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

• Sophoclean
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sophocles

No inducement, it seems, can get him to do this, but Sophocles finds a way to persuade him to go.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

New York’s remarkable Year of Sophocles is heading into its final quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

In 441 B.C., the Athenian playwright Sophocles told a similar tale in “Antigone,” whose plot centers on an autocrat’s weaponization of a corpse killed in battle.

From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2024

Among the tragedians, there are extant works from only three: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.

From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2023

Sophocles, Euripides’ contemporary, describes how the hero died.

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