The Three Theban Plays: Oedipus Rex Oedipus at Colonus Antigone

The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles stand head and shoulders above the rest of Greek tragedy as one of the most lasting and timeless dramas ever produced. With introductions and comments written by Bernard Knox Robert Fagles. Here are three of Sophocles plays: Antigone Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Robert Fagles translation captures all of Sophocles clarity and intensity including the sharpness of his dialogue his ironic edge the surge and majesty of his choruses and most importantly the struggles and victories of his characters. Antigone his daughter Since the fifth century BC tragic characters have enthralled readers and theatregoers alike. The tragedies in this collection continue to move and inspire us today because of Sophocles portrayal of Oedipus which would in the nineteenth century lead Sigmund Freud to a revolutionary vision of the human mind. At Colonus a little town outside of Athens Sophocles (496-405 BC) was born. He was a friend of Pericles and while not being an active politician he held a number of official positions both military and civil over the course of his lengthy life which encompassed the rise and fall of the Athenian Empire. Herodotus buddy and the head of a literary community Sophocles composed over a hundred plays that covered a wide range of subjects.who bravely defended her integrity and beliefs to the grave; Oedipus in exile seeking the truth of his origins attempting to avert his doom and obtaining immortality – these brave but only seven of his plays have been preserved including Antigone Oedipus Rex Ajax and Oedipus at Colonus. He also won the City Dionysia eighteen times.