Sophia

See Sofia. Sophia, Santa (säntä sō-fē'ä). [It. Santa Sofia , ML. Sancta Sophia , MGr. Σοφία , wisdom, the church being dedicated to Christ as the hypostatized wisdom of God.] The famous metropolitan church of the Greeks at Constantinople, built by Just in i an: since 1453 a mosque. In plan it consists of outer and inner narthex preceding a square the central portion of which is covered by the great dome, 105 feet in diameter and 184 high (interior), whose base open 40 arched windows. Most of the remainder of the nave is covered by two lower semi-domes, which buttre the central dome. The aisles have gal leries resting on arcades with beautiful columns. All the vaults and arches are covered with superb mosaics on gold ground; all the human figures appearing in these are now masked with whitewash. The walls are incrusted with marbles. The exterior of the venerable church is now plain and unimpre ive. Sophia, Santa, The Little. The church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus at Constantinople, fin ished by Just in i an in 565 A. D., and now a mosque. It is quadrangular, with a dome and two tiers of vaulted arcades; there is a narthex and an apse, and fine mosaics under the whitewash. Sophia Dorothea (so-fi'ädor-ō-thē'ä), Electre of Hannover. Born Sept. 15, 1666: died Nov. 13, 1726. Daughter of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle, wife of the elector George of Hannover (later George I. of England), and mother of George II. She was divorced Dec. 28, 1694, on account of her relations with Count Königsmark, and re. mained for the rest of her life a prisoner in Ahlden Castle, Sophie Charlotte, Queen of Pru ia. Born Oct. 20, 1668: died Feb. 1, 1705. Wife of Frederick I., king of Pru ia: noted for her literary and philosophical tastes. Char lot ten burg was named from her. Sophocles (sof'ō-klēz). [Gr. Σοφοκλῆς.] Born at Colonus, near Athens, 495 or 496 в. с.: died 406 B. c. One of the three great tragic poets of Greece. He defeated Æschylus for the tragic prize in 468, and was defeated by Euripi des in 441. He was one of the A then i an generals in the Samian war (440). He added the third actor to the drama, and made various changes in the chorus. His tragedies include "Edipus Tyrannus" (or "Edipus Rex"), "Edipus at Colonus," "Anti gone," "Electra," " Phi loc tetes," "Ajax," and "Maidens of Trachis." From this date till his death, at the age of 90, the poet devoted all his energy to the production of those famous works of art, which gave him such a hold over the A then i an public that he came to be considered the very ideal of a poet, and worshipped after his death as a hero, under the title Dexion. He is said to have won eighteen or twenty tragic victories, and, though sometimes postponed to Philocles and others, was never placed third in all his life. The author of the "Poetic" and the Alexandrian critics follow the judgment of the Attic public, and most modern critics have agreed with them that the tragedies of Sophocles are the most perfect that the world has ever seen.