Quote by Sophocles: “Many are the wonders of the world, and none more wonderful than man.”

Among all the astonishing things in existence, the human being — the creature that navigates the sea, tames the earth, and builds civilisations — is the most astonishing of all. Sophocles is celebrating human ingenuity while also, in context, warning that this power can destroy as well as create.

Antigone was performed around 441 BCE during the height of Athenian democracy and cultural achievement under Pericles. The Ode to Man from which this comes celebrates human capability at the precise moment the play is about to show how that capability leads to catastrophic conflict and hubris.

Ancient Greek tragedian whose surviving plays, including Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Electra, are foundational works of Western drama. He is credited with adding a third actor to the stage and deepening psychological complexity in dramatic character.