Page 1 About the Author
Sophocles (c. 496 BC – 406 BC), a Cronosian, one of the three great tragedies of Athens, showed outstanding musical talent at a young age. Born in Kronos, on the northwestern outskirts of Athens, Sophocles was a weapon master who was well educated in his early years and excelled in music, sports and dance, which greatly influenced Sophocles in his childhood.
In 480 BC, after the Greeks defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, the young Sophocles was chosen as the leader of the recitation team to celebrate the victory because of his beauty and musical talent. Later Sophocles entered politics. In 443 BC he became treasurer of the "League of Delia", with Athens as its ally, and later twice held important general positions.
In 440 BC, he was elected one of the Ten Generals of Athens and entered the highest echelons of Athens. At that time, the Athenian-led League of Delos was at war with the Spartan-led Alliance, and together with Pericles he commanded the Athenian Navy to suppress the Samos who were trying to break away from the League of Delians. When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BC and the plague spread in Athens the following year, he served as a priest.
In 413 BC, at the age of about 83 he entered the "Council of Ten" in Athens. After Greece suffered a crushing defeat in Syracuse, Syracuse, Sicily, this committee was given special powers and entrusted with special responsibilities to deal with the economic and internal order restoration of Athens.
Sophocles' last recorded activity was to lead a choir before the 406 BC Theatre Festival, singing elegies at the funeral of his deceased rival Euripides. He himself died that year.
Page 2 Celebrity Reviews
The Oedipus King is one of the most powerful of Sophocles's plays. The Greeks believed in fate, and this was also reflected in the tragedy. Aeschylus's Orestis is regarded as a drama of destiny, and King Oedipus is a representative of the drama of destiny. But fate is certainly invincible, and Oedipus does not wait passively, but wages a heroic struggle, and his character, his action in total disregard of his own suffering, his determination to seek the truth at any cost, is itself a song and a tear. It can be said that this is a sad song of man's desperate struggle with fate.
Page 3 Background of writing
Sophocles lived between 496 and 406 BC, at the height of Athenian democracy. It is recorded that Sophocles was not only a great achievement in drama, but also in political and religious affairs. On the one hand, Sophocles himself supported Athenian democracy, demanding that the interests of the city-state be the most important and emphasizing the spirit of individual independence; On the other hand, he was more conservative in his religious views, advocating the maintenance of the existing prophetic system and oracle system. These two points are expressed in the play King Oedipus. The background of the creation of Oedipus King influenced the formation of the tragedy itself.
At that time Athens began to persecute the intellectual class, such as Socrates, who was persecuted and died. The industrial and commercial economy flourished, individual free will was derived, and ideas with enlightenment significance arose. The development of astronomy has made the prophetic system questionable, and the myth and even the existence of the gods have been questioned.
Between 429 and 427 BC, Athens experienced two plagues (the plague is based on this), which contributed to the inner suspicion and cynicism of the citizens, while also hoping for a healing miracle. Sophocles used this to reinterpret the story of Oedipus, establish the authority of the gods, restore the prestige of religious institutions, maintain the existing prophetic system and oracle system, and oppose the early Enlightenment ideas. The King of Oedipus is based on Greek legend about Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother.
Page 4 Summary of contents
(431 BC) is a masterpiece of Sophocles. It is based on Greek myths and legends about Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother.
Oedipus was the son of Laios, the king of Thebes, who foresaw that his son would kill his father and marry his mother, so Oedipus was abandoned by his father as soon as he was born, but the king of Corinth found him and adopted him as an adopted son. When Oedipus grew to adulthood, he knew his terrible fate and fled, but coincidentally, he happened to come to Thebes, where he became king and married the wife of the former king.
Later, a plague broke out in the city of Thebes, killing many people and causing panic. God said that the plague could only stop if the murderer of the former king was found. The local prophet said that the murderer was Oedipus, and Oedipus did not believe it, believing that someone had framed him. The queen told him that the former king had been killed at a three-forked intersection, and Oedipus suspected that the former king had been killed by himself, because he had indeed killed an old man at a three-forked intersection.
Later, after investigation, the shepherd of the year was found, the truth of the matter was revealed, and in response to God's prophecy, Oedipus was punished by fate. Oedipus blinded himself and exiled himself from the kingdom of Thebes...
Page 5 Quotes
1. Don't think that only you are right.
2) The greatest misfortune is not death, but wanting to die but not being able to die.
3, the ancient adage: Whether a person's life should be considered happy or miserable, you cannot evaluate his life before he dies.
4, with a legitimate reason, the weak can also defeat the strong.
5, no one wants to live like an old man.
6, do not do unseemly things, time knows everything, will also expose everything.
7, it is better to live than to die.
8 If weeping can heal the wounds and revive the deceased, then grief is rarer than gold. (There is no more grief in the world)
9) Truth is always the most powerful argument.
10, lack of courage, luck will never be on his side.
11, there is no harsh oath in the eyes of the lover.
12. Thought is more powerful than force.
13 If I were still me, I would not be mad; if I had gone mad, I would no longer be me.
(To be continued)
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