The Philoctetes of Sophocles by Sophocles

Philoctetes (Ancient Greek: Φιλοκτήτης, Philoktētēs; English pronunciation: , stressed on the third syllable, -tet-) is a play by Sophocles (Aeschylus and Euripides also each wrote a Philoctetes but theirs have not survived). The play was written during the Peloponnesian War. It is one of the seven extant tragedies by Sophocles. It was first performed at the City Dionysia in 409 BC, where it won first prize. The story takes place during the last year of the Trojan War (after the majority of the events of the Iliad). It describes the attempt by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, and Odysseus, king of Ithaca, to bring the disabled Philoctetes, the master archer, from the island of Lemnos to Troy in the hopes that he and his bow might help end the Trojan War. (This summary is from Wikipedia.)

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About this eBook

Author Sophocles, 496? BCE-407 BCE
Translator Sheridan, Thomas, 1687-1738
LoC No. 15017107
Title The Philoctetes of Sophocles
Original Publication Dublin: Printed by J. Hyde and E. Dobson for R. Owen, 1725.
Note Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philoctetes_(Sophocles_play)
Credits Chris Hapka and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
Summary Philoctetes (Ancient Greek: Φιλοκτήτης, Philoktētēs; English pronunciation: , stressed on the third syllable, -tet-) is a play by Sophocles (Aeschylus and Euripides also each wrote a Philoctetes but theirs have not survived). The play was written during the Peloponnesian War. It is one of the seven extant tragedies by Sophocles. It was first performed at the City Dionysia in 409 BC, where it won first prize. The story takes place during the last year of the Trojan War (after the majority of the events of the Iliad). It describes the attempt by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, and Odysseus, king of Ithaca, to bring the disabled Philoctetes, the master archer, from the island of Lemnos to Troy in the hopes that he and his bow might help end the Trojan War. (This summary is from Wikipedia.)
Language English
LoC Class PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature
Subject Tragedies (Drama)
Subject Trojan War -- Drama
Subject Philoctetes (Mythological character) -- Drama
Category Text
EBook-No. 77548
Release Date
Most Recently Updated Dec 28, 2025
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
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