Sophocles
ca. 496 – 406 BC

Sophocles was born about 496 BC in Colonus Hippius (now part of Athens), he was to become one of the great playwrights of the golden age. The son of a wealthy merchant, he would enjoy all the comforts of a thriving Greek empire.
He studied all of the arts. By the age of sixteen, he was already known for his beauty and grace and was chosen to lead a choir of boys at a celebration of the victory of Salamis in 480 BC.

Sophocles believed that he went through three specific changes in his career as a writer. His first stage was one of imitation, a time when he copied the pomp and language of the great Aeschylus. In Sophocles' second stage, he imitated no one; his work was entirely his own. He experimented with new ways to evoke feelings and responses in his audience (Athene's mockery of Ajax, and his subsequent suicide). The third and final stage of Sophocles' development was all about diction and the proper use of language.

From the 5th Century, ancient Greeks became enthralled with the concept of tragedies and comedies. Sophocles was a great influence and a great writer. He is charged with being the first to introduce a third actor into his plays, something that reduced the size and need for the chorus. He is also responsible for the first series of set decorations, which is known as skenographia, or scenery-painting.