Sophocles

American  

[sof-uh-kleez] / ˈsɒf əˌkliz /

noun

1. 495?–406? b.c., Greek dramatist.

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Sophocles British  

/ ˈsɒfəˌkliːz, ˌsɒfəˈkliːən /

noun

1. ?496–406 _bc , Greek dramatist; author of seven extant tragedies: Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Trachiniae, Electra, Philoctetes , and Oedipus at Colonus

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Sophocles Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek poet, author of Oedipus Rex and Antigone. He is counted, with Euripides and Aeschylus, among the great Greek authors of tragedies.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Sophoclean
  adjective

Example Sentences

Sophocles himself might have approved the tragic symmetry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

I thought what might follow would be Mr. Icke’s most provocative—and logical and interesting—departure from Sophocles, an ending of a more ambiguous and less gruesome kind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Even Aristotle, who could be said to have launched literary criticism, set forth the precepts of tragedy by empirically studying the indelible examples of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024

On Saturday, she denied Putin’s avowed Christian faith, in words so close to Antigone’s that they could have been written by Sophocles.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2024

He is a prominent character in three of Euripides’ plays and in one of Sophocles.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton