play explores the main themes of the conflict between justice, expediency and revenge, which is embodied by the characters Chrysothemis and Electra. All of these themes would have been studied by Sophocles during his training in Greek culture and the arts. Sophocles blurs the lines between the “good” and “bad” sides, thereby giving the play an ambiguous moral tone.
Many scholars disagree on whether the victory of Electra over her mother is the triumph of justice over the madness or downfall of Electra.