Definition for Sophocles
From Biology Forums Dictionary
Sophocles (496 B.C.E. to 406 B.C.E.) was a Greek tragic playwright, born in Colonus Hippius. He wrote 123 plays, of which only seven survive, all written after his victory over Aeschylus in a dramatic contest in 468 BC (his first attempt): Ajax, Electra, Women of Trachis, Philoctetes, and his three major plays Oedipus Tyrannos, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. Sophocles was also famed for his prowess at juggling, although his acting supposedly suffered due to his weak voice. He played an important part in Athenian public life, and assisted Pericles in the war against the Samians (440 BC). Legend has it that, when his children declared him no longer competent to administer his own affairs, he proved his mettle by composing Oedipus at Colonus.