Sophocles was a prominent tragic poet of ancient Greece. Son of Sofilo, a wealthy gunsmith. Sophocles, when he was barely 16 years old, was chosen as the director of the boys' choir, in order to celebrate the triumph of Salamina. He made himself known publicly as a poet of the tragic genre for 468 BC in a theatrical contest, which was held every year, in Athens during the Dionysian festivals. In this contest he was able to beat Aeschylus.
Since then, the literary career of Sophocles had no comparison, so much so that he published around 122 tragedies for festivals, of which he obtained 24 triumphs, surpassing Aeschylus who had just 13. In this way Sophocles became a character important part of Athens and its long life fit perfectly with the moments of greatest relevance to the city.
His best friends were Pericles and Herodotus, he never showed much interest in political issues, although he was chosen a couple of times as a strategist and took part in various Athenian trips, against Samos, an event that was expressed by Plutarch in his work "parallel lives ”.
The death of this great poet occurs during the war against Sparta, a conflict that marked the beginning of the end of the Athenian government. It is said that the aggressor army requested a truce, so that the funerals could be carried out properly.
For many Sophocles he was a great Greek playwright, due to his expressive balance. He made many contributions to the dramatic art and imposed two innovations: the entry of a third actor on stage and the breaking of the trilogy style, which was imposed by Aeschylus. Sophocles considers that dramatic art should be appreciated as a conflict of wills, understanding it as a series of methods that allow the transmission of a story.
Among his most outstanding works is " Oedipus the King ", a work considered by Aristotle as the most significant within the genre of Greek tragedies.
