Burrow, Edward John: The Elgin Marbles: With an abridged historical and topographical account of Athens (London, 1837)

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who endeavoured to wrest from him the palm;
of dramatic supremacy, was Sophocles, sur- Sophocles.
named, from his talents, the Attic Syren. He,
was born at Colorus, a village of Attica, A. C.
494. His father was the master of a forge
in the neighbourhood of Athens. Sophocles
was distinguished for his superior capacity in
civil affairs; and being raised to the dignity of
archon, he commanded the Athenian armies,
conjointly with Pericles, in so brave and skil-
ful a manner as to obtain universal credit.
His first attempt at dramatic writing was high-
ly honourable to his abilities. When the
bones of Theseus were brought to Athens from
the Isle of Scyros by Cimon, who had dis-
covered the tomb of the hero, the event was
appointed to be solemnized by annual games
and sacrifices, at which a prize was instituted
for poetical effusions. For this, Sophocles,
then a young man, entered the lists with his
master iEschylus, and was successful. Elated
with this auspicious beginning, he strove to
add to the honour of the Athenian stage, and
shared the applauses of the people with Euri-
pides. These eminent rivals, after having