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Chapter 2 - Sophocles the Ironist

Theology and Dramatic Structure in Sophoclean Tragedy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2026

Alexandre Johnston
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

This chapter examines how Sophoclean tragedy approaches and conceptualises the relationship between divine and mortal. It demonstrates that Sophocles builds on the early Greek theological, philosophical and literary tradition outlined in Chapter 1, but steers his own, distinctive course. It argues that Sophocles’ tragedies deploy ideas and beliefs about humans and gods in three, closely interconnected ways: in the explicitly theological and philosophical discourse uttered by characters and choruses; in the trajectories and experiences of individual characters on the stage; and in the broader, religious and ethical patterns that underlie these trajectories, which are occasionally and partially revealed to audiences. As part of its attempt to foreground the close interrelation of dramatic structure, form and content, the chapter devotes considerable space to a new interpretation of dramatic irony. This general discussion relies on readings of four Sophoclean plays, Oedipus Tyrannus, Ajax, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus, as well as on brief comparative analyses of some Aeschylean and Euripidean examples.

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  • Sophocles the Ironist
  • Alexandre Johnston, University of Oxford
  • Book: Humans and Gods in Sophocles and Early Greek Thought
  • Online publication: 08 May 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009727815.003
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  • Sophocles the Ironist
  • Alexandre Johnston, University of Oxford
  • Book: Humans and Gods in Sophocles and Early Greek Thought
  • Online publication: 08 May 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009727815.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Sophocles the Ironist
  • Alexandre Johnston, University of Oxford
  • Book: Humans and Gods in Sophocles and Early Greek Thought
  • Online publication: 08 May 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009727815.003
Available formats
×