Why was polyneices to be left unburied
False. It was Eteocles' brother, Polyneices, that was supposed to be left unburied.
Aramis Torrance-Hurt
The news of Polyneices' body being left unburied was brought to Creon by the sentry. The sentry reported that someone had defied Creon's orders and buried Polyneices, which led to Creon's anger and the subsequent investigation to find the culprit.
Polyneices' body is supposed to remain unburied as a punishment for his betrayal of Thebes in the conflict against his brother Eteocles. King Creon, who rules Thebes, decrees that Polyneices is a traitor and therefore should not receive the proper burial rites, reflecting the belief that unburied bodies suffer in the afterlife. This decree sets the stage for conflict in Sophocles' play "Antigone," as Antigone defies Creon's order to honor her brother with a burial.
Polyneices and the enemy dead are left unburied so that their corpses may be eaten by dogs in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, ancient Greeks tend to leave unburied the dead from the opposing side. This is done so that the body will be disfigured and divided into pieces and therefore not be intact when the dead seek to enter the Underworld of the afterlife. But at the same time, all Thebans have divine guarantees of below-ground burials and therefore are not to be left above ground regardless of whether they are loyal or disloyal to their hometown.
False. It was Eteocles' brother, Polyneices, that was supposed to be left unburied.
Aramis Torrance-Hurt
The news of Polyneices' body being left unburied was brought to Creon by the sentry. The sentry reported that someone had defied Creon's orders and buried Polyneices, which led to Creon's anger and the subsequent investigation to find the culprit.
Polyneices' body is supposed to remain unburied as a punishment for his betrayal of Thebes in the conflict against his brother Eteocles. King Creon, who rules Thebes, decrees that Polyneices is a traitor and therefore should not receive the proper burial rites, reflecting the belief that unburied bodies suffer in the afterlife. This decree sets the stage for conflict in Sophocles' play "Antigone," as Antigone defies Creon's order to honor her brother with a burial.
Polyneices and the enemy dead are left unburied so that their corpses may be eaten by dogs in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, ancient Greeks tend to leave unburied the dead from the opposing side. This is done so that the body will be disfigured and divided into pieces and therefore not be intact when the dead seek to enter the Underworld of the afterlife. But at the same time, all Thebans have divine guarantees of below-ground burials and therefore are not to be left above ground regardless of whether they are loyal or disloyal to their hometown.
Once Oedipus dies, his two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, must become King of Thebes. They battle for it, and Polyneices attacks Thebes, therefore he is a traitor. When people are properly buried, their souls are allowed to pass to the afterlife. Since Polyneices is a traitor, Creon doesn't want his soul to pass to the afterlife.
Polynices (Antigone's brother)
Creon decrees that Eteocles, who fought for Thebes, should be honored with a proper burial, while Polyneices, who attacked the city, is to be left unburied as punishment for his betrayal. This edict reflects Creon's belief in loyalty to the state and his desire to uphold order after the civil conflict. Disobeying this order would be seen as a challenge to Creon’s authority and the law of the land.
That they both have experiences with the unburied dead is the reason why Antigone refers to Niobe in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone confronts the pain of her brother Polyneices' unburied body. Niobe faces a similar pain when her children die. The bodies of Niobe's children remain unburied until divine intervention.
Left his body
It is posted sentries who guard Polyneices' body in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Creon assigns sentries to guard the unburied bodies of Polyneices and the disloyal Theban dead. Creon denies Polyneices and his Theban supporters their god-given rights as Thebans to below ground burials. He has the sentries there to capture anyone who plans to disobey his edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead.
Polyneices cannot be buried due to King Creon's decree, which forbids the burial of traitors. After he attacked Thebes, Creon considered him a rebel and ordered that his body be left unburied as punishment, believing this would serve as a deterrent to others. His sister Antigone defies this order, prioritizing familial loyalty and religious customs over the king's edict, leading to tragic consequences. This conflict highlights themes of law versus morality in Sophocles' play "Antigone."