Success is dependent on effort.

Attributed to Sophocles, this maxim expresses a broadly Greek ethical idea: achievement is not a gift of luck or status but the product of sustained exertion. Read in that light, it aligns with classical emphases on discipline, training, and the cultivation of excellence (aretē), suggesting that “success” is earned through deliberate action rather than passively received. The statement also implies a moral dimension: effort is within one’s control, so responsibility for outcomes partly rests with the agent. Even if fortune plays a role, the quote elevates human striving as the decisive factor in turning potential into accomplishment.