Oedipus Rex, a drama written by Sophocles (c. 430-426 B.C.), is the story of one man's attempts to escape his fate. It is the dramatist's best-known play.

Antigone, also by Sophocles (c. 441 B.C.), focuses on the problems of excessive pride and stubbornness. Like Ajax, this play emphasizes the importance of the ritualized practice of burial of the dead.

Sophocles' s Electra (c. 425-410 B.C.) examines the family tragedy that surrounds the death of Agamemnon.

Prometheus Bound, by Aeschylus (c. 490 B.C.), is the story of how Prometheus is punished for disobeying Zeus.