Of all the famous Greek playwrights, Sophocles must be one of the best known of all. Sophocles' Seven Plays "are often considered the finest achievement of ancient Athens." His plays make the audience think about the character's actions, such as asking who was right and who was wrong. Sophocles' plays “are just as relevant today as they were in the fifth century BCE” (“Ancient Athenian Drama” 701). There are certain connections between the events of Sophocles' life and his plays Oedipus and Antigone. Not much is known about this brilliant playwright, but what is known about him is that he "had an unusually long, successful, productive and apparently happy life" (Ancient Athenian Drama" 701 ). Sophocles was born in the village of Colonus, near Athens, around 496 BCE (“Ancient Athenian Drama” 701). It is believed that his father made armor, which brought significant income to his family during the war. Throughout his life, “Sophocles worked in the Athenian theater all his life.” Sophocles often performed in his own plays, but due to the weakening of his voice over time, he was forced to abandon the theater (Denault "The Glory that Was Greece"). Not only did Sophocles participate in the theater, but he was also politically active "under Pericles as treasurer in 443 and 442, and was elected general under him in 441" ("Ancient Athenian Drama" 703). the age of 90 in 406 BCE ("Ancient Athenian Drama", Denault It is sad to say, unfortunately, that only seven of Sophocles' plays have survived out of the 120 plays he wrote in the course of his life ("Ancient Athenian Drama" 702). Two of these surviving plays, Oedipus the King... middle of paper ... okay, his contributions to theater changed the way theater is written and performed. . Oedipus the King will rush to its grisly conclusion like a messed up murder mystery, and let the audience decide what Oedipus is like (“Ancient Athenian Drama” 705). The plot of Antigone has the ability to split a play in two to find out who, Antigone or Creon, did the right thing. Even though Sophocles' work is ancient, his works have stood the test of time and his works continue to be read and performed to this day. Works Cited “Ancient Athenian Drama.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Flight. A. New York: WW Norton, 2012. 701-05. Print. Beginnings around 1650.Denault, Leigh T. “The glory that was Greece.” The glory that was Greece. Np, and Web. April 19. 2014. .