Sophocles

Writing

Sophocles

Sophocles (c. 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of…

Known For

Oedipus RexOedipus Rex · 1967
Oedipus Rex
★ 6.81967
MovieDrama
In pre-war Italy, a young couple have a baby boy. The father, however, is jealous of his son - and the scene moves to antiquity, where the baby is taken into the desert to be killed. He is rescued, given the name Oedipus, and brought up by the King and Queen of Corinth as their son. One day an oracle informs Oedipus that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified, he flees Corinth and his supposed parents - only to get into a fight and kill an older man on the road…
Hercules UnchainedHercules Unchained · 1959
Hercules Unchained
★ 5.01959
MovieFantasyAction
En route to Thebes for an important diplomatic mission, Hercules drinks from a magic spring and loses his memory. He spends most of the movie in the pleasure gardens of Queen Omphale of Lydia. While young Ulysses tries to help him regain his memory, political tensions escalate in Thebes, and Hercules' new wife Iole finds herself in mortal danger.
Theban Plays: Oedipus at ColonusTheban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus · 1986
Theban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus
★ 8.01986
MovieDrama
Oedipus's wanderings come to an end when he finds his final resting place, as foretold by the gods. But his brother-in-law and his son each try to take him away.
National Theatre Live: Electra/Persona
Nov 15, 2026
National Theatre Live: Electra/Persona · 2026
National Theatre Live: Electra/Persona
2026
MovieDrama
Electra: A daughter consumed by grief and rage, clinging to the idea of justice as her world comes apart. Persona: During a performance of Electra, an actress suddenly falls silent. What follows is a rupture: two women drawn into an intense, unsettling encounter where speech breaks down and the boundaries between self and role give way. Featuring Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, and Ella Lily Hyland, Benedict Andrews' thrilling production fuses ancient myth and modern psychology in a powerful exploration of identity, and the fragile line between who we are and who we play.
The Oedipus ProjectThe Oedipus Project · 2020
The Oedipus Project
★ 10.02020
Movie
The Oedipus Project is an innovative new digital initiative by Theater of War Productions that will present acclaimed actors performing scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world. Sophocles’ ancient play, written and performed in 429 BC during the time of a plague that killed one-third of the Athenian population, is a timeless story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, and a pestilence that ravages the city of Thebes. At the time the play was first performed, the audience would have been reeling in the wake of a pestilence and its economic, political, and social aftermath. Seen through this lens Oedipus the King appears to have been a powerful public health tool for helping Athenians communalize the trauma of the plague, through a story that is as relevant now as it was in its own time.
Oedipus MayorOedipus Mayor · 1996
Oedipus Mayor
★ 5.41996
MovieDramaWar
Edipo, is appointed mayor of a town plunged in misery and violence. His first mission is to discover and punish the murderers of Layo, a well-known potentate of the region. His investigation is directed towards all the armed factions that exist in Colombia.
Antígona PajubáAntígona Pajubá · 2021
Antígona Pajubá
2021
MovieDrama
In a current and pandemic Salvador, the feminine crosses time in the streets of commerce and calls for the urgency of preserving female "bodies" in history. Through the adaptation of the first scene of the play Antigona by Sophocles for Pajubá, Malayka SN and Abigail Marianno relive the details of the relationship between the characters Antigona and Ismenia and relationships with the current feminine.
Theban Plays: Oedipus the KingTheban Plays: Oedipus the King · 1986
Theban Plays: Oedipus the King
★ 4.51986
MovieDrama
Plagues are ravaging Thebes, and the blind fortune-teller Tieresias tells Oedipus, the King, that the gods are unhappy. The murder of the former king has gone unavenged, and Oedipus sets out to find the killer.

Filmography

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The Oedipus ProjectThe Oedipus Project · 2020
The Oedipus Project
★ 10.02020
Movie
The Oedipus Project is an innovative new digital initiative by Theater of War Productions that will present acclaimed actors performing scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world. Sophocles’ ancient play, written and performed in 429 BC during the time of a plague that killed one-third of the Athenian population, is a timeless story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, and a pestilence that ravages the city of Thebes. At the time the play was first performed, the audience would have been reeling in the wake of a pestilence and its economic, political, and social aftermath. Seen through this lens Oedipus the King appears to have been a powerful public health tool for helping Athenians communalize the trauma of the plague, through a story that is as relevant now as it was in its own time.

Original Story

AntigoneAntigone · 1961
Antigone
★ 7.61961
MovieHistoryDrama
In Thebes in ancient Greece, King Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother Jocasta, having two sons - Eteocles and Polyneices - and two daughters - Ismene and Antigone. King Oedipus dies a beggar in the exile after gouging out his own eye, and Eteocle agrees to reign in Thebes in alternating years with Polynices. However, he refuses to resign after the first year and Polynieces raises an army and attacks Thebes, and they kill each other. The ruler of Thebes Creon decrees that Eleocles should have an honorable burial while the body of the traitor Polyneices should be left on the battlefield to be eaten by the jackals and vultures. However, Antigone, who was betrothed to Creon's surviving son Haemon, defies Creon's orders and buries her brother. When Creon is reported of the attitude of Antigone, he sentences her to be placed in a tomb alive. Antigone hangs herself in the tomb and Haemon tries to kill his father first and then he kills himself with his sword...

Original Story