Sophocles ( 497 BC or 496 BC– 406 BC; Ancient Greek: Σοφοκλης) was one of the three great ancient Greek tragedians, together with Aeschylus and Euripides. According to the Suda he wrote 123 plays; in the dramatic competitions of the Festival of Dionysus (where each submission by one playwright consisted of four plays, three tragedies and a semi-comic satyr play), he won more first prizes (around 20) than any other playwright, and placed second in all others he participated in (Lloyd-Jones 1994: 8). His first victory was in 468, although scholars are no longer certain that this was the first time that he competed.
Easton Press Sophocles books
Oedipus The King - 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - 1980
Sophocles biography
Sophocles was born about a mile northwest of Athens in the rural deme (small community) of Colonus Hippius in Attica, which today is near the railway station. His birth took place a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC: the exact year is unclear, although 497/6 is perhaps most likely. The ancient life of Sophocles disputes claims that his father, Sophillus, was a carpenter, smith, or swordmaker, asserting rather that he owned slaves who pursued such occupations. The Life goes on to say the young Sophocles won awards in wrestling and music, and was graceful and handsome. He led the chorus of boys (paean) at the Athenian celebration of the victory against the Persians at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. 
Sophocles enjoyed a public profile outside the theatre. In 443/2 he served as one of the Hellenotamiai or treasurers of Athena. The Athenian people elected him as one of the ten generals for 441/0, during which he participated in the crushing of the revolt of Samos. There is some evidence that he was one of the commissioners appointed in 413 BC as a response to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily (Lloyd-Jones 1994: 12-13). Sophocles also served as a priest for a time.Surviving works
Only two of the seven surviving plays have securely dated first performances: Philoctetes (409 BC) and Oedipus at Colonus (401 BC, put on after Sophocles' death by his grandson, also called Sophocles). Of the others, Electra shows stylistic similarities to these two plays, and so is probably late. Ajax, Antigone and The Trachiniae are generally thought to be early, again on grounds of style, with Oedipus the King coming in Sophocles' middle period.The Theban plays
Antigone
Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannos) (second prize)
Oedipus at ColonusOther plays
Ajax
The Trachiniae
Electra
Philoctetes (first prize)Fragmentary plays
Fragments of The Tracking Satyrs (Ichneutae) were discovered in Egypt in 1907. These amount to about half of the play, making it the best preserved satyr play after Euripides' Cyclops, which survives in its entirety. Fragments of The Progeny (Epigonoi) were discovered in April 2005 by classicists at Oxford University with the help of infrared technology previously used for satellite imaging. The tragedy tells the story of the siege of Thebes.
Easton Press Sophocles books
Oedipus The King - 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - 1980
Dramas by Sophocles - 1993
Franklin Library Sophocles books
Plays of Sophocles - Great Books of the Western World - 1980
The Tragedies of Sophocles - 100 Greatest Books of All Time - 1981
Greek Tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides - Oxford Library (published in both quarter bound and full leather) - 1982
Franklin Library Sophocles books
Plays of Sophocles - Great Books of the Western World - 1980The Tragedies of Sophocles - 100 Greatest Books of All Time - 1981
Greek Tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides - Oxford Library (published in both quarter bound and full leather) - 1982
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Only seven of his tragedies have survived complete in the medieval manuscript tradition. The most famous are the three tragedies concerning Oedipus and Antigone: these are often known as the Theban plays or The Oedipus Cycle, although they do not make up a single trilogy. Discoveries of papyri from the late nineteenth century onwards, especially at Oxyrhynchus, have greatly added to our knowledge of Sophocles' works. The most substantial fragment which has so far appeared contains around half of a satyr play, The Tracking Satyrs.
Sophocles biography
Sophocles was born about a mile northwest of Athens in the rural deme (small community) of Colonus Hippius in Attica, which today is near the railway station. His birth took place a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC: the exact year is unclear, although 497/6 is perhaps most likely. The ancient life of Sophocles disputes claims that his father, Sophillus, was a carpenter, smith, or swordmaker, asserting rather that he owned slaves who pursued such occupations. The Life goes on to say the young Sophocles won awards in wrestling and music, and was graceful and handsome. He led the chorus of boys (paean) at the Athenian celebration of the victory against the Persians at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
Sophocles enjoyed a public profile outside the theatre. In 443/2 he served as one of the Hellenotamiai or treasurers of Athena. The Athenian people elected him as one of the ten generals for 441/0, during which he participated in the crushing of the revolt of Samos. There is some evidence that he was one of the commissioners appointed in 413 BC as a response to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily (Lloyd-Jones 1994: 12-13). Sophocles also served as a priest for a time.
Surviving works
Only two of the seven surviving plays have securely dated first performances: Philoctetes (409 BC) and Oedipus at Colonus (401 BC, put on after Sophocles' death by his grandson, also called Sophocles). Of the others, Electra shows stylistic similarities to these two plays, and so is probably late. Ajax, Antigone and The Trachiniae are generally thought to be early, again on grounds of style, with Oedipus the King coming in Sophocles' middle period.The Theban plays
AntigoneOedipus the King (Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannos) (second prize)
Oedipus at Colonus
Other plays
AjaxThe Trachiniae
Electra
Philoctetes (first prize)
Fragmentary plays
Fragments of The Tracking Satyrs (Ichneutae) were discovered in Egypt in 1907. These amount to about half of the play, making it the best preserved satyr play after Euripides' Cyclops, which survives in its entirety. Fragments of The Progeny (Epigonoi) were discovered in April 2005 by classicists at Oxford University with the help of infrared technology previously used for satellite imaging. The tragedy tells the story of the siege of Thebes.A number of other Sophoclean works have survived only in fragments, including:
Aias Lokros (Ajax the Locrian)
Aias Mastigophoros (Ajax the Whip-Bearer)
Aigeus (Aegeus)
Aigisthos (Aegisthus)
Aikhmalôtides (The Captive Women)
Aithiopes (The Ethiopians), or Memnon
Akhaiôn Syllogos (The Gathering of the Achaeans)
Akhilleôs Erastai ([male] Lovers of Achilles)
Akrisios
Aleadae (The Sons of Aleus)
Aletes
Alexandros (Alexander)
Alcmeôn
Amphiaraus
Amphitryôn
Amycos
Andromache
Andromeda
Antenoridai (Sons of Antenor)
Athamas (two versions produced)
Atreus, or Mykenaiai
Camicoi
Cassandra
Cedaliôn
Cerberus
Chryseis
Clytemnestra
Colchides
Côphoi (Mute Ones)
Creusa
Crisis (Judgement)
Daedalus
Danae
Dionysiacus
Dolopes
Epigoni (The Progeny)
Eriphyle
Eris
Eumelus
Euryalus
Eurypylus
Eurysaces
Helenes Apaitesis (Helen's Demand)
Helenes Gamos (Helen's Marriage)
Herakles Epi Tainaro (Hercules At Taenarum)
Hermione
Hipponous
Hybris
Hydrophoroi (Water-Bearers)
Inachos
Iobates
Iokles
Iôn
Iphigenia
Ixiôn
Lacaenae (Lacaenian Women)
Laocoôn
Larisaioi
Lemniai (Lemnian Women)
Manteis (The Prophets) or Polyidus
Meleagros
Minôs
Momus
Mousai (Muses)
Mysoi (Mysians)
Nauplios Katapleon (Nauplius' Arrival)
Nauplios Pyrkaeus (Nauplius' Fires)
Nausicaa, or Plyntriai
Niobe
Odysseus Acanthoplex (Odysseus Scourged with Thorns)
Odysseus Mainomenos (Odysseus Gone Mad)
Oeneus
Oenomaus
Palamedes
Pandora, or Sphyrokopoi (Hammer-Strikers)
Pelias
Peleus
Phaiakes
Phaedra
Philoctetes In Troy
Phineus (two versions)
Phoenix
Phrixus
Phryges (Phrygians)
Phthiôtides
Poimenes (The Shepherds)
Polyxene
Priam
Procris
Rhizotomoi (The Root-Cutters)
Salmoneus
Sinon
Sisyphus
Skyrioi (Scyrians)
Skythai (Scythians)
Syndeipnoi (The Diners, or, The Banqueters)
Tantalus
Telephus
Tereus
Teukros (Teucer)
Thamyras
Theseus
Thyestes
Troilus
Triptolemos
Tympanistai (Drummers)
Tyndareos
Tyro Keiromene (Tyro Shorn)
Tyro Anagnorizomene (Tyro Rediscovered).
Xoanephoroi (Image-Bearers)
Aias Lokros (Ajax the Locrian)
Aias Mastigophoros (Ajax the Whip-Bearer)
Aigeus (Aegeus)
Aigisthos (Aegisthus)
Aikhmalôtides (The Captive Women)
Aithiopes (The Ethiopians), or Memnon
Akhaiôn Syllogos (The Gathering of the Achaeans)
Akhilleôs Erastai ([male] Lovers of Achilles)
Akrisios
Aleadae (The Sons of Aleus)
Aletes
Alexandros (Alexander)
Alcmeôn
Amphiaraus
Amphitryôn
Amycos
Andromache
Andromeda
Antenoridai (Sons of Antenor)
Athamas (two versions produced)
Atreus, or Mykenaiai
Camicoi
Cassandra
Cedaliôn
Cerberus
Chryseis
Clytemnestra
Colchides
Côphoi (Mute Ones)
Creusa
Crisis (Judgement)
Daedalus
Danae
Dionysiacus
Dolopes
Epigoni (The Progeny)
Eriphyle
Eris
Eumelus
Euryalus
Eurypylus
Eurysaces
Helenes Apaitesis (Helen's Demand)
Helenes Gamos (Helen's Marriage)
Herakles Epi Tainaro (Hercules At Taenarum)
Hermione
Hipponous
Hybris
Hydrophoroi (Water-Bearers)
Inachos
Iobates
Iokles
Iôn
Iphigenia
Ixiôn
Lacaenae (Lacaenian Women)
Laocoôn
Larisaioi
Lemniai (Lemnian Women)
Manteis (The Prophets) or Polyidus
Meleagros
Minôs
Momus
Mousai (Muses)
Mysoi (Mysians)
Nauplios Katapleon (Nauplius' Arrival)
Nauplios Pyrkaeus (Nauplius' Fires)
Nausicaa, or Plyntriai
Niobe
Odysseus Acanthoplex (Odysseus Scourged with Thorns)
Odysseus Mainomenos (Odysseus Gone Mad)
Oeneus
Oenomaus
Palamedes
Pandora, or Sphyrokopoi (Hammer-Strikers)
Pelias
Peleus
Phaiakes
Phaedra
Philoctetes In Troy
Phineus (two versions)
Phoenix
Phrixus
Phryges (Phrygians)
Phthiôtides
Poimenes (The Shepherds)
Polyxene
Priam
Procris
Rhizotomoi (The Root-Cutters)
Salmoneus
Sinon
Sisyphus
Skyrioi (Scyrians)
Skythai (Scythians)
Syndeipnoi (The Diners, or, The Banqueters)
Tantalus
Telephus
Tereus
Teukros (Teucer)
Thamyras
Theseus
Thyestes
Troilus
Triptolemos
Tympanistai (Drummers)
Tyndareos
Tyro Keiromene (Tyro Shorn)
Tyro Anagnorizomene (Tyro Rediscovered).
Xoanephoroi (Image-Bearers)
Source and additional information: Sophocles