Women of Trachis (The Trachiniae) by Sophocles

Women of Trachis is a classical Greek tragedy composed by Sophocles (circa 496-406 BCE). The play’s precise dating is unknown, but it is believed to have been produced sometime during the 440s, among Sophocles’s earliest surviving plays, and to have been performed at the City Festival of Dionysus, held in March in Athens. The play itself subverts traditional heroic themes, notably the homecoming hero, the unknowability of the gods, and the importance of pity.

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Philoctetes by Sophocles

Philoctetes is a Greek tragedy first performed in ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War in 409 BC. It was performed at the ancient Greek festival of City Dionysia, where it was awarded first prize. Philoctetes takes place during the final year of the Trojan War and explores themes of friendship, trauma, deception versus morality, fate, and the individual versus the collective.

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Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King) by Sophocles

Sophocles’s play Oedipus Rex, first performed in the early-to-mid 400s BCE, is one of the most famous and influential tragedies left to us from the ancient Greek tradition.