WORLD CIVILIZATION

Detailed explanation-1: -Sophocles used three speaking actors in his plays. According to the researcher Jacques Jouanna, for Sophocles, the ratio was often eight roles for three actors. Sophocles used three actors for a maximum of nine characters in Antigone, and a minimum of five characters in the play Philoctetes.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.

Detailed explanation-3: -The three great playwrights of tragedy were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging us of our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that there can be nobility in suffering. He called this experience ‘catharsis’.