{"id":421860,"date":"2024-10-25T13:58:53","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T17:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=421860"},"modified":"2024-10-30T09:08:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T13:08:44","slug":"roman-sculpture-head-of-sophocles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/roman-sculpture-head-of-sophocles\/","title":{"rendered":"He Wrote \u2018Oedipus Rex,\u2019 but Do You Know What He Looked Like?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"An<\/a>
This fragment of a 1st- or 2nd-century marble Roman sculpture<\/a> likely depicts the famed Greek dramatist Sophocles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Written nearly 2,500 years ago, the tragedies of ancient Greek playwright Sophocles resonate across time and generations. They touch on enduring themes associated with the human condition, including the entire spectrum of personal grief, the need for inner fortitude and the importance of reconciliation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophocles’ seven extant dramas \u2014 especially his Theban plays, Antigone<\/em>, Oedipus Rex<\/em> and Oedipus at Colonus<\/em> \u2014 have inspired a number of reworkings for the stage and screen, not to mention a variety of painterly interpretations over the centuries, including compositions by such diverse talents as Francis Bacon<\/a>, Max Ernst<\/a>, Georges Braque<\/a>, Salvador Dal\u00ed<\/a> and Jean-Michel Basquiat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet how many of us know what the dramatist himself looked like? Perhaps surprisingly, Sophocles was said to have been both athletic and handsome \u2014 attributes corroborated by ancient depictions of the man that showcase his strong, angular features, full lips and prominent nose, typically framed by a mound of luscious locks and a generous beard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fragment of a marble sculpture<\/a> dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD and offered on 1stDibs by London antiquities dealer ArtAncient<\/a> is thought to portray the renowned playwright, capturing his essence and conveying a sense of divine wisdom and strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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