ENG 215 & HIS 215: Classical Western Mythology

Brill's Companion to Sophocles offers 32 chapters, newly commissioned and written by leading scholars, on Sophocles' life and works, as well as upon the basic historical, social, intellectual, moral, philosophical and religious issues of interest to Sophocles which remain central in the study of Greek tragedy to this day.

Sophocles' Theban Plays--Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone--lie at the core of the Western literary canon. They are extensively translated, universally taught, and frequently performed. Chronicling the downfall of Oedipus, the legendary king of Thebes, and his descendants, the Theban Plays are as relevant to present-day thought about love, duty, patriotism, family, and war as when they were written 2,500 years ago.

Contents: The theater of Sophocles -- Oedipus the king -- Oedipus at Colonus -- Antigone -- Ajax -- The women of Trachis -- Electra -- Philoctetes.

Much has been written about the heroic figures of Sophocles'' powerful dramas. Now Charles Segal focuses our attention not on individual heroes and heroines, but on the world that inspired and motivated their actions--a universe of family, city, nature, and the supernatural. He shows how these ancient masterpieces offer insight into the abiding question of tragedy: how one can make sense of a world that involves so much apparently meaningless violence and suffering.