One play translations and adaptations of the Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. The translators for many of these tragedies were selected because they were themselves poets. Since Sophocles was himself a poet dramatist, many feel that only a poet can recapture the spirit of the original Greek tragedy.
1) Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King is the most familiar of Sophocles' tragedies. This Greek tragedy was translated by Bernard Knox.
2) Electra
Classical scholar and poet Anne Carson translates the play, discusses her translation, and provides an introduction.
3) Aias
Aias or Ajax by Sophocles shows the suicide of Ajax as an act of heroism. The translator Richard Pevear is also a poet. Glossary included.
4) Women of Trachis
One of the lesser known of the Greek tragedies by Sophocles. The translators include C. K. Williams, a poet, and Gregory W. Dickerson, a professor of Greek.
5) The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes
Seamus Heaney's adaptation of Sophocles' Philoctetus retains the story of the Greek drama but adds elements of modern Irish culture and language.
6) Antigone
Translator Richard Emil Braun is also a poet and professor of Classics. Antigone wants to bury her brother Polynices despite the king's order against it.
7) Oedipus at Colonus
The second of the Theban trology, Oedipus at Colonus continues the Oedipus the King story. Blinded and banished from Thebes, Oedipus wanders around until he finds a haven at Colonus. The translator is R. C. Jebb.
