Tertiary sourceDocument1870
Sophocles entry, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography
Philip Smith · 1870
An 1870 encyclopedia article by Philip Smith summarizing ancient and modern sources on the life of Sophocles.
A reference dictionary article compiling what was known about Sophocles's life from ancient and modern sources.
About this source
What it is
This is an entry on Sophocles written by Philip Smith for the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, published in 1870. It lists the ancient authorities for Sophocles's life and surveys later scholarly works about him.
Why it matters
The entry shows how little direct evidence survives about Sophocles: ancient writers such as Duris of Samos, Ister, and Satyrus are named as sources, but most of their accounts are lost. It also lists modern scholars like Lessing and Schlegel who tried to reconstruct his life, showing the long chain of interpretation between Sophocles and today's readers.
Look closer
- Why does the author call the ancient authorities "very scanty"?
- How many layers of interpretation lie between Sophocles himself and this 1870 encyclopedia entry?
- What does this tell you about trusting reference works for ancient history?
This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sophocles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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