Sophocles

Oedipus the King by Sophocles ( Book )
2,052 editions published between 1550 and 2011 in 41 languages and held by 4,984 libraries worldwide
The text is accompanied by a wealth of carefully chosen background materials and essays. Among the background materials are selections from Homer's Odyssey, Thucydides' account of the plague, and Euripides' Phoenissae. The best of ancient and modern criticism is represented, permitting discussion from many points of view: psychological, religious, anthropological, dramatic, and literary.

Antigone by Sophocles ( Book )
1,928 editions published between 1540 and 2011 in 51 languages and held by 4,295 libraries worldwide
Publisher's description: Echoing through western culture for more than two millennia, Sophocles' play has been a touchstone of thinking about human conflict and human tragedy, the role of the divine in human life, and the degree to which men and women are the creators of their own destiny. This exciting new translation of the Antigone is both extremely faithful to the Greek and poetically striking and convincing.

Sophocles by Sophocles ( Book )
557 editions published between 1824 and 2010 in 8 languages and held by 2,713 libraries worldwide
Collects the full texts of Sophocles' seven ancient Greek plays, including updated translations of "Oedipus the King," "Antigone," and "The Women of Trachis," as well as stage directions and prefaces to each play.

The complete Greek drama : all the extant tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and the comedies of Aristophanes and Menander, in a variety of translations ( Book )
1 edition published in 1938 in English and held by 2,295 libraries worldwide

Electra by Sophocles ( Book )
812 editions published between 1531 and 2010 in 26 languages and held by 2,051 libraries worldwide
"Electra recounts the murders of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus by Clytemnestra's son Orestes, to avenge their murder of his father Agamemnon, commander of the Greeks at Troy, upon his return home. Sophocles' version is presented from the viewpoint of Electra, Orestes' sister, who laments her father, bears witness to her mother's crime, and for years endures her mother's scorn. When Orestes arrives at last, her mood shifts from grief to joy as Orestes carries out the bloody vengeance. Despite her overwhelming passion for just revenge, Electra admits that her own actions are shameful." "Sophocles presents this story as a savage though necessary act of vengeance, vividly depicting Electra's grief, anger, and exultation. This translation equals the original in ferocity of expression and leaves intact the inarticulate cries of suffering and joy that fill the play."--BOOK JACKET.

The three Theban plays by Sophocles ( Book )
58 editions published between 1956 and 2009 in English and held by 1,995 libraries worldwide
Aristotle called "Oedipus The King," the second-written of the three Theban plays written by Sophocles, the masterpiece of the whole of Greek theater. Today, nearly 2,500 years after Sophocles wrote, scholars and audiences still consider it one of the most powerful dramatic works ever made. Freud sure did. The three plays--"Antigone," "Oedipus the King," and "Oedipus at Colonus"--are not strictly a trilogy, but all are based on the Theban myths that were old even in Sophocles' time. This particular edition was rendered by Robert Fagles, perhaps the best translator of the Greek classics into English.

The Theban plays by Sophocles ( Book )
129 editions published between 1946 and 2011 in 3 languages and held by 1,908 libraries worldwide
A translation of the three plays dealing with events in the Oedipodean family history.

Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles ( Book )
601 editions published between 1549 and 2008 in 22 languages and held by 1,841 libraries worldwide
"Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of the last day in the life of Oedipus. It was written at the end of the fifth century BCE in Athens, in the final years of the "Golden Age" of Athenian culture, and in the last year of Sophocles' own life. At the center of the play is the mysterious transformation of Oedipus from an old and blind beggar, totally dependent on his daughters, to the man who rises from his seat and, without help, leads everyone to the place where he is destined to die. In the background of this transformation stands the grove of the Furies, the sacred place of the implacable goddesses who pursue the violators of blood relationships. Although Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, is an obvious target of the Furies' vengeance, he enters their grove at the beginning of the play, sure that it is the resting place Apollo has predicted for him. The reversals and paradoxes in the play speak to the struggle that Oedipus' life and the action of the play bring vividly before us: how do we as humans, subject to constant change, find stable ground on which to stand and define our moral lives? Sophocles offers his play as a witness to the remarkable human capacity to persevere in this struggle."--BOOK JACKET.

Philoctetes by Sophocles ( Book )
633 editions published between 1553 and 2009 in 19 languages and held by 1,829 libraries worldwide
"En route to fight the Trojan War, the Greek army abandons Philoctetes after the smell of his festering wound, mysteriously received from a snakebite at a shrine on a small island off Lemnos, makes it unbearable to keep him on ship. Ten years later, an oracle makes it clear that the war cannot be won without the assistance of Philoctetes and his famous bow, inherited from Hercules himself. Philoctetes focuses on the attempt of Neoptolemus and the hero Odysseus to persuade the bowman to sail with them to Troy. First, though, they must assuage his bitterness over having been abandoned, and then win his trust. But how should they do this - through trickery, or with the truth? To what extent do the ends justify the means? To what degree should personal integrity be compromised for the sake of public duty? These are among the questions that Sophocles puts forward in this, one of his most morally complex and penetrating plays."--BOOK JACKET.

The Oedipus cycle : an English version by Sophocles ( Book )
47 editions published between 1939 and 2010 in English and held by 1,517 libraries worldwide
Three tragedies recount the downfall of Oedipus, his death in exile, and the actions by his daughter Antigone following his death.