Sophocles

About Sophocles

Sophocles, the Athenian writer who lived from approximately 497 to 406 BCE, is considered one of the three great tragic playwrights of ancient Greece, alongside Aeschylus and Euripides. His enduring historical importance is recognized by his #134 rank on the MIT Pantheon index. His surviving works, such as Oedipus Rex and Antigone, fundamentally shaped Western theatre, literary traditions, and our understanding of fate, justice, and human suffering, influencing countless writers and thinkers across millennia.

In the modern digital age, Sophocles garners an estimated 535K annualized Wikipedia pageviews in 2025, resulting in an attention gap factor of approximately 1x relative to his historical importance-suggesting the internet's attention level is well-calibrated to his high rank. This relative balance contrasts sharply with figures like Nero (#248 importance), who drew 1.9M views, or Jack the Ripper (#251 importance) at 3.0M views, indicating that modern attention heavily favors sensational or narrative-driven historical entries over foundational literary figures.

Despite the balanced overall attention, Sophocles is showing significant positive engagement, with his 2025 pageviews increasing by a substantial +57.4% year-over-year, and Q1-Q3 momentum showing a +24% increase, suggesting a recent surge in public or academic interest.