Politics in the Plays of Sophocles

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in 440 (supposedly on the success of his Antigone), and was appointed to a special commission after disaster befell the Sicilian Expedition in 413 (Thorburn). According to Rush Rehm, Michael Vickers argues in his book that Sophocles models some of his characters in his plays off of Athenian politicians such as Alcibiades, Pericles, and Lysander. Although this may not be fully true, it does prove Sophocles’ use of Athenian politics in his plays. All of this leadership experience and knowledge plays a large part in his use of the values of courtesy, honor, and loyalty to model Greek politics in his plays. Sophocles’ primary interest is kings, queens, princes, and princesses and the struggles they experience within themselves, with their fellow human beings, and with the gods (Thorburn). Courtesy, honor, and loyalty are key values in ancient Greek life and leadership, and Sophocles knew them well in his plays and real life.
The values of courtesy, honor, and loyalty can be ...

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