Of all the great Greek playwrights, Sophocles is probably the one regarded as the greatest. Born at Colonus around 496 BC, he was the son of a wealthy armor manufacturer. As a young man, Sophocles was given a traditional education in music, dancing, and gymnastics. At one time, he even studied under Aeschylus. Also, he was said to have been handsome and graceful.

As an adult, Sophocles was very active in Athenian life. He served as a general twice, once under Pericles, and also served as a priest of the god Asclepius. He also served as an elder during Athens' reconstruction after its defeat at Syracuse.

Where Sophocles really shined was in his dramatic accomplishments. When he was 17, Sophocles was a choragus during a celebration of Greece's victory over Persia. Afterwords, his weak voice lead him from singing and acting to writing. At 28, Sophocles won first prize over his former tutor, Aeschylus, at a drama competition. He then blazed a glorious trail through history, as he won two dozen first prizes and seven second prizes in thirty-one subsequent competitions. This alone is thought to be the best record of any Grecian playwright. Every single one of his 120+ plays (of which only seven survive) contained a moral, usually pertaining to pride or respect for the gods.

Perhaps the greatest-known plays out of the seven survivors is a group collectively referred to as the "Oedipus Trilogy." Composed of three plays based on a Grecian myth, these are studied feverishly by students worldwide. The most famous is "Antigone," the first out of the three written. First performed in 442 BC, "Antigone" is the third part of the trilogy. The first part is "Oedipus the King," which was written second, and the second part is "Oedipus at Colonus," which was written last out of the three. Besides these (and other) well-known plays, Sophocles contributed two other advancements to the field of drama, namely painted sets and a third actor. In summary, "perhaps the ninety-year-old playwright hoped that people... would say of him what one of his characters says after Oedipus dies... and is carried off by the gods: '... he was taken without lamentation, illness or suffering; indeed, his end / Was wonderful if a mortal's ever was.'"