SOPHOCLES, sOPO-klez (496-406 a.c.), was born in the deme of Colonus near Athens. His father, Sophillus, was a man of middle rank and owner of slaves. Hence he had the means to give his son a good educa tion. Naturally, then, Sophocles was early in troduced to Homer, who has left his impress on all the poet wrote. Music was not neglected. In this branch the young Sophocles was trained by the famous musician, Lamprus. He also frequented the palmstra and won prizes in gymnastic and athletic contests. His beauty and natural grace were exceptional. At the age of 15 he was chosen to lead the chorus that sang the paean of victory of Athenian arms over Oriental despotism. Of the poet's relation to the great philosophers we know nothing; but we may be reasonably sure, from the internal evidence of his works, that his mind was not eager to pry into the unknown. With Voltaire he might have said eAdorons Dieu sans vouloir percer ses mysteres.° Sophocles was born when Athens was be ginning to rise toward the zenith of her glory and he died in his 90th year, just before her brilliant sun had set. He lived to witness the passing success of Athenian arms at Arginus, but died before her star was obscured by the cloud of lEgospotami. It was the century of Cimon and Pericles, of Phidias and Ictinus. Greece was the centre of the world, Athens the hearthstone of Hellas, the home of art, literature, science. But amid all this unrest, opportunity and glory, Sophocles lived a life of imperturbable placidity. Calm and self possessed, he dedicated his life to his art. As Browning has well said, his even-balanced soul business could not make dull nor passion wild. Only one cloud cast a momentary shadow over his long and serene life; his son lophon arraigned him before his deme as incapable of managing property. The old man refuted the charge by reciting the ode he had just com posed on his native Colonus. For public affairs the poet showed no great aptitude. Pericles did not have a very high opinion of his strategic abilities, and the great statesman had an excellent opportunity of judging, for Sophocles was elected to serve with him as a general to conduct the Saurian War. The ap pointment, we are told, was due to the suc cess of his 'Antigone.' Later he became a colleague of Nicias. He was also a minor priest, and one of the treasurers that managed the tribute paid to Athens by her allies. The poet met Herodotus and composed an ode in honor of the historian. Sophocles was probably also
acquainted with a great many other dis tinguished men. There is a wealth of ideas, a sprightly grace and a delicacy of views in his works that could not have developed in any other atmosphere. After the Sicilian re verse he was elected a member of the college of six magistrates created to propose measures of safety. In 411 he was appointed on a com mittee of 30 to modify the constitution; but he was conservative in politics and withdrew from all participation in their work when they pro posed to rule without consulting the general assembly.
With his first tetralogy Sophocles competed with )Eschylus for the tragic prize and won (468), although he was only 28 years of age. We are told that when the archon was hesitat ing to draw lots, Cimon who had just returned from his conquest of Scyrus, entered the theatre and proceeded to pour out a libation to Dionysus, whereupon he and his fellow-gen erals were detained to act as judges. Hence forth Sophocles was master of the stage. He produced on an average one tetralogy every two years. No other tragic poet ever secured a greater number of prizes. Sometimes, in the earlier days, he took the leading part himself. He not only played acceptably the title role of Nausicaa, but he also distinguished himself by his grace in dancing. lEschylus died in distant Sicily; Euripides mid the wilds of Macedonia; but Sophocles, though invited by foreign potentates to their splendid courts, lived and died in the city of his birth. Sophocles' man ners were affable and pleasing. His conversa tion was full of that Socratic irony which we find so charming in the dialogues of Plato. Endowed with a serene composure of manner and gifted with gentleness, beauty and intellect, small wonder that his contemporaries believed that the poet was beloved by the gods. After death the Athenians worshipped him as a hero. To the whole Greek world he was known as the Attic Bee. But in the natural sweetness of his temper there was something bitter—a tang which produced the flavor. It was his charm and grace that commended Sophocles especially to the Greeks. He was a more perfect artist than lEschylus and Euripides. The Periclean Age showed a decided preference for him over the other two. In the eyes of the Athenians, Sophocles was next to Homer, unsurpassed in wit, sweetness, discourse, art.